Between Love and Murder

by Chris Bedell

  Somehow, my reason for being attracted to Archie escaped me. In this moment, he should’ve supported me, not Mallory. At least then I could’ve pretended everything would be fine between us.

  Mallory snarled. “If you’re looking for someone to blame, then blame Tommy. He brought the gun.”

  “Let’s focus on pretending to enjoy the dance—it only takes one slip for everything to unravel,” Archie said.

  “You know what?” I said. “Did you ever consider you deserved Tommy’s cheating?”

  “You’re insult would hold water if he hadn’t been sleeping with Gemma long before we started dating,” Mallory said.

  I cackled. “Then that’s it. Tommy must’ve been using you as a cover and never cared about you.”

  “You don’t know that,” Mallory quipped.

  Archie continued rubbing his forehead. Whatever. Too bad for him, but I had no misgivings about my comment. Some people deserved every bad insult flung at them even though Mallory and I needed to shove our differences aside if we wanted to stay out of prison.

  “I still don’t understand why you agreed to help Mallory?” I asked, taking my eyes off the road for a beat.

  Archie averted his gaze. “Mallory’s fear of Tommy was the first time she was vulnerable with me.”

  “Don’t talk about me—talk to me,” Mallory said.

  The clunky sound of my ignition halted a couple minutes after I parked in the high school parking lot. We exited the car, then a beeping sound echoed. I couldn’t be too careful because of everything that happened this evening, so locking the car seemed most logical.

  I exhaled a long breath. “Are we seriously gonna pretend nothing bad happened?”

  “We don’t have a choice,” Mallory said.

  Archie rubbed my shoulder. “It’s only for a couple of hours.”

  “Let’s get this over with,” I said.

  Mallory turned to me. “Just because I despise you, doesn’t mean I think you’re wrong. We’ll eventually have to figure out what our story is gonna be going forward.”

  “We can worry about that later,” Archie said.

  How nice for Archie. I would’ve given anything for my jaw not to twitch. Stress just complicated life more and had zero positive benefits.

  “How are we gonna do this?” I asked.

  Mallory rolled her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  The trees bobbed, and the wind nipped my face. Wow. Yet another reminder winter was fast approaching. In fact, it was a miracle the ground wasn’t covered in snow.

  “There are three of us,” I said.

  Mallory giggled. “Just like old times.”

  I glared at Mallory. “This isn’t funny.”

  “What about tickets?” I asked.

  “We don’t need tickets if we have our school IDs,” Mallory revealed.

  Archie nodded. “Cool.”

  Mallory clicked her heels against the ground. “What are you waiting for?”

  Archie looped one arm around Mallory’s and the other around mine, then we trekked through the parking lot and towards the high school’s main entrance. A burning sensation jabbed my stomach, though. Not labeling every situation was fair—labels weren’t always all encompassing—yet this shouldn’t have been my life. I was selfish enough to not want to share Archie with anyone. But here I was, in my own twisted thruple.

  Whatever. My first step was making it through the rest of the evening—I’d worry about what would happen between us later. I could only deal with so many problems before my head exploded.

  We turned the corner in the hallway after showing our ID’s to one of the chaperones by the front entrance, only to cross paths with Dan and Rebecca.

  Rebecca shook her head. “What are you three doing here?”

  “Yeah.” Dan rubbed a piece of lint off his blazer, yet my gaze should’ve been on his combed-back sandy blond hair. Apparently, Dan was capable of combing his hair, although I never once saw him put so much as gel in his hair before. “Having any drama is the last thing we want tonight.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Rebecca flipped her hair over her shoulders, accentuating her curls. Wow. Dan wasn’t the only one capable of sprucing up his image because Rebecca had always worn her hair straight in all the years I had known her.

  “It’s complicated,” I said.

  Mallory gave me a look. “Keep your mouth shut, Chad.”

  Archie jabbed Mallory’s shoulder. “Don’t be mean.”

  Thank goodness Archie defended me. Disrespecting me was the last thing Mallory should’ve done. Any other person might’ve turned her into the police, yet I hadn’t. Somehow, I convinced myself that our friendship was worth saving at some vague, distant point in the future.

  Dan’s eyes widened. “One of you better answer Rebecca’s question.”

  “Chad wasn’t lying.” Mallory bit one of her nails. “The situation’s hard to explain.”

  Rebecca put her hands on her hips. “Try us.”

  “You’re gonna have to take our word for it,” Archie said.

  “Nice try,” Dan said.

  “We’re here to have a good time,” Archie said.

  Oh, Archie. If only he sold his comment with more confidence. At least then the frown lines on Rebecca’s face might’ve disappeared, because if Archie’s life depended on Rebecca believing him, then he was two seconds away from dying.

  Rebecca clutched her necklace. “Yeah, and I’m the President of the United States.”

  “Let it go,” I said.

  “We don’t have time for this.” Archie put an arm around both Mallory’s and my arm before we started walking away, but Rebecca and Dan cut us off from going any farther.

  “Why are you being such a bitch?” Mallory asked.

  “You did not just call me that,” Rebecca said.

  Getting dragged into a murder wasn’t bad enough. My head ached, and I couldn’t wait to go home and take an aspirin. I needed all of five seconds to realize how Mallory and Rebecca might make life more annoying.

  Dan let out a breath. “What’s wrong with caring what happens to your friends?”

  Mallory raised her eyebrows. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

  “It’s written on your faces,” Rebecca said.

  “And you would’ve told us if you planned on attending the dance,” Dan said.

  I glanced at Mallory and Archie. “We don’t have a choice.”

  “You can’t be serious?” Mallory demanded.

  Archie touched his eyelid. “Chad’s right.”

  Caring about selfishly dragging Dan and Rebecca into this mess didn’t matter. If they knew what happened, then I might have allies. No matter how much I hoped my friendship with Mallory would return to normal, I couldn’t ignore how the current drama was Mallory’s fault. If she’d just moved on with her life and hadn’t blackmailed Tommy, then he wouldn’t have later blackmailed her. And as much as I might’ve wanted to, I might not have been able to trust her anymore. Especially when feelings were on the line.

  Mallory hissed. “Fine. We’ll tell you what’s going on. But not here. Let’s find an empty hallway.”

  SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2018

  I walked into the kitchen, only to be greeted by Mom. She sported her bathrobe and stood by the stove while bacon sizzled in the frying pan.

  She flashed a smile. “Morning, honey.”

  “Morning.”

  “I thought bacon and eggs would be a nice treat.”

  Normally, there was nothing like bacon’s greasy odor wafting through the air to get me excited about starting the day. But not today. Not when I couldn’t wish away everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, because Mallory was right. Sleuthing only got me into trouble, and I should’ve let Mallory and Archie hang.

  “Something wrong?” Mom asked.

  “I’m stressed about school.”

  “It’s okay if you’re hungover...”

  I remained silent. />
  “Just tell me because I have the best hangover cure known to man,” Mom continued.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  If only the universe weren’t so cruel.

  Even I appreciated the twisted irony of Mom giving me something without hesitation. The problem was, it wasn’t what I needed, because a hangover was preferable to wondering if Tommy was still alive or if I’d be implicated in a murder.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Mom flipped the bacon with a spatula.

  “You were in high school once and understand how too much is expected from teens.”

  “True.”

  Mom squealed. “I’m glad you attended the dance—you can’t worry about school 24/7; it’s not healthy.”

  MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2018

  Dan, Rebecca, Mallory, Archie, and I stood by my locker while a couple of students and teachers walked through the hallway. Various voices hadn’t filled the hallway yet, so I had time to convince myself today would be another normal day of classes I wouldn’t care about two days from now.

  “The news would’ve mentioned if a body was found,” Rebecca said.

  Mallory gave Rebecca a dirty look. “Not so loud.”

  “Calm down,” Dan said.

  Rebecca twirled a strand of her hair. “You did the right thing in telling us.”

  “I wanna know how a body and gun disappear,” Archie said.

  I snickered. “Maybe we’ll never know.”

  “Either Tommy got up and left, or someone took his body out of the house,” Archie said.

  Footsteps echoed through the hallway, and we whipped our bodies around.

  My focus should’ve remained on getting my stuff for my morning classes, though. At least then I wouldn’t have to deal with the girl getting closer and closer to us. Even if the Aviator sunglasses wrapped around her face ensured not worrying about eye contact.

  Rebecca wrinkled her nose. “Are you hungover, Gemma?”

  “Just upset,” Gemma snapped.

  Mallory gritted her teeth. “Why?”

  Regardless of how I felt about Mallory, I couldn’t deny she had guts. I wouldn’t have spoken to Gemma if she were the last person on Earth. Doing so would’ve been too gutsy in light of everything that happened in the last few days.

  Gemma grimaced. “Playing dumb only gets you so far, Mallory.”

  Mallory’s lips quivered. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re a smart girl, so figure it out,” Gemma said.

  Rebecca crossed her arms. “If you hate her, then you should give her a reason.”

  “I was supposed to meet someone after the Snowflake Ball, but the guy never showed.” Gemma paused for a second. “And God help whoever ruined my plans.”

  We all continued staring at Gemma while the vein on her forehead almost popped. Good gracious. Couldn’t say I was excited for what she was about to say.

  “And that’s not the only thing that’s happened recently,” Gemma said. “My father’s gun is missing from his safe.”

  Yup. The Tommy situation was more complex than Rebecca, Dan, Mallory, Archie, and I realized. If Tommy stole his father’s gun, and that reappeared with his body, then the police might get to the truth faster than they hoped. The next question would be why Tommy needed a gun, which could lead back to Mallory blackmailing him to leave town and him blackmailing her for more money.

  Archie’s Adam’s apple throbbed. “Hopefully, your situation improves.”

  “Doubtful. Some endings are final. Anyway, have a great day. Although something tells me we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” Gemma strutted the down the hallway and was soon out of earshot.

  None of us spoke, at least not yet. Instead, we exchanged glances. We didn’t have to be psychic to know what was on all our minds.

  “Was Gemma gonna leave town with Tommy?” Archie asked.

  Mallory shrugged. “I don’t know, but I wish I did.”

  Wow. What a shocker. For once, Mallory couldn’t invent a snide comment, and I’d have to alert every media outlet in the country.

  I scrunched my eyebrows. “You heard her. Gemma did everything but accuse us.”

  “Tommy must be dead,” Mallory murmured.

  “Then where the hell is his body and gun?” Archie demanded.

  “Doesn’t matter. If anyone asks, we had no link to Tommy that night,” Mallory said.

  We all nodded, yet the empty feeling in my stomach grew. We could push whatever narrative we wanted, but if we didn’t know where the body was, then we weren’t in control of the situation. And that fact provided more misery than summer school. Wondering when and where a dead body would appear was no way to live.

  BEFORE

  WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

  Time for more deep breaths.

  Some clichés such as people only living once were true. So, I had to forget about my pride—or how my heart must’ve been beating so fast that it should’ve exploded—and walk over to Archie’s locker and talk to him before the first period bell rang. More specifically, maybe ask him out. Nothing formal. Maybe coffee or frozen yogurt. Something that was fun but didn’t scream desperate.

  I tapped his shoulder. “Hi.”

  “Hi yourself.”

  “Do you have a second?” I asked.

  “Anything for you.”

  I coughed, clearing the scratchiness from my throat. No need to panic. What I was about to do was normal. The worst outcome was that Archie wasn’t interested and I’d move onto the next person.

  Archie reciprocating would’ve made life simpler, though. And not because I would’ve damned him to Hell if I didn’t get my way. I couldn’t stop cringing from yesterday when Mallory was watching me in the school hallway. She didn’t have to say or do anything malicious for me to call bullshit. There was just something about the look in her eyes and smirk on her face that made me stare at my bedroom ceiling way longer than I should’ve last night.

  He laughed. “Were you gonna say something?”

  “Sorry. I need to stop getting distracted.”

  “No worries,” Archie said.

  “I was wondering if you’d want to go out sometime. Perhaps this weekend?”

  He drew in a breath. “Wow. I’m flattered…”

  Great. Great. Great. I didn’t need a PhD to know what would happen next. Mentioning being flattered must’ve been his way of preparing to let me down. Wow. The universe’s cruel irony never stopped. One moment I rejected someone, and the next moment someone rejected me.

  “But I can’t,” Archie said.

  I clenched my jaw. “Did I misread the situation? Are you straight?”

  “It’s not that…”

  “Then what?” I demanded.

  “Someone already asked me out.” Archie grabbed the last textbook from his locker, tossed it into his backpack, then zipped it up.

  Damn the universe. If Archie was straight, then the room wouldn’t have been spinning. At least then I would’ve known I did everything I could. But no. The universe had to give its usual fucked up twist to my life. The only thing crueler than someone not reciprocating feelings was being too late to the opportunity.

  My mouth gaped. “Oh…”

  “I’m sorry, Chad.”

  No offense to Archie, but he shouldn’t have apologized to me. Doing so only made the situation worse. Pity shouldn’t have been linked to romantic situations—whether in a small way or in a big way.

  I lowered my gaze. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “If only you got to me sooner,” Archie said.

  “I didn’t misread the situation?”

  He frowned. “I already answered your question.”

  No need for a raised voice. I was the one who resembled a child who made a birthday list, only to be denied every item from it. And that was fine. I’d pick myself up eventually.

  I looked away. “Sorry.”

  “I really was flirting with you yesterday,” he said.

  “Thanks for y
our honesty,” I said.

  How kind of him to reassure me the situation wasn’t all in my head. Almost as if his words were a magical fix.

  “Don’t mention it. Nobody deserves to be strung along.”

  I let out a nervous laugh. “Good to know I’m not a complete idiot and can still navigate social situations.”

  Archie raised his eyebrows. “Is your self-esteem that low?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  “We can be friends...”

  “Sure.”

  The warning bell for first period screeched, and I shuddered. My conversation with Archie had been going on longer than I realized. However, rage wasn’t pulsing through my body from our conversation being cut short. If anything, the universe did me a kindness. For the moment, Archie and I had nothing left to discuss.

  He slid his fingers through his hair. “I should get going, but see you in math class later.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Tears pricked my eyes while I continued standing in the hallway, and dozens of students scurried by me. Almost as if I were a tourist drifting through New York City. The person I was most pissed off at was myself. Somehow, I allowed myself to become intoxicated by the novelty of getting to know somebody new. And that was no way to live. Crushes and attraction might’ve been normal, yet I had to live life for myself, not someone else.

  I couldn’t help wondering one thing, though. The identity of the person who asked Archie out. The situation felt convenient, and I prayed the burning feeling in my throat was from drinking my morning coffee too fast and not something more sinister.

  THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

  I exited my car in the high school parking lot while sun beamed from the sky and chirping birds perched on a nearby tree. Just because my current surroundings might’ve made for the perfect painting didn’t mean life was perfect. Mallory just got out of the car parked several spaces from mine and was headed towards me.

  She grinned. “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “No need to be curt.”

  “How am I supposed to react?” I asked.

  She gripped one of her pigtails. “I don’t want there to be any awkwardness between us.”

  I must’ve been in an alternate dimension. The universe couldn’t have been gracious enough to let Mallory and I resume our friendship. Life wasn’t that simple. Not when the universe could’ve fucked me over a million different ways.