Enemies to Prom Dates (Haddonfield High Book 1)

by S Doyle

  He clutched his chest with his hand and pretended to stagger. “Brutal. Very convincing by the way. But I don’t care.”

  “You don’t care?” I asked, disbelieving.

  “No.”

  “Not even when I tell Reen that from here on out you are dead to her.”

  His eye twitched then. His right eye and only slightly, but it was there.

  “No,” he said after a beat.

  “We’ll see about that, Locke. If Fitz is arrested before someone figures out that video is altered, you’re going to pay. I swear it.”

  21

  Fitz

  “I don’t like it,” I said.

  We were all together in my living room. My parents, Gigi and Beth, who had come from her meeting with Locke to share the news about the altered video.

  “What kind of fucked-up, high-school shit is this?” my dad asked no one in particular. “We go from a fucking Freshman List to altering a video to set up my boy for vehicular assault? That’s messed up. You two are going to private school.”

  “Dad, not helpful right now,” Gigi said. “I like Beth’s idea.”

  Beth’s idea had been to go see Wick in the hospital. Taking Gi with her. If Wick actually did like Gi and was he truly upset about what happened the night of the party, he might be willing to share more of what he knew about the List.

  Given the fact that someone had put his life in jeopardy over it, that was even more motivation to talk.

  Maybe I wasn’t the only target in this. Maybe there had been a reason other than setting me up to go after Wick. But my dad was right.

  “No,” I said. “This is beyond high school bullshit. Wick could have been seriously hurt. I say we sit tight and let the investigator figure it out. We know the video has been altered. We know Locke figured out how. If he can do it, someone else who goes looking for evidence of tampering will be able to figure it out, too.”

  My mom, who was sitting next to Beth on the couch, frowned.

  “Yes, but not before the police come to arrest you. They have everything they need. Your car. An eyewitness, video corroboration and apparent motive. The only reason they’re holding off is because of who you are, but if the DA thinks it’s open and shut, he’s going to let the cops loose. It would be a very a high-profile case for him. Lots of media attention. He’ll play the rich-privileged-kid-isn’t-above-the-law card. A perfect opportunity for a district attorney who has political aspirations. Which ours does.”

  “You mean black kid,” my dad interjected. “We don’t know what would have happened if he was white.”

  “Dad!” I snapped. “Seriously. Let it go. I can handle being arrested. The people who matter to me know I didn’t do it. That’s all I care about. We figure out who did what to the video, I’m found not-guilty, and I can put this behind me.”

  What I didn’t like was something Locke had told me when we met by the bleachers. He was convinced there was something even more sinister happening beyond the List. And he wouldn’t tell Beth how he knew about the video because he didn’t want the person who did it to know.

  Was it possible I was part of a bigger game? That Locke was right and this went well beyond Wick and a bunch of upperclassmen betting on freshman girls? It made me feel like a pawn. I didn’t like it. The idea that someone was moving me around a board.

  To what end? Striking back because I wanted to squash the list was one thing. Potentially killing Wick felt way more sinister.

  Going so far as to alter a video to frame me? Me?

  It was probably obnoxious to think it, but who hated me that much? The only potential candidate was Wick and he obviously wasn’t behind it.

  “What if I talked to Wick?” I suggested.

  “He thinks you hit him with your car,” Gi said. “Not a good idea. Look, we all know he’s not going to say anything to anyone who isn’t me. Let me go with Beth. We’ll be in a freaking hospital. It’s not like anything bad could happen. Beth and I won’t feel like a threat to him.”

  “Let us do this, Fitz,” Beth said. “It can’t hurt anything, and it could only help. Before they arrest you.”

  I looked at my dad and he frowned. Then he looked at me and nodded. “I became the world’s greatest athlete so my son would never have to go to jail. This shit ends now. Beth and Gi, I’m driving you to the hospital and then I’m driving you back here.”

  Both Beth and Gi nodded.

  “I’m going, too,” I insisted.

  “You can’t,” Mom said. “You can’t be anywhere near Wick. No exceptions.”

  “I’ll wait in the car.”

  “No,” she said firmly. “Even being in the hospital parking lot is too close. I’m not sending you to school on Monday, either. You stay here. Safe. Until we figure this out.”

  “Well, this might be the most humiliating moment of my life. My little sister and my girlfriend are going to try to save me, while I just sit here on my hands.”

  My mom smiled. “I raised you to be a strong man who knows when to let women be strong, too. They can do this. Gi,” she said, turning to my sister, “don’t let me down.”

  “Come on, Beth,” Gi said, taking Beth by the hand. “Let’s go save my big brother.”

  Beth smiled at me evilly. “Guess who’s in control now?”

  “Seven, eight, nine,” I growled, knowing only she would know what it meant. Her mouth opened into a perfect O.

  “The fuck?”

  “Inside joke, Dad. Just…be careful with them, please.”

  “World’s greatest athlete,” he said. “I think I can handle a trip to the hospital and back without incident.”

  Beth

  It wasn’t a private room where Wick was staying so I didn’t bother to knock on the door. Gi was right behind me. We were told he was in the second bed in the room and had recently been given pain medication so he might not be totally clear headed. I thought this could be a good thing.

  We kept our eyes down as we walked past his roommate, an older man apparently recovering from a surgery and turned to the corner to find Wick in bed, half reclining looking up at the TV.

  “Beth,” he said, spotting me first. “Gi!”

  He tried to sit up a little higher but winced and I held up my hands to tell him he didn’t have to move. “We thought we would come say hi. Gigi, in particular, wanted to know how you were.”

  “Your brother hit me with his car,” he said to her, although with more sarcasm than accusation. “How do you think I am?”

  Gi walked over to the side of the bed and sat on it, slowly and carefully so as not to jostle him.

  “Wick, I know you’re probably not going to believe me, but he didn’t do it. Someone took his car while he was at The Woods party.”

  “Sure. Okay.”

  That seemed like an odd response. I wasn’t sure if it was outright dismissal, or he actually believed Gi.

  “Did you see anything?” I asked. “Maybe you were looking in the rearview mirror as the car got closer?”

  Wick shook his head. “I didn’t see anything. All I felt was a bang and then my car leaving the road. Next thing I saw were sirens headed toward me.”

  “Wick, you know Fitz,” Gi said, taking his hand. “You know he is totally the type of guy who would hit you in the face for giving me pills. Even though it was my idea to take them. But I think you also know he’s not the type of guy to decide to hit someone with his car.”

  Wick averted his eyes. Like he couldn’t look at her.

  “Gi, I swear to God, I didn’t give you that pill for any reason other than to have some fun with you. I wasn’t…trying to take advantage or anything like that.”

  She smiled. “I know. You’re a big talker, Wick. But having gotten to know you, I realize that’s all it is. Talk. You were real with me and that guy wouldn’t try to rufie me to get in my pants.”

  “I mean, I did want to get in your pants,” he confessed. “But I was kind of hoping you wanted that, too.”

  I
really shouldn’t be hearing this, I thought.

  Gigi smiled at him and lifted a shoulder. “Maybe when you’re out of here we can try again.”

  “No,” he said quickly. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Surely, Gi has nothing to fear from her own brother.”

  He didn’t look at me or Gi. So I moved closer to the bed.

  “Wick, what are you afraid of? Or should I say, who are you afraid of? Was it really you? Were you behind the Freshman Bait List?”

  “No,” he admitted. “I took some of the bets, but it wasn’t my idea. Look my pain meds are kicking in and I’m really tired. I think you guys should go.”

  “You know who it is, though, don’t you. You know who is behind the list and maybe you were thinking of telling someone?” I suggested. “Hitting your car wasn’t just about setting Fitz up, was it? Someone was trying to send you a message, too.”

  He looked at me and I could see the truth of it in his face.

  “Who? Who is behind the list? Who hit you and framed Fitz for it?” I pressed.

  “Wick,” Gi said softly. “We can help you. My mom—”

  Wick snorted. “I’m pretty sure your mom was the one who started all of it.”

  “What does that mean?” Gi said, instantly defensive of her mom.

  “Nothing. It didn’t mean anything. Look, I’m not talking. But you can tell Fitz, if he needs to me to, I can say it was an accident or whatever. Tell the police not to press charges. Now you should really go.”

  Gi carefully got off the bed then leaned over to gently kiss his cheek. “Get well, Wick. I mean it.”

  “Thanks.”

  I wanted to say something. Anything that would make him give me the name of the person behind the List, but his eyes were already closing and nothing inspiring came to mind. Which meant the only thing we learned was Wick wasn’t responsible for the List and he already knew Fitz hadn’t been the one driving the car who hit him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Gi asked when we left the room. “Did you see how resigned he was? Like he wasn’t even angry about getting run off the road.”

  “We didn’t make much progress, did we?”

  “Well, he did say he would tell the police it was an accident. They can’t arrest Fitz for an accident.”

  “I’m pretty sure they can charge him with leaving the scene, though. No, we still need to find a way to prove Fitz wasn’t driving the car.”

  “What about fingerprints?” Gi said. “Or DNA.”

  I didn’t want to think about what kind of DNA I’d left in his car. Not a conversation I was having with Gi.

  “Not that it would eliminate a lot of people,” Gi continued. “Between Fitz, Chas, Ed and Heath they’re always swapping cars. Well, Ed, Chas and Fitz used to swap cars until Chas sold his. Of course, Heath just drove one of theirs when he needed one.”

  I wasn’t really concentrating on what Gi was saying as we made our way out of the hospital and back to the parking lot to meet with Mr. Darcy. Instead, I was thinking about fear and power.

  I’d told Locke that Haddonfield High was a kingdom and Fitz was king. I was almost hundred percent sure everyone in that high school would agree with me. But there had to be someone who was more frightening to Wick than Fitz. Someone who wielded even more power to keep himself totally anonymous even while Fitz was doing everything he could to uncover the person.

  There was probably only one person more popular than Fitz in school and that was Star. She certainly wasn’t behind the list or running Wick off the road.

  But maybe…the person closest to Star in popularity?

  The former QB One.

  Chas Bingley.

  Mr. Darcy took us back to his house. He couldn’t drop me off at home because, of course, I’d left the SUV—my family’s only form of transportation—at the Darcys’. That’s when it dawned on me how lucky I’d been the car was even there for me to take.

  If Mom wasn’t driving it, then Star was.

  And why was that? Why was Star driving the car more often when she had a boyfriend who drove a Mercedes?

  Or, according to Gi, used to have Mercedes until he sold it.

  Why did Chas need to sell his car?

  I drove home with all of these thoughts flying through my head. I pulled into the driveway and my mother was waiting at the door for me not pleased.

  “You know you’re not allowed to be driving on your own,” she said. Her hand was outstretched, waiting for me to hand over the keys. I did so, willingly.

  “It was an emergency.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “I’m sure. Off to see your criminal boyfriend. I knew that Darcy family was bad news.”

  “Mom! Fitz isn’t a criminal and his family is not bad news. Before we get into a fight about whether or not I’m starting to suspect you of racism, is Star home?”

  My mother pursed her lips but didn’t say anything about my comment. “She’s in her room.”

  I ran inside the house and bolted up the stairs. I knocked on her closed door and heard her reply.

  She was on her bed, reading something for English lit class it looked like and glanced up at me.

  “Why did Chas sell his car?”

  She blinked a few times. “Uh, what?”

  “Chas. He sold the Mercedes right?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “He said it drove like a tank and wanted something cooler.”

  “But he hasn’t replaced it with anything. I mean, you’ve been taking the SUV a lot. So he still doesn’t have a car.”

  “He’s not sure what he wants,” Star said, putting her book aside and looking at me like I was crazy. “Why do you even care?”

  “Star, do you think Chas might have money problems?”

  “What? Don’t be ridiculous. Chas’s family is loaded. Trust me. His mom and dad are still together. It’s not like our situation. At all.”

  No. Our situation was that we, as a family, didn’t have money. What if things were different for Chas. What if his problem was his money?

  I needed to talk to him. Alone. Chas Bingley was the last person I would suspect of something as foul as the Freshman Bait List, but my friends and I had all agreed someone was profiting from the betting. A Mercedes, like the one he drove, was a major chunk of change. If somehow, Chas got indebted to people, the wrong people, and needed cash quickly without having to ask his parents for it, that would be the move to make.

  I knew, because it’s what we’d done with the Range Rover.

  However, to continue hiding it from his parents, he might have needed to find some other means of making quick money. He would have had access to Fitz’s car Friday night, and he obviously knew about Fitz and Wick’s feud.

  It fit. If I was right about why he sold his car and hadn’t replaced it.

  “What are you thinking?” Star asked me, pulling me from the theories.

  Of course I couldn’t tell her I thought it might actually be her boyfriend who ran Wick off the road and not mine.

  “Nothing. I have to get ready for work. I have a late afternoon shift at The Club. Will you drop me off?”

  “Sure.”

  I left her room. I really did need to get ready for work. Then I needed to figure out a way to be alone with Chas to ask him my questions. Or did I tell Fitz what I suspected? That his friend and teammate was quite possibly betraying him for money.

  How to arrange that kind of meeting? With me, Fitz and Chas…

  Oh. That was it. We just all needed to go on a double date.

  22

  Fitz

  “You can’t hold me prisoner, Mom. I’m not in jail. Yet.”

  I was getting ready to leave the house to pick up Beth and Star. Chas and I decided we needed a break from the drama, so we were going to go have dinner and see a movie. When my mother confronted me in the foyer.

  “What if they decide to issue your arrest warrant today? Do you really want to be seen in public being hauled
away in handcuffs?” she argued.

  “Is that about what I want or what you want?” I asked her directly. “If you’re asking me what I’m okay with, I want to go out and behave normally for a night with my girlfriend. If you’re telling me any video images of my arrest will make your political life difficult, then I’ll call Beth and break the date. I’m not obtuse, Mom. I get it.”

  She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest wrinkling her pressed silk blouse. As always, she was perfectly turned out for a casual Sunday at home. Meanwhile, my dad was downstairs in the game room wearing a pair of sweats and a wife-beater, prepared to watch football all day.

  There were times I did not understand how they came to be a couple. Not even remotely. But then I supposed there would be a fair number of people who would say the same thing about me and Beth. And here I was, crazy about her.

  “You know I never want my job to get in the way of your life,” she said.

  I did know that. I also knew it couldn’t be helped. She was the senior senator from the state, extremely high profile and, many believed, a future candidate for president. Reputations mattered. Her son being arrested mattered.

  “I’ll break that date if that’s what you need. But let’s face it, the damage to be done by my arrest will happen no matter where it goes down.”

  She nodded reluctantly. Then her lips tilted up at the corners. “You know, I always liked Beth.”

  I smiled. This was her chance to tell me I told you so. Back when I’d been going on and on and on about how much I hated Beth, my mother apparently thought I was going on too much about her and maybe I actually liked her. I’d called her crazy.

  “I know.”

  “She’s smart enough to keep you on your toes.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  “And give you a run for your money,” my mother added.

  “More clichés. Awesome. It’s a good thing someone else writes your speeches.”

  She punched me on the arm. “Wiseass. Okay, go have fun. And text me immediately if anything happens.”