Dare You to Lie

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  “One dance. One song. Then you leave me alone for the rest of the year.”

  “Deal,” he said, taking my hand in his and leading me onto the dance floor.

  “And the summer, too.”

  “Of course.”

  As AJ and I walked to the middle of the floor, I realized that almost everyone there was rubbernecking, trying to see what in the hell was about to happen between us. It made me want to run, so, just to spite them, I didn’t. I stayed and held up my end of the bargain.

  For a moment, we just stood there and stared at one another. At first, it couldn’t have been more awkward. But then he took my hands and looped them around his neck, letting his fingers glide along them as he dropped his to the small of my back. Blood rushed to my face at the contact, my body betraying my mind yet again, and I stepped closer to him so he couldn’t see the flush of my cheeks. With my face so close, I could smell the cologne he’d always worn. The one I used to smell on my clothes after our dates. Without thinking, I closed my eyes and breathed it in.

  It smelled how love should feel. Warm and sweet, with an edge of something you just can’t quite place. Something that keeps you coming back for more.

  “Kylene…” he whispered in my ear. His hands tightened against my back, pulling me against him, and, for a second, I wanted to stay—wanted to sink into him and let the sway of his body lull me into a state of peace I hadn’t known for years. But my mind finally beat down my heart and took control. I withdrew from him enough to put some space between us. Enough that I could think clearly. Enough that I could remember the present and not the past.

  “Let’s just get this over with,” I said softly, unable to meet his gaze.

  “How you flatter me,” he replied with a laugh.

  “This is strictly business for me,” I said, not sounding nearly as convincing as I’d have liked. “A means to an end.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he asked, his tone confident and alluring.

  I knew what he was doing—baiting me into a playful argument—but I had no intention of falling for it. I needed to suck it up for one song, and then he would be gone. I needed to keep my eyes on the prize.

  “Do you remember homecoming freshman year?” I said nothing in reply. “You and Garrett thought it would be an amazing idea to go to Matthew’s Ice Cream Shop afterward to try to eat the Super Sundae Special. I’m pretty sure I warned you both, but you were convinced that with your combined eating power, you could take it down.” He kept talking like I wanted to take his trip down memory lane. “Fast-forward thirty minutes, and the two of you were bent over puking in Mrs. Pomodoro’s front lawn. I’d never seen more vomit in my life.”

  “You really know how to charm a girl, AJ.…”

  “Do you ever think about those times?”

  “Against my will? Yes. But then I just see flashes of my girls plastered on the internet, and my mind gets with the program and blocks out that year of my life.”

  He paused for a second, and I looked up at him, wondering what his deal was. His expression was pained, like what had happened to me still haunted him as it did me.

  “Ky, I feel like I did everything wrong back then. I was young and freaked out, and I fumbled every ball I could have in the aftermath. I was scared that I was going to go to jail, and that fear clouded my judgment. Garrett was right: my actions didn’t support my words.”

  “AJ—”

  “What Garrett didn’t know was why. That my dad left my mom with nothing when he bailed on her. How there wasn’t going to be any money for college. I’m smart, but not like you are. I would never have gotten a full ride on academics alone. Football was my chance to get a free education. But if you think I haven’t hated every moment I’ve spent with those assholes—that I cringe when I listen to them in the locker room—you’re wrong. I keep my head down and I do what I need to. That’s all. Those guys aren’t my friends. Christ, how could they be? One of them did that to you, and if I ever find out who it was—”

  “AJ!” I said, cutting him off. “Enough. Just leave it alone.”

  “I can’t,” he said, leaning down so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. “I still love you, Ky.…”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head as I pushed away from him.

  “I need you to know that.”

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” I said, finally freeing myself. “I have to go.”

  Before he could argue, I stormed away from him, shoving my way through the forest of coupled bodies. I needed to get some air, or at least get away from the emotional mess that AJ was about to make of me.

  I’d almost made it to the periphery of dancing students—was almost free—when I saw someone who stopped me dead in my tracks. Standing before me, clean-shaven in a sleek black suit that was anything but old man–ish, was Dawson. The smug, satisfied look on his face snapped me from my utter disbelief. I quickly replaced it with hostility.

  “Dawson,” I said with a sigh. “What are you doing here? I’m so not washing your car right now.…”

  “I didn’t break Dr. Carle as fast as I’d wanted to.”

  “So you got all dressed up and came over here to tell me that?”

  “I lost the bet, Danners. And I’m a man of my word. I take that very, very seriously.”

  “This is adorable, really, but I don’t think you can afford to have Donovan see you here,” I said sternly.

  He shot me a look of utter incredulity.

  “He’s not here. I checked.”

  “Tell me this is all a joke. Please,” I said. His silence was not encouraging. “I can’t take much more tonight. I feel like it’s raining nightmares in here.…”

  “Am I really that awful?” he asked, his expression giving nothing away.

  I hesitated. “I literally don’t know how to answer that question.”

  “Then how about you shut up and dance with me so I can feel as though I’ve fulfilled my end of the deal, okay?”

  I looked back over my shoulder to see AJ staring at me, a mix of emotions I couldn’t read flaring in his eyes. Then I turned back to find Dawson glaring over me in AJ’s direction.

  “What were you in such a hurry to get away from when you nearly ran me over?” he asked, still looking past me to where AJ stood.

  “Take your pick. This music. These people. These horrendous decorations—”

  “Okay. Have it your way.” His enigmatic reply gave nothing away, but the intensity of his gaze when it returned to me meant something. I just wasn’t sure what, exactly. “But we’re dancing.”

  I sighed as yet another torturous slow song began.

  Before I could begin to argue, he took my hand in his, then looped his free arm around my back. I placed mine on his shoulder and took a cleansing breath.

  “You clean up pretty nicely there, Danners.”

  “Shhh,” I scolded. “No talking. Just dancing—”

  “Dresses suit you.”

  “Silence suits you.”

  “So tell me something, what did you do to that poor kid, anyway?” he said, ignoring my jab entirely. “He did not look happy to see me.”

  “Yes, yes, Dawson. You’re sooooo big and scary. I’m sure everyone here is absolutely petrified of the big bad federal agent who’s come to make me miserable.”

  “Oh no, Danners. Tonight, I’m just Alex, your questionably ex-boyfriend.”

  “I fail to see the questionable part, but…”

  He only laughed in response. The all-knowing tone of it didn’t sit well with me. I pulled away from him enough to see his amused expression highlighted by the twinkling lights that hung from the ceiling.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing, Danners. Maybe you should take your own advice and be quiet so you can hear the music.”

  While I fumed, the DJ switched gears and put on something a little too peppy to dance the way we were. The second the tempo increased, I pulled out of Dawson’s arms.

  “Thanks for th
e dance, hotshot. Next time, remind me to refrain from making bets with you.”

  I started for the door to the hallway. Dawson didn’t follow. The urge to look back at him grew, if for no other reason than to see if he was as excited to get out of there as I was.

  In my attempt to escape him, I slammed into Amy, who was walking into the gym just as I was leaving.

  “Sorry!” I said, spinning around to see if she was okay. Her wide eyes and pale face stared back at me for a moment. Then she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down the hall to the far set of double doors, where we were alone. “Amy, what’s going on?”

  She looked around before pulling me into the water-fountain nook.

  “I don’t know who else to turn to about this,” she said, her hands fidgeting with every sequin on her black dress.

  “Is it Donovan again?” I asked, keeping my voice as gentle as I could and still be heard over the bass resonating through the hall. She shook her head.

  “Those pictures that were taken of you,” she started, looking embarrassed. “Someone did the same to me. I don’t even know when or how, but I’ve seen them, and I’m scared he’s going to post them.”

  “Who, Amy? Who took them?”

  “Mark Sinclair…”

  I felt my heart drop to my stomach, then slam back into my chest.

  “When did you see them?”

  “Donovan and I were over at his house yesterday. They went outside to do something, and I stayed in. I just wanted to put some music on, so I opened up his laptop … and they were right there, like he’d just been looking at them before we came over.” My stomach roiled at the thought. What a sick bastard. “I didn’t know what to do, so I ran outside and told Donovan I wasn’t feeling good. He took me home, but it didn’t take him long to figure out I was lying. I was terrified to tell him, thinking he’d blame me.”

  “But you told him anyway?”

  She nodded.

  “He threatened to go over there; he was so angry I thought he’d kill him, Kylene. I really did. He eventually left and came back thirty minutes later. He wouldn’t tell me what happened, and I knew better than to push too hard.”

  “Is Mark here now?”

  “Yeah. He’s got a cut on his lip and a bruise on his forehead, but he’s here.” She cringed, folding her arms over her stomach. “Who does something like that?” she asked, hoping I’d have an answer. But I clearly didn’t. “How can he act like nothing is wrong?”

  “I don’t know, Amy. But I’m damn well going to find out.” I started to walk away, but she stopped me, jumping right in my path.

  “Please don’t do anything here. I don’t want a scene.…”

  “I need you to go back in there and act like everything’s normal, okay? Can you do that?” She nodded frantically. “Good. I’m going to go get proof of Mark’s sick little pastime.”

  I hurried down the hall and back into the gym. Garrett was talking to Dawson while Tabby’s head popped up every now and then from the center of the dance floor. I finally caught Garrett’s attention and he came over. With utmost efficiency, I filled him in on everything Amy had just told me. His head whipped around to search the crowd for Mark, but we didn’t have time for that. He and I were about to go get the evidence we needed.

  Tabby spotted us as we slipped out of the gym and was soon at our sides, asking what was up.

  “Tabby,” I said, using my most serious voice. “Garrett and I are going to go get proof that Mark Sinclair took those pictures of me. We need you to stay here and make sure that neither Mark nor his parents leave, okay? You know who Mr. Sinclair is, right?”

  “Yeah … he teaches my AP chemistry class.”

  “Perfect. His wife is here chaperoning. She’s wearing a short purple dress and I just saw her circling the perimeter of the room. I need you to call me if any of them leaves, okay? Can you do that for us?”

  “I feel like I should come, too,” she argued.

  “Listen, North of the Border, Garrett and I don’t want to get caught in the middle of a B and E; we need you to make sure that doesn’t happen.” She looked at me, clearly torn. “Besides … I think committing that crime is a gray area for possible deportation, and I can’t afford to have you shipped back to Canada. I need you here.”

  I shot Garrett a look, and he nodded in agreement.

  “We both do.”

  After a moment’s contemplation, Tabby finally nodded, accepting her role in the plan.

  “What about Alex—your ex? You’re just bailing on him?” Garrett asked. Tabby shot me a confused look, and I shook my head. We had no time for that discussion.

  “He’ll be fine. He wasn’t supposed to come anyway. He’ll figure it out.” I turned and took Tabby’s hands. “Remember. If any of those three leaves, you’re on the phone with me the next second, got it? His parents live at the end of a private road. We need time to get out of there.”

  “I’ve got it,” she replied with a nod. Then she gave us each a crushing hug and told us to be careful before she disappeared back into the gym.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Garrett asked as the two of us made our way to the main exit.

  “I’m going to grab my gym stuff out of my car, and then we can take your truck out to Mark’s.” His serious expression broke for a second, allowing a smile to spread across his face.

  “You’ve always wanted to get naked in the back of a truck, haven’t you, Danners?”

  “Yes. And I’ve manufactured this entire plan just to make that happen, so if you’d be so kind…” I pointed to his truck in the parking lot, and he shook his head.

  “Don’t make me regret doing this,” he said as he stepped out into the rain and ran toward his truck. I ran to Heidi and grabbed my gym bag from the car. By the time Garrett pulled up in front of me and I climbed in, I was practically drenched.

  I wiggled my shorts up over my wet legs while Garrett drove, then slipped my sneakers on. Was I certain about what we were doing? No. But we were going to do it nonetheless.

  We were about to embark on a potentially felonious adventure. One that would prove once and for all who had violated me—and others, apparently. With my resolve intact, I stared out at the storm as Garrett raced through town. In next to no time at all, I would have the evidence needed to help bring down Mark Sinclair.

  The One.

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  The drive should have only taken about twenty minutes in good weather. However, the downpour had made the winding dirt roads more treacherous to drive on. Before long, they would start to wash out if the storm kept up. Because Jasperville was in a valley, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, flash flooding happened. I just hoped it wouldn’t that night.

  It was pitch-black when we reached the outskirts of town. With the storm looming, I saw few cars on the road. No headlights cut through the darkness but Garrett’s. The low-lying clouds and the heavy veil of rain created an eerie haze in front of us—a thick, glowing aura of creepy that reminded me of a bad horror movie. Garrett dimmed his lights to decrease the effect and turned left onto Mayfield Road, headed toward the Sinclairs’.

  We finally came upon the one-lane bridge that crossed Midler Creek. The one knocked out by water during the last big flood a few years back. Though the storm was nothing like that one, I got a nervous feeling in my stomach as Garrett drove over it. Getting trapped on the other side with no means of escape was so not what I needed. I cast a dubious glance at the dark sky above me and exhaled.

  I hoped luck would be on our side.

  He rolled across the bridge at a moderate pace. It was difficult to see the railings with the thick fall of rain around us. Halfway across it, I could hear the roar of the water underneath.

  I sighed as the truck’s wheels gripped the dirt road on the far side of the bridge.

  With the storm threatening to ruin our plans, Garrett drove as quickly as he could on the bumpy dirt road. It quickly began to turn to mud, and I wondered how lon
g it would be before the whole thing started to run like a river. At least I knew Garrett’s truck could get through it. That we wouldn’t be stuck there—providing the creek didn’t flood.

  Unfortunately for me, the creek was the least of my worries that night.

  A couple of minutes after we crossed the bridge, we turned up the Sinclairs’ private road. We drove for a while until Garrett turned the truck into an overgrown path of sorts. He said it led to some old fishing spot deep in the property, and that we’d be wise to hide the truck there, just in case someone came home.

  “It’s not far to the house from here. We’re already wet. A little rain isn’t going to hurt us at this point,” he argued, slipping out of his suit coat. He jumped out of the truck, and I did the same, rounding the back of it to meet him. Together, we walked up the packed dirt road toward the top of the hill where Mark’s house stood. I filled Garrett in on my plan as we made the trip.

  “So Tabby is going to call if any of them leave, right?” Garrett asked, fishing his phone out of his pants. He stared at it for a moment with a look of concern.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t have any service here. Do you?”

  I made a move to grab my phone, then realized it was still in Garrett’s truck. That I’d forgotten to grab it.

  “Shit! It’s in the truck.”

  “Not helpful, Ky.”

  “I know that, Garrett. It’s not like I have a lot of places to put it,” I said, lifting my pocketless skirt for effect. “I’m going to run back and get it. You go ahead and see if you can find an open window or something. Hell, maybe the front door is unlocked.” He looked like he was going to argue with me, but I shut him down. “We don’t have time to waste. You go. I’ll catch up in a minute.”

  “All right. Just hurry, okay?”

  “I’ll be right behind you.”

  I turned and took off at a jog. It was dark, but I could make out the road and stuck to the middle of it to avoid washed-out spots along the edge. As soon as I had my phone, I’d be good to go. The flashlight on it was really powerful.

  It took longer than I’d expected to get back to the truck. The road deteriorated the farther from the house I got, forcing me to walk. By the time I got there, I figured Garrett would have panicked and doubled back. I opened the door, grabbed my phone and his coat so I had somewhere to put it, then shut the door.