Brad looked at him like he couldn’t believe that he’d said this.
“Yeah, you should look scared, motherfucker! So you better watch what you do and say, and that goes for your slut girlfriend and her slut friends as well,” John said, and then opened the door to the room. “You can go.”
Brad looked at him as he walked past him; he didn’t say a word.
“Talk to you later, man!” John said with a grin as he locked the door . . . and then wiped the doorknob clean.
Brad walked down the hall back to class and didn’t look back. He adjusted his gun that he had hidden in the pocket of his jeans. He’s lucky I didn’t use this on him in there. I wish Marie would’ve killed him, he thought.
CHAPTER 9
After school in the parking lot, I stood by Brad’s SUV as I talked to him, Ava, and Marie. He told me all about John saying that he wanted to fuck me like the way he did when we were seeing each other in secret, and I told him that I would go down fighting with his ass because that was something he was not doing. “I’m changing my number,” I said, as I looked through my phone to see if I’d received any text messages from John that I might have missed . . . or any from that new secret person — I didn’t see any.
“How the hell is he gonna wanna do that?! Brad, you can’t let him have that kind of power over you! We can’t let him have that kind of power over any of us!” Ava said.
“You’re right, Ava. It seems like he’s forgetting that he’s done the worst thing that a human being can do — he murdered someone. And he’s acting like what we’ve all done is way worse than what he’s done,” Brad replied.
“He murdered my best friend and her unborn child, and he’s acting as if he’s done nothing wrong. I would’ve never shot his ass if he didn’t kill her. He deserves to be in prison way more than I do!” Marie said.
“I know he does, Marie. How the fuck is he gonna say that we all set him up? What a fuckin’ joke! He’s the one who put everything in motion, and he’s the reason why everything went down — it all started with him!” I said.
“Well, it all started with Natalie standing up for herself when she told him that she was pregnant and telling him that she was gonna get what she was owed from him, if we really wanna talk about the cause and effect,” Marie said.
“But John had no right to do what he did to her,” I said.
Brad and Ava nodded in agreement.
“I know,” Marie replied with her head down.
John suddenly came up to us in his car. “BYE, EVERYONE! SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW! REMEMBER WHAT I SAID!” he yelled out the window to all of us. He then smirked at me and sped off.
“Fuckin’ asshole! He thinks he has all of this power over all of us. This is his first day back since we thought he was dead and we can’t let him intimidate us like this. He’s not gonna get away with what he did. He’s trying to scare us out of going to the cops, but I’m not scared of that motherfucker — I never have been — and I’m not gonna start being scared now. You know he threatened me in that room saying that there would be no one left alive that knows that he killed Natalie if we don’t comply with his deals?” Brad said.
Ava, Marie, and I gasped!
“Brad, what if he really means that?” I asked.
Brad shook his head. “I know he’s not gonna do anything, Vanessa. John is gonna give it some time to see if we all do comply to what he wants. So, what did he ask of you, Marie?”
“He wants me to suck his dick on demand, as he said — in other words, anywhere, anytime,” Marie replied with her head down.
“Marie, you don’t have to do what he says — you know that,” Brad said.
Marie let out a big sigh. “I already have. I did it early this afternoon in the boys bathroom on the bottom floor where hardly anyone goes. He wore a condom because he said he didn’t want his DNA all in my mouth.”
We all gasped!
“Marie! You didn’t?!” I said.
“I don’t want him to hurt me, Vanessa — I’m sorry! I didn’t wanna do it, but I had no fuckin’ choice! He showed me where they stitched him back up after they removed the bullets from his chest and everything — it was disgusting! I could barely look at it, but he forced me to! He told me it was all my fault as to why I had to suck his dick now,” Marie said as she started to cry.
Ava and I embraced her.
“He can’t get away with this shit! He just can’t!” I said, and then looked at Brad. “Brad, we have to do something about this! It’s like he’s fuckin’ trying to torture us! Trying to blackmail you and the rest of us into believing that what we supposedly did to him is worse than what he did to Natalie, and it’s not! We need to tell the cops what he did, ASAP!”
Brad stood with his back up against the door of his car. “How are we gonna do that, Vanessa? We no longer have his DNA and he vows that we’re never gonna get it from him again.”
“Then get the school involved!” I said.
“I have talked to Winston about it personally when I found out that John was the killer, but of course, I didn’t tell him that he was. He just said that there was nothing that he could do since everyone has been tested and therefore eliminated. I think he’s in denial, and I’m thinking that he does believe that it could be someone at school that was overlooked. I was about to tell him that John is the sole person that hasn’t submitted his DNA, but I wanted to get John’s DNA myself before I did tell him. I feel like since I know him and Natalie, that this a personal quest for justice, you know?”
Ava, Marie, and I nodded in agreement.
I shook my head. “This is just a fuckin’ nightmare . . . I swear. I refuse to live my life being in fear of his fuckin’ ass! Something is gonna have to be done.”
“I agree, but what?” Brad asked.
I let out a big sigh. “If I knew that, I would tell you.”
Marc came walking up to all of us. He looked at Marie as she cried as Ava walked her over to her car. “What’s wrong with Marie?”
“What do you think, man? She’s still upset over Natalie’s murder,” Brad replied.
“Oh, duh. Well, I don’t blame her for that. Even though she was my ex, I’m always gonna feel some hurt over it. It’s too bad that we still don’t know who really did it.”
Brad and I looked at each other. We knew that it was probably best to tell Marc who did kill her.
“Marc, look, man. There’s something that I — well, Vanessa and I — need to tell you, but not here. Meet me at my house, okay?”
Marc gave him a serious look. “What’s up, man? How come you just can’t tell me here?”
Brad looked around as if he was looking for John; he was nowhere in sight. “I don’t feel comfortable telling you here. Meet me at my house, okay?”
“Okay, man,” Marc replied. “See you two in a few minutes.”
I nodded with a smile.
Brad nodded as well, and then looked at me. “Call Ava and Marie and tell them to meet me there, too.”
“Okay,” I replied.
Several minutes later, we were all sitting in the recreation room in Brad’s house.
Brad paced back and forth. Ava and I sat on one of the couches on each side of Marie as we both held her hands. Marc sat on another couch.
“So, what’s going on, man?” Marc asked.
“Marc, you’re my best friend. And that day that everyone thought that it was you who killed Natalie is something that we won’t forget. But since we know it wasn’t you, you have nothing to worry about because we know who the real killer is.”
Marc looked shocked! “Are you fuckin’ serious, man?! WHO?!”
“John,” Brad replied without hesitation as his head hung low.
Marc jumped up! “NO FUCKIN’ WAY, man! How do you know?! Where’s your proof? Oh, my God! Hell naw! Hell motherfuckin’ naw! John fuckin’ killed Natalie?! C’mon now, you all! Stop fucking around!”
“Marc, Brad is damn serious. John killed Natalie. This is no joke; we would ne
ver joke about something like this,” I told him.
“Marc, he is the only one that has not been eliminated through DNA. On DNA Day, he was out sick, and when he got back to school he never submitted his samples — and to this day, he still hasn’t,” Brad said.
Marc paced back and forth with his right hand on his forehead. “Why the fuck would he kill her?! Why?!”
Brad, Ava, and I looked at Marie. We wanted her to inform him about what was really going on with his ex-girlfriend.
“Natalie and John were seeing each other in secret, Marc,” Marie informed him.
“WHAT?!” Marc shouted in shock.
“They were, Marc. She wanted you back bad, but all the while she was seeing John. She told me that John never wanted an open relationship with her because of you, but she said that she wanted one with him to try to show you that she was over you, although I don’t think she ever was,” Marie explained.
Marc shook his head. “Damn, John never did tell me. I mean, I wouldn’t have been mad because I was completely over her, but I would’ve found it awkward if he did start seeing her openly — I can’t lie. Wait! What happened with that dude from Westmore?”
Marie sighed. “Like I told Brad, Vanessa, and Ava, that relationship with him was over before it ever started — she just said that to make you jealous — she was with John the whole time, but of course, in secret.”
“So why did he kill her? There was obviously a reason,” Marc said.
Marie started to choke up again. “Because she was pregnant and John was the father. She told me that she was gonna be firm with him about what she wanted from him and she wasn’t gonna let him change her mind.”
Marc sighed as he still stood in shock. “This is so fuckin’ unbelievable. That motherfucker! So, we know he killed her and why, now the next thing we have to do is get his DNA so we can put him away.”
“Brad was able to get a soda can out of his trash can in his bedroom . . . but something happened to it,” I said.
Marc looked at Brad. “What the fuck happened to it, man?”
“It’s a long story,” Brad said.
“Well, I got all night, man!” Marc said.
Brad sighed deeply. “Vanessa and I went out to the woods that day to just chill and had the can with us, and we were gonna take it to the cops when we left the woods. He surprised us out in the woods; he obviously followed us out there to get the can from us . . . then, Marie showed up.”
Marc looked at Marie.
“I followed John into the woods. Ever since Brad, Vanessa, and Ava had told me that he was the real killer, I’d been following John around constantly to see whether or not he would fuck up and leave his DNA somewhere where I could collect it myself. That day he went into the woods to confront Brad and Vanessa, I followed him in there . . . and brought a gun with me,” Marie said.
“Holy shit!” Marc said in total shock.
“He was talking so bad about Natalie — calling her all kinds of sluts and whores — totally damning her in death. I couldn’t take it anymore . . . so I shot him two times in the chest,” Marie confessed to him as she started to cry.
Ava and I consoled her.
“John had his gun with him as well because he threatened me and Vanessa with it,” Brad said. “And for extra protection — unbeknownst to me and Vanessa — he stole my gun out of my car before he confronted us.”
Marc continued to stand in shock. “Is this a fuckin’ joke?! C’mon, you guys, stop this bullshit!”
“It’s not bullshit, Marc. This all really happened weeks ago. We thought John was dead so we left the soda can there right next to him, hoping that when someone found his body they would see the can next to him and would test it to the DNA found on Natalie, and then they would know that he was her real killer. He obviously wasn’t dead since he showed up at school today. If you were wondering why all of us were acting strange, well, that’s the reason why,” Brad said.
Marc shook his head as he sat back down. “This feels like a fuckin’ nightmare. And you know when he told us that he had pneumonia? I believed that fucker! I was calling him constantly wondering why he wasn’t answering his phone. I even called his parents, too, and then went over to his house but never got an answer. Yeah, that son of a bitch was really keeping him getting shot by you a secret, Marie.”
“And he was. He’s been constantly threatening me about turning me in for what I did to him, as if what I did to him is worse than what he did to Natalie,” Marie sobbed.
“Well, he killed Natalie, so him almost being killed by you doesn’t count in my book. Damn, and just to think that motherfucker set me up to make it look like I killed her, and I know he did that just because I was her ex. Damn, now I wish you would’ve killed him, Marie!” Marc said.
Brad, Ava, and I nodded in agreement.
Marc shook his head. “Damn! This motherfucker is a ruthless son of a bitch! We need to take his ass down ASAP! Does he still have your gun, man?”
“No, he doesn’t. I was able to get it back after Marie shot him and he was pretending to be dead,” Brad said.
Marc shook his head. “Damn, this feels like a fuckin’ nightmare, I swear!”
“Marc, we need for you to be our informant on him. He can’t know that you know that he killed Natalie, so talk to him as if you don’t know anything. We need for you, like us, to try to get his DNA from him as secretly as you can. Since he’s alive, he’s now gonna do everything he can to make sure we don’t get it from him — he even vowed to us that we’ll never get it from him again,” Brad said.
“Hey, well, you know I’m your man. You know I’ll do anything for you and Vanessa, man — and now for you, Marie, and you too, Ava, because I don’t want that asshole hurting either one of you, either. You’ve been through enough, Marie. We’re gonna make sure his ass goes to prison for killing your best friend and I must say, my ex,” Marc said.
“Thanks, Marc,” Marie said, as she wiped her eyes.
“Remember, Marc, act as if you don’t know a thing when you talk to him. I know it’s gonna be hard to, but it’s very important that you do. If he finds out that others know about this then he’s gonna start becoming crazier than he already is, therefore, making more threats,” I said.
“Well, he better be lucky that I don’t kill him myself for him trying to set me up for killing her! But I’ll do what you all say because I want his ass in prison for what he did, too,” Marc replied.
“And we’re gonna get him where he belongs, Marc, eventually; we just have to be really careful with how we do it. Trust me, we would’ve already been to the cops about him, but since we’ve all spoken to them already, it’s gonna be useless without his DNA — I don’t wanna go to them without it,” Brad said.
“And neither do I,” Marc replied.
We all looked at him and nodded. I knew that Marc would be on our side when it came to this, and wouldn’t let any of us down in the least bit. Of all people, he should’ve wanted to get John the most because he pretty much tried to frame him for killing Natalie just because he was her ex. I looked at him as he stared at me and smiled; I smiled back.
CHAPTER 10
A few more weeks had passed, and Brad and I still had not complied with John’s deals. Marie had given in on the first day that he’d made the deals, and Ava eventually gave in to him as well despite me telling her how much I didn’t want her to, but she said that she didn’t wanna get hurt by him because she was very afraid of him. And in terms of Marc, he was still acting as if he didn’t know that John had killed Natalie, but he still hadn’t been able to get his DNA nor had John really talked to him about Natalie’s murder so there was nothing new that he could tell us.
It was Winter Break and I was getting ready to go to a party at Sparkle with Brad, Ava, and Marc. As I got ready, I thought about the fact that Brad and I were stronger than we thought about taking our stand against John and his blackmail because after all, if there was anyone who should’ve been worried about s
pending the rest of their life in prison it was him, not any of us, and I think he was finally starting to realize that.
Ava was over my house getting ready with me. “This has just been crazy, Vanessa. I hate myself for giving into his deals, but like I said, I don’t want him hurting me.”
“Ava, John has no reason to hurt you, after all, he has no proof that you know that he’s Natalie’s killer — he just assumes that you know because I’m your best friend so he just knows that I told you. He’s just going after everyone that’s close to Brad and me, pretty much. I really hate him for what he did to Natalie and what he’s trying to do to all of us as if we’re the bad guys, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Ava replied as she applied her mascara. “Let’s not talk about him anymore, or not even think about him tonight. We have a month off of school and I wanna enjoy it and not have to see him for at least a month.”
“I agree. I wish I won’t seem him at all anymore.”
She laughed. “Who the fuck are you tellin’?!”
We laughed.
“I just love that outfit, Vanessa! It’s so sexy!”
“Thanks, honey!” I said as I turned around in the mirror, checking out my black corset with a black silk lace-up front and multicolored crystal dots all over it. I felt a little stiff in the pencil-slim, knee-length solid black skirt that I was wearing, but Brad wanted me to wear a skirt. “Brad wanted me to wear a skirt tonight — I wonder what he has in mind.”
“Hmmm, I wonder, too!” she said with a grin.
“Well, let’s get over to Brad’s since I’ll be riding with him. That line is gonna be so fuckin’ long so I hope we’re able to get in.”
“You and Brad are gonna be rollin’ up in his million-dollar car, Vanessa, so we’re not gonna have to stand in line because of it! Money talks, baby!”
“And Brad has a ton of it!” I said.
We laughed as we walked out of my room and then headed downstairs and out the door to Brad’s house.
Several minutes later, Brad and I held hands as we flew down the road in his million-dollar car.
School, Sex and Secrets II (School, Sex and Secrets #2) Page 6
