by Kai Juniper
"Jealousy?"
"Of course. Everyone wants to be Braden, but since they can't, they resort to trying to ruin his reputation. It's sickening, and the school won't tolerate it. Anyone who tries to spread that rumor again will be punished." She gives me a look of warning.
"Hey." I toss my hands up. "I was just saying what I heard."
"Let's get back to the question of why you're here." She drops the pen and folds her hands, resting them on the desk. "Some of the reasons you mentioned are true. You took physical action against another student last Friday at school."
"I punched her. It's okay, you can say it."
"If I were to take a guess, I'd say that was a result of the other issue you mentioned. Your mother's death."
"And if I were to take a guess," I say, leaning toward her. "I'd say it's a result of Kristen being a rude, snobby bitch who thinks she can say and do whatever she wants because her dad's the principal."
Ms. Adams picks up her pen and scribbles something down.
"Did I get it right?" I ask. "Was that the right answer?"
"There are no right or wrong answers in counseling, Ms. Halliway."
She finally stopped using that baby-talk tone but her voice is still annoyingly high.
"Tell me about your home life."
"Well, aside from living with a potential murderer, which I realize I'm not supposed to talk about because he's Twisted Pine's star football player, I'm living with my other cousin who thinks I'm not actually his cousin, but just some girl trying to get money."
Ms. Adams tilts her head and frowns. "And how does that make you feel?"
"I think it's kind of funny, to be honest. If I was going to steal money from some rich guy, why would I fly across the country to do it? I could just pick someone in New York."
"And what about your uncle? Are you getting along with him?"
"I really don't see him that much. He goes out a lot or stays in his office."
"The one at the house?"
"You've been to the house?"
She shakes her head really fast. "No, I just assumed he had one there. Many people do."
I think she's lying. Brock never denied he slept with her, which means he probably did. Maybe she's even been in his sex room. He likes his women young, at least the ones he uses for sex. Ana can't be more than twenty-five and this woman seems to be around the same age.
"How old are you?" I ask.
She half-smiles. "A woman doesn't reveal her age."
"Sure they do. My mom had no problem telling people her age. I'd say you're around 25."
"Close, but no. I'm older than that. Now let's get back to your family. What about your father? Have you been in contact with him since your mother's death?"
"No. He was in rehab, or at least that's what I was told."
"You don't believe he was?"
"I don't know. I don't want to talk about my dad." I get up. "I need to get to class."
"You can leave when I tell you to," she says. "Now please, sit down."
Sighing, I sit back in the uncomfortable chair.
"Are you angry with your father?" she asks. "For not being there for you?"
"Not really. I'm used to it. He wasn't around when I was growing up."
"But this is different. Your mother is gone. He's the only parent you have left."
"Would you want a parent who's drunk all the time, or on drugs?"
"Nobody would, but he's still your father. He hasn't tried to reach out to you?"
I stop myself before telling her about the call I assume was from my dad. Why am I telling this woman anything at all? I planned to sit here, not saying anything, and yet I keep talking. How did she get me to tell her so much? Maybe she's a better counselor than Brock thinks. Still, I need to get out of these sessions and the only way that's happening is if I refuse to talk.
"Rumor," she says. "Has your father tried to reach out to you?"
Getting out my phone, I scroll through my messages.
"Rumor, put the phone away. Phones aren't allowed during sessions."
I ignore her and keep scrolling. She comes around the desk and snatches it from me.
"Hey! Give it back!"
"I will when our session is done."
"I have nothing else to say. I've already told you everything."
"We just started talking."
"Yeah? And I have nothing else to say. All I can think about is how much I'm missing in class and how long it'll take me to catch up."
She stands up. "Fine. Go along to class. We'll move our sessions to after school. I'll see you Wednesday at four."
"Wait!" I jump up from the chair. "I can't stay after school. Trystan drives me home. He's not gonna wait around for me."
"Then what would you propose?"
"That we stop doing this. I don't need counseling. I was having a bad day Friday. Kristen pissed me off and I hit her. I don't need counseling to figure out why I did it. And I promise, it won't happen again."
Ms. Adams comes over and hands me my phone. "Wednesday at four. See you then."
"How am I supposed to get home?"
"Ask your uncle to pick you up. I'm sure Mr. Halliway would be more than happy to help you out." She walks to the door and opens it. "Have a nice day."
Fuming, I storm out of her office and run right into Principal Edwards.
"You're in quite a hurry, Ms. Halliway."
"I'm late to class," I mutter, going around him.
"Ms. Halliway," he calls after me.
I turn back. "Yes?"
"I just wanted you to know that Kristen's nose is going to be fine. The doctor said she just needs to wait for the swelling to go down. Most of it already has. She's feeling much better now."
"Great." I fake a smile. "Can I go now?"
"Of course." He motions me to continue down the hall. "Enjoy your day."
When I walk into class, everyone stares at me. Kristen's in the first row and gives me one of her fake sweet smiles as I go past her. I'm sure she loves that I'm stuck going to counseling because of her.
The teacher waits until I'm seated before continuing whatever he was saying. I try to catch up but I'm completely lost. I only missed half the class but it was enough for me to fall behind.
In my next class the teacher hands out a pop quiz, and even though I studied for that class, I'm pretty sure I flunked the quiz.
"Hey, bestie," Peyton says, coming up to my locker before lunch.
"Bestie?" I say with a laugh. "We just met."
"How was your weekend?" she asks, twirling her hair around her finger.
"Boring. How about yours?"
"I had a date with a financier."
"A what?" I ask, closing my locker.
"A financier. A man who manages large amounts of money," she says like she's annoyed at having to explain the term.
"Another old guy?"
She smiles. "I prefer to say mature. He works for my father. He's incredibly handsome. Dark hair flecked with gray. Custom designed suits. And his cologne is amazing."
"He works for your dad? Isn't he going to get in trouble for taking you out on a date?"
"We didn't tell him it was a date. He thinks Marshall was taking me out to teach me how to sail. Daddy knows I've always wanted to learn and Marshall just happens to have a sailboat. Two, actually, but only one is docked here."
"Did you really go on his sailboat?"
"Yes, and it was so romantic. He had his chef cater dinner but we didn't have much time to eat it before..." She smiles.
"Eww, gross." I scrunch up my face. "Don't tell me any more. You'll ruin my lunch."
She follows me to the cafeteria. "You don't know what you're missing. OIder men have so much more to offer, including a large bank account."
"Your family is rich. They'll give you as much money as you want."
"True, but it's different when it comes from a man whose begging for your attention."
Ms. Adams should be calling Peyton into he
r office. Her obsession with older men isn't normal. She has some serious issues that would be a much better use of Ms. Adams' time than talking to me.
In the lunch room, Peyton heads to the salad line while I go to the hot food line. Dante's in front of me, getting his usual three plates of food, which today is whole wheat macaroni and cheese with a side of organic broccoli.
"Hey, Dante," I say, wanting to see if Braden told him and the other football players not to talk to me. So far, they've been acting normal around me but I haven't talked to any of them yet.
Dante turns around and smiles. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Good. How about you?"
"My shoulder still hurts from Friday's game but other than that I'm good. I didn't see you at any of the parties last weekend."
"I had a lot of homework. I stayed home and studied."
Braden must've kept quiet. I thought for sure he'd try to get revenge after I turned him down last night but maybe he thinks he'll wait and try to kiss me again. I hope not, but I could totally see Braden doing that. He goes after what he wants and doesn't give up.
"Hey, Rumor," the other guys say as I sit down.
Kade smiles at me. "Practice your punches last weekend?"
I smile back. "Yeah. My left hook's getting really good."
They all laugh.
"Guys," Miles says in a hushed tone. "Shut up. She's coming over here."
Kristen saunters over wearing sunglasses and holding a Starbucks cup. She stops at her usual spot. "Boys." She smiles.
"Hey, Kristen," Miles says. "You go out for lunch?"
"My mother took me out." She sighs dramatically. "Unfortunately."
"She's still here?" Kade asks. "I thought she'd be gone by now."
"She's leaving soon, but she'll be back for the open house. Principal Edwards has asked her to give a speech about the donation she made to the gardens."
"Principal Edwards." Dante laughs. "Why don't just call him 'dad'?"
She glares at him. "He's not my father. He's my STEP-father and I hate that word. I haven't used it for any of my mother's husbands."
"So what do you call him?" Dante asks.
"Steven. Unless I'm at school, where he's Principal Edwards."
Peyton walks by, smiling at me. She sits with the cheerleaders, one table down. They only sit at this table if they're asked, which Braden says only happens to girls who are dating one of the players. I'm the exception to that because I'm Braden's cousin and the guys like having me here.
Aside from me, the only other girl at the table is Kristen. Alyssa's usually here but she's late today. Or maybe she's no longer invited now that she's not dating Kade.
The other football table has a few girls but nobody pays much attention to that table since they're all underclassmen who aren't worshiped the way the school worships the senior players.
Braden walks up to the table with his usual protein bar and protein-spiked drink.
"You kicked ass at practice this morning," Miles says, sucking up to Braden before he's even sat down.
"It wasn't bad," he says, turning his chair the other direction before sitting down. "Where the hell were YOU?" he asks Kade.
"Doctor's appointment. I told you about it on Friday."
"You went to the doctor at six in the morning?"
"The doctor's in Anaheim. We had to leave at six to get there on time."
Braden ignores him and rips open his protein bar.
"Why'd you go to the doctor?" I ask Kade. "Football injury?"
"Yeah." Kade holds his arm out. "Busted my wrist in practice a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be better by now but it's not."
"Doesn't mean you skip practice," Braden says. "I busted my damn knee and I was still there."
"I didn't skip it on purpose," Kade mutters, stabbing his salad with his fork.
"Try sleeping through your alarm," Wyatt says, joining us at the table. "Did it one time and thought Braden was gonna kill me."
"And it hasn't happened since, has it?" Braden says.
So at least three players are injured. Three seniors. Some of the best on the team. They can still play, but not at their best.
Barron appears and sits next to Braden. "Just talked to Coach. They couldn't see anything on the cameras."
"The field didn't tear up on its own," Braden says. "Why the fuck can't they see anything?"
"Coach said it looked like someone messed with the recording. It's like they removed the section that showed them tearing up the grass."
"What are you talking about?" I casually ask.
Dante answers. "Someone tore up our field a few weeks ago. We had to bring in new turf. Took up half the team's budget to get it fixed."
"And nobody knows who did it?"
"Everyone knows," Braden says. "The fuckers at Legion did it. And I'm sure Novak was the one who told them to."
Or he did it himself. The recording was erased, just like the security video from the cameras behind Brock's house. Jackson had to have been involved.
Barron gets up. "I'm going to the gym. See you fuckers later."
Peyton comes up behind Braden, talking in his ear. "Loved seeing you play on Friday. You look so damn hot in your uniform."
"What do you want, Peyton?"
"Could I borrow Rumor today? She never sits at our table and the other girls really want to meet her."
Braden stares down the table at me. "No. Rumor stays here."
Peyton gives me a look like she tried. Why was she trying? I never told her I wanted to sit with the cheerleaders. I need to sit here, to get information, but I don't like Braden demanding that I stay. Now it looks like I'm following his orders, which I hate.
Alyssa shows up and sits next to Kade, frowning, her eyes on the table.
"What's wrong, babe?" Kade asks.
"I got a C on my English quiz."
Kade laughs. "Ms. Pruitt's back?"
"She said I didn't show all my work. I did everything her sub told us to do. She shouldn't be grading tests she wasn't even there for."
If Alyssa got a C, I probably got an F. Alyssa's at the top of our class.
"Do you have Ms. Pruitt?" I ask Dante.
He shakes his head. "Had her last year. She's tough. If I didn't play football I probably would've flunked."
I'm always surprised how open they are in admitting the teachers fix their grades. Shouldn't that be a secret? Or at least something you don't talk about?
"You two are back together?" Braden says to Kade.
"Sort of," Alyssa says, glaring at Kade. "If he can keep his dick out of other girls."
Kade just laughs.
"When did that happen?" Braden says. "You broke up on Friday after the game."
"And got back together Saturday night." Kade puts his arm around Alyssa. "You just couldn't live without me, could you? Because I'm the best."
I want to gag. These guys seriously need to have their ego knocked down. I wonder if they realize they're not going to get away with acting this way at college. Nobody will treat them like gods or fix their grades. It's going to be a huge shock when they have girls rejecting them and telling them they're assholes when say shit like Kade just said to Alyssa.
She gets up from the table. "I'm going to study."
"What about lunch?" Kade says.
"I don't have time to eat. See you after school."
She walks off and Braden says to Kade, "Might be time to trade her in. She's being a bitch."
"Really, Braden?" Kristen scoffs.
"What? All she does is complain. And he's been with her long enough."
Kristen turns to Braden. "Maybe if you treated women better, you'd actually get a date now and then."
Wow. Kristen finally said something I agree with.
"I don't have fucking dates because that's what I choose," Braden says, getting angry. "I'm not wasting my time taking some girl to dinner. She can get her own damn dinner."
"And you wonder why we didn't last," Kristen says with
a sigh.
"We didn't last because you're a—" He stops, pursing his lips as he tries to hold back what he was about to say.
Kristen smiles at him. "I'm a WHAT, Braden?"
"Nothing." He shakes his head. "It doesn't fucking matter. Go be with Novak. See if I fucking care."
"You're still with Novak?" Miles asks, surprised.
"No," Kristen says, glancing at me. "Jackson is with someone else."
My heart's pounding. Why is she looking at me?
Shit. She's going to tell them. She's going to tell them about Jackson and me.
Chapter Seventeen
Kristen glances away from me and says, "I needed a break from Jackson."
She didn't tell them. She had her chance but she didn't do it. Why? Because she doesn't want to piss off Jackson? She definitely didn't do it for me.
"You with someone else?" Braden asks. "Better not be another fucker from Legion."
She smiles and stands up, sticking her big boobs out and tilting her head back as she gathers her hair in a ponytail. All the guys stare at her as she puts an elastic around her hair. "See you boys later."
She turns and walks away.
"Fuck, she's hot," Miles says. He looks at Braden. "Was she good in bed?"
He watches her leave. "If she was, I would've kept her around."
Kept her around? She dumped him. And yet nobody's brave enough to point that out. I definitely would if I didn't have to stay on his good side.
A man in a suit appears and goes up to Braden. "Mr. Halliway."
"What the fuck you doing there?"
"I need to speak with you privately. It won't take long."
Braden mutters something as he gets up. People whisper and stare as Braden leaves with the guy.
"What's that about?" Dante asks, his mouth full of mac and cheese.
"No clue," Kade says.
"I know, but I can't tell you," Wyatt says.
"Which means you will or we'll kick your ass," Miles says. "So what is it? What do you know?"
"I can't say. You'll find out soon enough."
Miles looks over at me. "Do YOU know? You live with him."
"I don't know what's going on. I stay in my room."
Miles reaches across the table and shoves Wyatt. "Tell us or you'll be doing twice as many suicides at practice today."
