Chapter 24 - hands that shed innocent blood

My life had somehow become a series of cascading dominoes.

Click. Bailey ran her mouth off to Kylie before school started.

Click. Two hours later, I overheard the rumor in English class.

Click. I watched Kylie tell Alex on the lawn in front of Master's Elite during lunch.

It was only a matter of time before Daniel confronted Nicole. My nerves were on edge. Although the plan continued perfectly, it was natural to hold your breath until every dotted domino fell.

I spotted Daniel after sixth period.

He stormed through the halls, a science book clutched in his hand. It rubbed against his jeans as he headed for Bailey. By the scowl on his face, he had untangled the rumor. But the idiot wasn’t chasing down Nicole. Instead he headed for the source.

For Bailey.

Oh my gosh.

I’d be next. I stepped around the corner out of my cousin or Daniel’s view. Stupid Bailey. If my involvement leaked all over the school it could ruin my entire senior year. New schools could be unforgiving places. Even the folded note in my pocket for Sam would fail to get me an invite to the Harvest Ball. The message would have to wait.

I needed to find the sister of someone soon. From a sheltered hallway, I took a peek. Daniel was two steps away from his target. I had to hurry. Anger flooded me. I should have said I overheard it in the bathroom and that I couldn't be sure who said it. That would have been better. That might even have prevented Bailey from opening her big mouth. I knew I couldn't trust her. I should have squashed it then. I should have squashed her. It was a miracle the loud-mouth waited until this morning.

Leaning against the wall, I hid. Who did I know with a brother on the basketball team? I pounded the back of my fist into the brick. Why did I have to say it was someone's sister? Another look around the corner, Daniel's finger wagged in Bailey's face. Her side of the conversation hadn't started yet. When it did, my name would come out.

I picked at the polish on my thumbnail.

Think. Think.

Sports.

Baseball.

Soccer.

Track.

Yes! Cross-country track was perfect. Colby Hartley ran track and he had a little sister, Lorry. Neither were popular enough to defend themselves. They sat low enough on the food chain to be consumable. I needed to get to the soccer field where freshmen girls had gym.

I took the back stairs to avoid being seen. Class started soon. Daniel would not miss science to find me. He would wait to catch me after school. I couldn't let that happen. I hustled down the stairs trying not to trip. Music echoed in the hollow stairwell, the five-minute warning. The heels on my shoes clicked on the pavement outside. If Lorry fought back, I would flip these puppies off as fast as Bailey's stupid mouth. I didn't want to fight the girl, but I would.

In less than a heartbeat, I made it to the chain-link that surrounded the fresh-mowed soccer field. The sun blazed in the afternoon sky. Lorry would exit the gym on the north side. I waited by the fence, shaking my hands to increase the circulation. Adrenaline harassed each nerve and I jumped a little when the first few girls ran past me toward the open gate.

Timing was on my side, as well as surprise. Lorry wouldn't expect it.

My thoughts carried me like a crowd of people all moving in one direction. I didn't question the self-preservation that motivated me. Something had to be done and I needed to do it. I'd lost too many contests over love in my life, I couldn't afford to lose this one. Lorry needed to be blamed before Daniel got to me.

The double doors to the gym bent open like a book. Girls dressed in tacky shorts giggled toward the field. Lorry was not among them. I looked back toward the main building. One lone straggler entered, but no one came out. Daniel would be on his way to class by now.

Another group exited the gym, with Lorry in the middle of them.

The freshmen wandered toward me.

Lorry's hazel eyes made brief contact with mine before she turned back to talk with one of her friends. My heart pounded a million miles a minute. My fingers tingled. No more holding back. The rumors would end with this unexpecting face.

"Hey, Lorry."

She turned toward me.

"Why'd you do it?" In my heels, I towered over the confused girl. I pushed her once then got back in her face. "What's your problem, huh?" My nose almost touched hers as I leaned down to scream at her. "What exactly were you trying to do?" I spat on her.

She wiped her cheek. "What are you talking about?"

I grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her face toward the sky. "Don't you ever do that to me again, do you understand? NEVER!" I released her hair and pushed her against the brick wall.

"Do what?"

"Are you trying to deny it, you lying, trash sack?"

"Kick her butt, Courtney." A voice came from behind me.

"Make her pay." A small crowd had circled us.

A bunch of idiots who had no idea what was happening cheered for me. Well, not for me really. The clueless crowd only backed the person they thought had the most power. I wanted to punch them all.

"What did I do?" Tears came from the terror-stricken girl.

"Don't act innocent." I flexed my fist a few inches from the girl's face. Lorry flattened her head against the brick. I released my fingers and pulled my hand back ready to slap the girl. I wouldn't do it, but I needed Lorry to think I would. Hitting her would lead to expulsion. "You better stop spreading your filthy lies. You got that?"

The small, confused girl nodded her head.

"Say it." I snatched a knot of her hair and twisted it in my hands.

"Say what?" She whined.

"Apologize for the nasty lies you told me about Nicole."

From my peripheral vision, I could see the crowd. They stood listening. With a final wrench of her head Lorry cried out, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Are you going to do it again?"

"No."

"You'd better apologize to Nicole as well. You got that?"

"Yes. Yes."

I stood over her for one last second, then pushed her away from me. I had what I came for, a public confession. She could tell the world tomorrow that she didn't know what I was talking about, but it would be forever her word against mine. Only she and I would ever know the truth. And I'd never tell.

It was over. Done.

The girl slid down the wall in tears.

I pushed through the crowd. "Get away from me." The skin on my hands prickled, itching to slap the mess out of someone, but getting expelled before the dance would be stupid. I had to find a place to release the anxiety inside. I slipped behind the bleachers and kicked a trashcan. A handful of curse words accompanied more dents in the green plastic. I picked up one of my shoes and almost threw it right at Bailey.

"Whoa."

I glared at her. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you that Daniel knows about Nicole."

"No thanks to you." I slipped my shoe on and headed for the parking lot. "I told you not to tell anyone but you had to open you're big fat mouth, didn't you." I wiped tears of rage from my face. "I told you I didn't know if it was true."

"Was it Lorry?" Bailey had seen the fight.

"Leave me alone."

None of it felt right. None of it felt good. I needed to get out of here and figure out how to fix this whole thing. Bailey made me look bad. The whole situation became something I had to clean up.

"What's wrong?"

I stopped. Anger swelled up inside of me. Would my work never end? I didn't want to talk to Bailey. It took all my strength to not scratch out her eyes. As furious as I was, I couldn't attack her. That would erase the accomplishment I'd fought to obtain. I needed Bailey and her gossip habit just one more time.

"You should never have told Kylie. You promised me you wouldn't."

"I'm sorry."

"That’s not enough!” I screamed. “You go tell Daniel that Lorry said it. I can't face him like this, do you understand that? I'm embarrassed and humiliated." Tears invaded my eyes. I violently wiped them away. "You owe me that. You brought this situation on me." My finger trembled as I pointed it at her. "You tell him. You got that?"

"I will." Bailey looked like a deflated balloon. I resisted the urge to kick her. Instead, I turned and stomped toward the parking lot.

"Courtney, where are you going?"

I didn’t answer and Bailey didn't follow.

Good. If that loud-mouth knew what was good for her, she'd leave me alone for a couple of days. Rage simmered and spit on the hot surface of my skin. I needed to get into the car. I needed to get away. I needed to separate myself from this whole thing.

With two bleeps from the remote, the lock on the car released. I climbed in and slammed the door as hard as I could and crumpled over the steering wheel. My sobs were hidden by the tinted windows.

Why did we move here? Lame life. I never wanted to have sex in this place. Stupid. Thanks to Father and Aunt Constance and Bailey, I’d have to go make nicey nice with the girl Daniel picked instead of me. The engine obeyed when I turned the key. I flipped the car in reverse and peeled my tires.  I had less than an hour to find Nicole. I had to get to her before Daniel did.

Clear of the fence, I forced the car into drive and sped out of the parking lot. It felt good to cut off a driver at the corner and tear past him. The Pentagon City Mall better not be crowded.

For years I'd investigated my father. Like an old-fashioned detective I'd tracked him down. Those skills had helped me learn Nicole's schedule. The girl didn't come from old money. Her family wasn't tied to any important officials. She attended Master's Elite on a freaking scholarship. The simpleton had permission to miss the last class of school each day in a work-release arrangement. She would hear my side of the story before anyone else's.

The rumor might have carved its way to her ear already. I had to hope, like most victims, she’d be the last to know. Either way, I needed to smooth it over. I had almost lost my grip in the one place that contained all my power. School.

In San Diego, I'd learned to keep my friends close and my enemies closer. The best way to regain my hold on life and keep my hands clean was to convince Nicole we should be friends.

The mall parking lot offered plenty of empty spaces. I had made it in record time. Nicole worked at the shoe store on the fifth floor. I couldn't show up before the end of school hours. The girl needed to think that school was out when I arrived. I went down to the food court.

A cup of coffee would help. The typical array of fast food stretched out in front of me. I stepped into the line at Starbucks. Before I could scan the memorized menu, the sound of Nicole's voice came from the front of the line. “Two iced teas, please."

I leaned to the side. No way. This was brilliant. Nicole handed the cashier a bill. I ducked down behind a stroller and pretended to pick up something. What luck!

I kept an eye on the girl as she pulled a couple of napkins from the rack and waited without looking behind her. My heart raced. I needed to do something. I needed to find a way to get this girl into my confidence. I ordered a plain black coffee, something they could make quickly, and said my name was Jane. I walked away from where Nicole waited for her order.

A childhood memory came to me. The perfect idea.

I imagined every moment before it happened. First I would accidentally bump into Nicole and make her spill her drink. After acting very innocent, I would apologize for both the bump and the rumor.

The greatness of the plan shook off the residue of anger left from the school fight. Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel the sun shine brighter on my day. I just needed the accident, the apology and then the building of a friendship. The fool would never know what hit her. Nicole thanked the barista after straightening her jeans over her fat thighs. With two iced teas, she tuned to leave.

“Jane!” The same barista yelled.

With my coffee in hand, I hurried to get close to Nicole. I kept my head down while pretending to text. Anyone watching would see an accident. Out of the corner of my eye, I navigated toward Nicole. Within seconds, I ploughed against the girl's shoulder hard enough to knock her over.

"Watch out!" Some guy shouted from behind me.

"Sorry," I lifted my head with mocked surprise.

Nicole stumbled backward. She dropped the cups and flailed her arms like a wounded bird. Before my eyes, my plan unraveled like cheap fabric. I hadn't noticed how close we were to the slow grinding escalator. Nicole landed with her back arched on the expanding steps. I stood horrified. Blood squirted from the side of the girl's head as it smacked against the ridged edge of sharp metal.