We The Pretty Stars (Court High 4)

“I told my dad the move was because I wanted to get more involved with Court.” I smirked. “He leaped for fucking joy.”

“My grandpa too.” Knight lifted a brawny shoulder. He laced his fingers across his chest. “We’ve never been into the Court like they all have.”

“It was a good cover.” I frowned, my eyebrows narrowing hard. “Gave us time.”

“For?”

Beautiful, nut-brown eyes stared back at me, and I touched December’s cheek. “Remember those texts your sister sent me? The ones that said she was leaving and getting out of town?”

Those haunted me for such a long time, the presence of them causing me to deny our ultimate reality. It wasn’t until I’d seen the proof of Paige’s death, the images of what some sick fuck did to her body and what the autopsy report said that I allowed myself to actually believe something more to the story was going on. I finally admitted my friend hadn’t just skipped town and gotten in an accident, but was murdered and someone was covering it up.

“Yeah.” December squeezed my hand. “You said she sent them the next day. How was that possible?”

“It’s not,” I basically growled, knowing how false they were. “We had that redacted case folder un-redacted.”

“Cost basically all our college tuition to do it.” We all looked at Jax who shrugged. “What? It did.”

“What did it say?” December leaned in, and I took her other hand.

I called for strength. “You sister didn’t get hit a town over. She died, right there at Route 80 on the tracks, and a train later came through and dragged her away. She was ultimately found in Corrington Meadows but the murder happened there first. Those text were false. Someone sent them to me so I wouldn’t come looking, knew to send them to me of all people. That’s another reason why I thought my dad trying to protect me wasn’t just for me. Someone knew that I knew Paige. We looked everywhere for that cell phone. Tore up Windsor House, our houses.”

The color bled from December’s face. “She probably knew them, didn’t she? The person who hurt her?”

“Most likely, yeah.”

December’s skin paled a few more shades, and I wanted to stop. I didn’t want to do this to her anymore, but she wanted the truth. She wanted to be a part of this.

My throat jumped, so many things about this fucked up. “We’ve had everyone followed. Our dads, uncles, grandfathers.”

“Everybody but one.”

We all panned to Knight, but he had eyes on me.

Knight crossed a leg at the knee. “We haven’t looked into who actually started all this, the reason why your sister even did that haze and was out there in the first place.”

“You mean her girlfriend?” December sat up, and I bobbed my head once. “But why?”

“We honestly hadn’t even thought to.” LJ rested lanky arms on the table. “Not until Royal went down to California to see Paige and thought of her ex.”

“That had been my mistake,” I said. “Since Paige was clearly assaulted, I only kept my radar on the men of this town, but a woman could have been involved. It was real bad blood between your sister and her, Em, and I feel like a fucking idiot for not thinking about her. The reason they broke up? Really broke up was because the woman was married and wouldn’t leave her husband.”

Her lips parted. “What?”

“Yeah, it’s true. Paige knew she was married. Knew it was wrong. Even still, she continued to see her. The woman led her to believe she was end game, toyed with her for months.”

December cringed. “What happened?”

“She wasn’t end game.” I looked up. “I don’t know whether the woman chickened out or if it all was a lie… the whole thing concluded when her husband caught the two of them together. In the woman’s house, her bed. Paige was naked, embarrassed, but her ex let that fucker she called a husband toss Paige out without any clothes into the street like she was trash.”

The horror I still remembered in Paige’s eyes that day after it happened, and it took so much coaxing to even get the truth out of her. She was so embarrassed, heartbroken. Both parties had no business doing what they’d been doing, but it’d only been one to be tossed out naked into the road while the other slammed the door in the other’s face.

Paige had been enraged, wanting ultimate revenge. She could have gotten it from us, but she wanted it for herself. She wanted to be moving the pieces of the Court behind the scenes, to end this woman’s life like she knew the pull of the Court could. The Court could destroy lives, the benefits of living in a small town run by few. A few power plays, and the woman would be stripped of everything she held dear, to feel just an ounce of what she allowed Paige to feel. Thinking back, maybe that’s why everything had turned out the way it had. Revenge was a delicate and dark line to tread.

I wished it had been me in the end, that she let me do this for her. My friend might actually be alive, my soul able to be traded if only to keep hers.

December was shaking at this point, and I brought her into me. Her face had transferred two shades of pink, the flush close to accompanying tears but she held them inside.

Her lashes lowered. “Who is she, Royal?” she asked, easing closer to me. “Who is this woman who destroyed Paige’s life?”