Redwood High

He shrugged. “I could ask you the same. It’s late, Kat, and you’ve just been through a major accident. Why aren’t you in bed?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

I explained that I’d had a fight with my Mom and with Jake. “I just expected Jake to know where I was coming from, you know? And my Mom, I just couldn’t stand another day of knowing she had moved on from my Dad so easily like he never meant anything to her in the first place.”

He put an arm around me. “Don’t say that, Kat; she’s your Mom. Of course, she feels the need to be strong for you, and if there’s anything I’ve learned about adults, it’s that they never show their weakness around a child they’ve sworn to make life easy for. I’m sorry you feel this way, but you need to really think about it. Has she truly moved on, or is that just what she’s been showing you?”

Something about what Aaron said jolted my memory, and I remembered that even while my Dad had been alive, she had never been that overly excited every single day. I turned to face Aaron and threw my arms around his neck in a hug.

“Thank you, Aaron,” I said even as he sat completely still. I watched him with worried eyes. “What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling back, but then something happened.

“Kat, I need to do something,” he said, and then he leaned forward and kissed me.

The first bout of shock left me, and I found myself returning his kiss, feeling the fireworks brimming inside me. My kiss with Aaron, though different from Jake’s, elicited a similar response, and just like that, as the thought of Jake crossed my mind, I pulled back breathlessly.

“Aaron… I have to go,” I stuttered and stood immediately before walking away from him. I could have handled that better, said something instead of leaving him sitting there, but I was so confused.

I picked up my phone as I made my way to Mason’s house, which was a little bit farther. “Hey Mason, could you come out for a bit?” I asked and saw the light come on in his room.

The door opened a minute later, and he joined me outside. “Kat? What on earth are you doing out here at this hour? You just…”

“Yeah, yeah, I just suffered a major accident. I know.” I waved him off. “I need some advice.”

I told him everything, from the fight with my Mom and Jake to my kiss with Aaron. “I didn’t know Aaron even felt that way about me.”

He looked at me thoughtfully. “Yeah, Aaron has had the hots for you since day one. Who wouldn’t? You’re smart, funny, nice, not like the other girls, and so beautiful … there’s just something about you that draws us in …”

I stopped him. “Us?” Then I really looked at Mason and saw in his eyes the same emotion I always saw when Jake was with me, the same one I saw a few minutes ago in Aaron’s eyes, and the same one I saw every day whenever I thought about Jake while looking in the mirror. “You have feelings for me?”

He looked embarrassed. “It’s okay, Kat; I know you might not feel the same way about me …”

I interrupted him. “I didn’t say that,” I found myself saying.

What the hell has gotten into me? I thought. Why was I suddenly thinking about what it would be like to kiss Mason too?

He must have sensed my apprehension because he was quick to reassure me. “Look, Kat, I don’t want you getting all worked up because of this. Jake, Aaron, and I are grown men, and we can handle our feelings. In the end, it’s your choice,” he said, and I slowly nodded, my brain relaxing for a second. “Now, let’s get you home.”

The car ride back to my house was quiet and intense. But that was quickly forgotten when I found my Mom clutching a bottle of vodka with tears running all over her face. She was sitting on the floor by the fireplace with my Dad’s picture in her other hand.

I had never felt more horrible in my life. Quickly I ran to her side and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry, Mom,” I crooned. “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be fine. I’m here now.” I rocked her in my arms, and we both cried.

The next day, we received a call that Gina’s body had been found at school that morning by the principal.

Chapter 9

In the event of Gina’s murder, the school had been closed for investigations since the cops suspected that they were dealing with one killer. Jake, of course, had an alibi, which was my Mom, so he was once again cleared as a suspect.

My Mom traveled for a convention in the morning and wouldn’t be back till the following day, so I was left alone in the house with my thoughts.

Just yesterday, I had been thinking about seeing how things went with Jake, who I was insanely attracted to. Suddenly I had three guys I couldn’t stop thinking about, and now Gina, another girl who had bullied me, was dead.

It was a good thing Liam was in a relationship, or who knows what might have happened there? It was nighttime when I decided to call Liam. Since he was in a stable relationship, maybe he would have some advice for me.

I was just about to pick up my phone when I heard sharp knocks on the door. I opened it to reveal a panicked Tiffany.

“Quick, lock the door,” she screamed, but I wasn’t quick enough as Liam ran in after her.

“Seriously, guys,” I said. “It’s ten o'clock at night. Did you fight again?” I noticed the menacing look in Liam’s eyes, and then my eyes fell on the ax he held.

“Kat, Kat… he’s the killer. Stay back; he’s the killer,” Tiffany cried as she hid behind me.