All the Little Lies (English Prep 1)

Only they weren’t. There were no authorities handling it. The authorities didn’t even know that Hayley had been attacked or that there was some threat made several years ago.

She drove me fucking crazy. Her need to survive on her own was frustrating and infuriating all in one.

“Hey, Sunshine.” My head jerked to Ollie as he sauntered over to my car. I was thankful he was now waking himself up and stopped partying so hard on school nights. It was one less thing I had to worry about, and I had a hunch he was doing it because he knew I was in over my head. “Rough night? Hayley talk to you yet?”

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, now scanning the parking lot for Piper’s BMW. My eyes jumped right over Madeline cowering in her car from my public shutdown a couple of weekends ago, then I passed April and the rest of the cheer squad who were all vying for my attention.

“She’s already inside. I watched her and Piper walk in a few minutes ago.”

Relief poured over me, which only made me angrier. Why couldn’t I stop caring? Where was the old Christian? The one who thought of nothing but football, saving Ollie’s ass from drunken shenanigans, and if Madeline was going to suck my dick before the game.

Ollie glanced around cautiously, then he bent his head. “I heard you and Dad on the phone this morning.” My teeth clinked together. “I assume you’re not going to listen to him. Did Jim find anything?”

Jim was my father’s P.I. He hired him shortly after Mom started acting distant, not too long before she died. He was a close friend of my father’s, and apparently, I misjudged how close they were since he seemed to have talked to my dad about my request when I specifically asked him not to.

“Jim hasn’t said anything to me yet. But he’s obviously talked to Dad.” Ollie and I began walking over to Eric and the rest of the guys congregating in the courtyard. “I’m going to continue to keep an eye on her. And I’ll probe Jim later.”

Ollie nodded once, and then the pair of us launched into a conversation about the upcoming game this weekend with the rest of our friends.

It had only been a few days, but people finally quit talking about Hayley’s face from our last game. She wasn’t as roughed up as she was the first day she came to English Prep, but the scratches on her cheek were evident. I was surprised Headmaster Walton hadn’t called me into his office to ask if I knew anything about it.

My head jerked mid-conversation with Eric as I heard someone say the name Hayley.

“And did you see her face? I heard she got them having sex with one of Oakland High’s finest during the game. Sex in the gravel or something like that.”

Another girly voice.

“Kinky!”

Ollie’s eyes caught mine, and he grinned coyly.

I spun around quickly and located my source.

“April, tell your little friends to keep their fucking gossiping mouths shut.”

April swung her blonde hair over her shoulder. “What? Why?”

“Because Hayley-fucking-Smith isn’t their goddamn concern. And she wasn’t fucking someone during the game.”

April’s head twitched a fraction; her two friends—who I was certain were underclassmen—looked back and forth at one another.

Ben snickered from behind me. “But who was she fucking after? Was it you, bro? You’ve got it bad. That’s twice now you’ve stuck up for the trailer tra—”

Ollie grabbed him by his school tie and brought him to his knees almost instantaneously. “You better watch your fucking tone and who the fuck you’re talking about.”

The entire group went silent. Ollie didn’t get angry often. I was the hothead when compared. Even when we were younger, he’d let me win all the games because he knew how angry I’d get.

My fist clenched, but I held my ground as Ben peered up into the sun. “Damn, are you fucking her too?”

Snap. Like a rubber band. Before Ollie could wind his arm back, I swooped in and punched Ben’s jaw so hard he flew to the side of the grass.

I slowly and calculatedly walked over to his slumped-over body, his button-up jacket now dirty, and peered down. “Keep her name out of your mouth.” Then, I turned on the sole of my shoes and passed by my peers who were all looking at me like I’d lost my mind.

I had.

I was certain of it.

Ollie caught up to me quickly, Eric right behind him. “Dude, I fucking had it. I was taking care of it.”