Pretty When She Cries - Black Mountain Academy

Kail’s mom serves up a cheesecake, and I’m on my second slice when they start whisper arguing in the kitchen. Except they don’t realize both Theo and I can hear them.

“You promised me you were going to try,” Alana says.

“How am I supposed to think about food when the school could decide to expel me at any moment? I could lose everything.”

Kailani sniffles, and the piece of cheesecake I’m chewing gets lodged in my throat. When I glance at Theo, there’s a grim expression on his face.

“Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out, Kail. I promise you.”

Footsteps echo through the house, followed by the slam of a door. Alana is the only one to return, and she looks defeated as she sits down and stares at the plate of cheesecake in front of her. I polish off my dessert quietly, trying to figure out how to approach this situation. But as it turns out, Alana figures it out for both of us.

“Landon, do you know what’s going on between her and Audrey?”

“Audrey?” I repeat.

“Honey—” Theo reaches out to touch her hand, but she shakes her head.

“No, I can’t handle the secrecy anymore. I need to know what would make her do something so horrible.”

“What did Audrey do?” I ask, understanding without a doubt that it is Audrey she’s referring to.

“She went to the school and told them Kail attacked her,” Alana says. “They’ve already suspended her from the dance team while they investigate, but now they’re threatening expulsion too. I just can’t figure out why Audrey would do something like that.”

The beautiful dinner she made sours in my gut. From a young age, I came to understand that people will say and do things that can damage you forever without a second thought. As long as it benefits them, they don’t care about the fallout. It’s happened to me more times than I can count. Betrayal is a constant expectation in my life, but it shouldn’t be for Kail. It’s one thing for petty teen rivalry. But getting her expelled from school? Audrey is trying to destroy her. I’ll be damned if I’m ever going to let that happen.

“What day did Audrey say this happened?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“On the thirteenth.” Alana frowns.

“Audrey is jealous of her.” I pick up my plate to carry it into the sink. “That’s all this is. But I’m going to handle it, Mrs. Grant. Just trust me, okay?”Principal Dawson is quiet as he studies the video footage on my phone. It’s rock solid, and he knows it, but he watches it several times anyway, checking the timestamps.

“As you can see, she was home that entire day. What they told you is a lie.”

He sighs and hands the phone back to me. “I’m going to need you to hold onto that footage.”

“It’s already been sent to Alana’s attorney,” I bluff.

“What a fortunate coincidence that you happen to have a camera facing her pool house,” he observes.

“Yeah, it turned out that way.”

It’s a bullshit lie, and we both know it. That camera is aimed directly at her pool house because I’m twisted like that. After everything went sideways at that party sophomore year, I had the whole exterior fitted with security cameras. When Kailani moved back, that one may have been adjusted so I could keep an eye on her. But it will be a cold day in hell before I ever admit it.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” Principal Dawson says. “I’ll be in touch if I need anything else.”18KailaniI can still hear Mrs. Rothschild ranting like a lunatic when Mom and I shut the office door. We spill out into the hallway with equal sighs of relief. After Mr. Dawson called us in today, I was convinced I was walking to my doom. I’d already prepared my last resort battle speech, but as it turned out, it wasn’t necessary.

The principal informed us an anonymous student came forward with evidence that proved I couldn’t have attacked Audrey. I don’t know what it was, or who my unknown saint is, but I’ve never been so relieved in my life.

“See.” Mom squeezes me in her arms. “Good always triumphs over evil.”

“Yeah.” I choke out my agreement, but it feels like a dreadful lie. I’m not good. And if I’m being honest, I’m not even sure I deserve such a lucky break anymore.

“Want to go get some celebratory ice cream?” She wiggles her brows eagerly.

“I have dance practice,” I remind her. “I don’t want to miss any more.”

“Oh, right.” She smiles and shakes her head. “Maybe later then.”

We part ways in the hall, and I head for the gym, where Coach Lopez is already waiting for me. She surprises me with a hug when I walk in, but the warm reception doesn’t last long. Audrey is staring daggers at me over her shoulder, and any relief I may have had is washed away by one glaring certainty. This isn’t even close to over. If I thought she might receive any punishment for her unfounded accusations, it would be laughable.