A few of the guys from the football team ask if they can party at my place, and I tell them to fuck off. It’s Saturday night, and I’m balls deep into my own investigation, trying to figure out what happened the night of the party. I’ve been asking around to see what people remember. I’ve written down every detail I can recall. I’ve rehashed it with Carson over the phone and gathered a list of every name we can remember. Then I sent them to my attorney and asked him to dig up whatever he could. If any of those assholes sold stories to the media before or after that night, I wanted to know about it.
After I started that ball rolling, I asked around about the incident with Kail at school. I’d already talked to the police myself. After Mr. Dawson agreed to let me come back to school, he set up a meeting so they could interview me. Once I showed them my security footage placing me at home, they sent me on my merry way.
When Monday comes around again, I stuff a few first editions of Kail’s favorite books into her locker. This time, I don’t wait around to see her reaction because, honestly, it’s starting to feel a little hopeless. It sucks having that door slammed in my face every day. But I’m not quitting her, and I won’t let her quit me either.
She doesn’t talk to me that day. Or the day after that, or even the day after that.
When I’m not trying to figure out how to crack Kail’s silence, I’m keeping my head down and focusing on schoolwork. There’s a lot to catch up on. Coach let me come back to the team, but my heart isn’t really in it. It’s just something to kill time, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. Especially when Audrey bounds across the field every day after practice to annoy the fuck out of me.
It makes no difference if I respond to her inane commentary about the day’s events. She just likes to hear herself talk. When she finally realizes I’m not listening, she’ll try to fuss over me by using any excuse to touch me. Audrey is the kind of girl who thinks all guys can be led by their dicks. All she has to do is crook her finger, and they’ll fall at her knees without question.
Yet she still hasn’t managed to leash me.
Today, after practice, she’s waiting for me by the locker room. It’s funny she seems to be the only girl here who isn’t afraid of the lurker who attacked Kail. Since my return, I’ve noticed them all walking in packs, rushing to get out of here as fast as they can. But not Audrey.
This little detail has been eating at me. I know Audrey to be a lot of things. Manipulative. Greedy. Vain. But violent? It’s hard to imagine her being capable of that type of evil. By all accounts, it was a guy who bashed Kail’s ankle, so that should rule Audrey out. But does it?
“Sooo…” She twirls a bleached blond curl around her fingers as she looks up at me beneath the caterpillars she calls lashes. “Prom will be here before we know it. Have you given it any thought?”
I stuff my cleats into my duffel and zip it up. “Nope.”
She makes an irritated sound. “Do I have to spell it out for you, Killian?”
“I don’t know.” I toss the bag over my shoulder and meet her gaze. “Do I have to spell it out for you? Because clearly, you haven’t received the message.”
Her stamped on eyebrows pinch together in frustration. “Seriously, do you have to be such a dick? I know I pissed you off with the whole Jacob thing, but everyone expects us to go together. I think it’s time to smooth things over, don’t you? You can’t deny we’re perfect for each other. Everyone can see it. So, let’s kiss and make up already.”
“Audrey.” I stare at her like she’s deranged, well, because she fucking is. “We were never together. I don’t know how many times I have to explain this to you. I never asked you out. I never took you on a date. I never fucked you. Yet you seem to think you have some form of ownership over me. Whatever twisted fantasy you’ve created in your mind is a delusion, and you need to let it go.”
Her jaw clenches, but otherwise, she remains undeterred. “I know you want me. Quit playing games, baby. The two most beautiful people always end up together. Just like in Blood River Legacy.”
“Wow.” I scrub a hand over my face, exhausted. “I don’t even know how to respond to that, so I’m just going to say this. Clear as fucking day. I don’t want you, Audrey. I never have, and I never will. It’s not a game, or a riddle, or a fucking clue to some deeper, unspoken meaning. You and I are a nonstarter. Get it?”