Jaded (19 page)

Walking over to him, I slid my arms around his waist and looked up. “For one thing, I know what goes bump in the night. I’m not exactly naïve about stuff.” Call me jaded. “And two…you know that I’d call.”

Bryce relaxed and wrapped his arms around me. He lifted me up and I wrapped

my legs around his waist. Face to face now, I grinned in anticipation and dipped to meet his lips.

Bryce met me and opened his mouth. I slid my tongue against his and we both

groaned.

He cursed and rested his forehead against mine, “We have to look for Mena.”

I untangled my legs and jumped to my feet. “And Leisha. We’re looking for both of ‘em.”

Bryce groaned and swore. “Girls.” He made it sound like an insult, but I didn’t take it as one.

Bryce led the way into the narrow trail that moved down the steep incline to the river’s bank. The trail veered up from the river’s edge a few times, but it usually circled back to parallel the river. During the daytime, the trail was gorgeous. At night, it was another scary place. The brush was thick enough to hide someone if desired. We needed Tijan Jaded

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to illuminate as much as possible, but our flashlights didn’t penetrate some of the thickest stuff.

When I tried to step towards some particularly dense foliage, Bryce yanked me back.

“No,” he only said to my glance.

We continued up the trail. We met a few homeless on our path, but they only

watched us warily and didn’t say anything. They sat off the trail and underneath a tree or brush.

Bryce asked about Mena and Leisha. No one had seen them.

Twenty minutes passed before I started, “So…”

I saw the tension enter Bryce’s shoulder as he waited.

“Can you be nice to Mena?”

“Why?” he clipped out, uncaring as he swept his flashlight around a rock.

“Because you said she was weird in front of everyone.”

“So?”

“So…that’s kinda—I like Mena.”

“You

shouldn’t.”

“I do, so be nice to her. Okay?” I snapped out.

“Whatever.”

“Bryce.”

“I said whatever. I don’t like her,” he argued.

“You don’t like her brother and that’s just going to Mena.”

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“No,” Bryce said shortly. Firmly. “I don’t like her. She’s weird. She looks at you weird. So does her brother.”

“You don’t like Steele because I slept with him.”

“No. You screwed him. You didn’t sleep with him. There’s a difference. And it’s not because of that.”

“Right,” I snorted in disbelief.

Bryce stopped and turned to look at me. “I don’t like that you were with him, yeah. It’s not about that, though. He’s off. Can’t you see it when you look at him?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Like he’s not totally right. He’s weird.”

“Can you define weird?” I said tiredly as Bryce started back up the trail.

Bryce

shrugged

again.

“Fine. He’s weird. Mena’s weird, but I like Mena and I don’t have a lot of female friends.”

“You’re friends with that Leisha chick.”

“Leisha’s like a puppy. She’s not a real friend,” I retorted.

Bryce chuckled. “Hope you don’t describe me that way.”

I grinned. “Well, some people
really
love their pets.” In gross and totally disgusting ways.

Bryce

snorted.

I grabbed the back of his pants and stopped him. “Are you going to be nice?”

“No,” he clipped out. “I’m not going to pretend to like someone if I think they’re fake. She’s fake.”

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“You won’t even be civil?”

“No, Sheldon. Drop it. I don’t ask you to be nice to my mom.”

“Your mom’s a bitch.”

“So is Mena, you just don’t see it.” Bryce argued, but stopped abruptly.

I walked into his back, but Bryce snaked an arm around and caught me so I

wouldn’t fall back.

I was right behind him, so I couldn’t see anything. When I tried to peer around, Bryce shifted to block my view.

“What are you doing? Why’d you stop?”

Bryce didn’t say anything. He just held me behind him. He had both arms

wrapped around me.

“Seriously, Bryce. Move,” I ordered.

He coughed and it seemed to strangle him.

“Bryce?” I asked, quietly. “I want to see.”

He wouldn’t let me.

“Bryce, seriously. I need to see.” My voice sounded a little panicked now.

Slightly shrill.

Nothing.

I started to hit his unmoving back. “Bryce.” My voice sounded weak now.

“Bryce.”

“Let’s go back,” he whispered, hoarsely, and started to walk backwards.

Awkwardly, I stumbled backwards. I wanted to see, but he still wouldn’t let me.

“Stop!” I cried out. “What is it?”

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“Sheldon, let’s go. Let’s go back to the street. Come on.” Bryce turned finally and it was enough.

I sprinted past him, but a leg tripped me and as the ground rushed up to me, a silent scream wrenched from my throat.

I landed beside the leg and I saw the shoe.

There was smeared blood on it and the leg was black and blue, bruised.

“Oh god.” My voice was ripped out of me. It was weird, like from another body. I felt weird. I felt…I wasn’t really there, but I was there. I was far away, but I was too close to tear my eyes away.

A body lay in the bushes and I stepped forward.

Bryce said something behind me, but I couldn’t hear him. My back was turned to him, but I saw him speak. I saw his mouth open and close and open again. He was saying a lot of stuff to me, but I didn’t hear it. I don’t know how I knew he was talking. My back was to him.

I looked inside the bushes and it was Leisha.

My hand froze as I lifted one of the branches out of the way, but I saw myself bend down and pick something up.

It was an envelope.

I held it in my hands.

Bryce was talking to me again, he was right beside me. He stopped talking when he saw the envelope, when he saw what was written on it.

I didn’t move again for a very long time.

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Bryce and I sat at the end of the ambulance. The police had called the paramedics because I started to shiver uncontrollably. Bryce had hugged me to him, but it hadn’t helped. I just kept shivering. One of the paramedics said it was shock and he had checked to make sure Bryce was alright too.

The flashing lights highlighted the terrain. It was ugly and pretty at the same time.

We weren’t allowed to call anyone so it was another hour before the guys parked beside the police cars and ambulances.

Corrigan gestured for everyone to stay in the cars while he walked over to us.

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“Hey,” he murmured, hands stuffed in his front pockets. His eyes skimmed over me and Bryce. He swore and slumped beside me while Bryce stayed on my other side.

“So, who was it?”

I turned mute again.

Bryce answered, hoarsely, “Leisha.”

Corrigan swore again. “Is she…? I mean…”

“Dead,” Bryce said flatly.

Corrigan whipped back to us, but didn’t say anything. I didn’t think he could say anything.

“I wanna go…somewhere,” I mumbled. We’d already given our statements and

had been ordered to give official statements the next day at the station. I was really getting tired of going to that same place.

Bryce and Corrigan shared a look before Bryce asked, “Where?”

I shrugged. “Not here.”

Corrigan jumped up and said abruptly, “I’ll cut the guys loose. We can crash at my place.”

I thanked him with my eyes and Bryce nodded.

Corrigan left and returned a second later with keys to Chet’s car. “Let’s go.” He dangled the keys in the air and Bryce placed his hand at the small of my back. Corrigan got behind the wheel with Bryce in the shotgun seat. I huddled in the back in a fetal position.

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Bryce had stuffed the envelope in his pocket. We hadn’t discussed it, but Bryce snapped it out of my hands and shoved it inside before he called the cops. I heard the crinkle of the paper and knew he showed Corrigan.

The envelope was addressed to me. We hadn’t opened it yet.

Suddenly, I bolted upright and grabbed the envelope.

“Sheldon!” Bryce cried out, startled.

I ripped it open and found one piece of paper inside. It was a small note and it read,

Queen of Geneva disregarded her lowly subjects. To the grave they went and
more to come.

I dry-heaved as Corrigan veered the car to the side. Bryce ripped the letter out of my hands and read it. He swore underneath his breath and Corrigan took it from him. He reacted the same.

I opened the door and took deep breaths from the air.

No one said anything. We sat there until Corrigan asked quietly, “Are you okay to go? Can you shut the door?”

Bryce rested his forehead against his window and didn’t say anything.

When I shut the door, Bryce lifted his head up and glanced back at me.

I huddled back down and hugged my knees to my chest.

Corrigan pulled back onto the road and the rest of the drive was passed in silence.

The radio had been left off.

The letter was left untouched between the two guys.

I don’t think anyone
wanted
to touch it.

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At Corrigan’s we walked down to the basement and sat on the couches.

Corrigan’s family had placed three couches around a large screen that fitted against an entire wall. It was their own theater room. The couches matched the grandiose media center. They were plush and large enough to fit two full-length people.

I stretched out on one. Bryce took another and Corrigan dropped onto the third after he’d left for a bottle of bourbon.

He passed it around and all three of us took two shots in a row.

This time, Bryce didn’t hiss from the burn.

We kept passing the bottle until it was empty.

Corrigan sighed and flung the bottle at the bar. It ricocheted off the corner and bounced into the recycling bin.

No one commented on the shot.

“The cops should have that note,” Corrigan started.

“No,” I said sharply.

“Sheldon…”

“I said no. It had my name on it. It’s not going. We need to destroy it.”

“They could check it for prints. We should’ve given it to them right away,”

Corrigan argued. “Why’d you guys even have it in the first place?”

“Sheldon grabbed it off the body.”

I flinched at those words. Leisha was cold now.

Bryce added, “I didn’t really think about it.”

“I don’t want the cops to know. I don’t want to be…connected to whoever could do something like that,” I spat out, feeling my insides gutted out.

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“You should tell them,” Corrigan said.

“Shut up.”

Corrigan didn’t say anything.

Bryce rubbed a hand over his jaw and sat up. He stood and paced. “This is…we should do something. I don’t want to sit anymore.”

“Everyone at school is going to know,” I said faintly.

“Let’s play basketball or…I don’t know. Let’s go for a run.”

“We should call the cops now.”

“Shut up, Corrigan!” I yelled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He yelled back, “You don’t want to talk about anything!”

“Shut up both of you!” Bryce hissed, “We’re going to wake your parents.”

That shut us up.

I stood and spoke, “I’m going to shower.”

Corrigan glanced at me and then away. He closed his eyes and laid down.

Bryce watched me leave the room. When I turned the corner, I heard him ask,

“You got more alcohol?”

“Yeah,” Corrigan said tiredly and got up.

I closed the bathroom door and leaned against it while I slid to the floor. My hands were chalk-white as I pressed them against my legs. It felt weird. I couldn’t feel my hands against my legs. I only stared at them in sick fascination. A person should be able to feel, but my legs had gone numb.

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When I saw some spots on my shirt, it took a minute before I realized they were tears. I’d been crying and not known it. Then I watched as another one fell to my shirt and realized I was
still
crying.

Weak, I got up and turned the shower on. I turned the water to scalding hot and stripped my clothes off before I stepped inside. I slid to the floor and sat there, arms wrapped around my knees.

The water pounded on me and I watched the water slide to circle the drain.

It was slowly sucked downwards, like a vacuum.

I wasn’t surprised when the door opened and Bryce stepped inside.

I just looked up at him and he sighed. He moved me and sat behind where he

wrapped his arms around me. I hugged his arms as they hugged me.

He rested his head in the crook between my shoulders and neck. His cheek grazed against the side of mine.

We both shuddered for a moment until I realized it was me. I was trembling and Bryce was trying to stop it.

A choked gasp sounded and echoed in the shower. That came from me too.

“Where’s Corrigan?” I asked, huskily.

Bryce soothed his hands up and down my arms. “He called the police. They’re

going to come and get the letter.”

“I

don’t—”

“They have to have it.”

I shut up. The fight had left me. I knew they were right, but…

“I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want…”

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“You didn’t do anything,” Bryce insisted. “Whoever did that is sick and the cops have to know. He might do it to you.”

I closed my eyes as I finally felt the water hit my skin. Finally.

“Everyone at school is going to know,” I murmured, wondering why I said it.