it off forever. Odds were most, if not all, of Midpark High had already heard about what happened. The rumor mill had nothing on the truth this time; there was nothing worse than murder.
I still had no idea how my DNA had supposedly gotten to the crime scene, but with any luck, with Ollie and Jacob on the case, the truth would soon be revealed.
“Hiding from it won’t change anything,” I added, trying to use my mom’s own logic against her.
You know, that advice could pertain to other things, too, things which Mom had chosen to keep from me my entire life. My dad. My sperm donor. Whatever you wanted to call him; she’d kept the fact that she knew who he was, that he was out there somewhere, alive and well. How else could I look like him?
It wasn’t a shock to learn I looked like my father. My mom had the natural yellow hair, pale skin, and watery blue eyes while I was a bit darker all over. Everyone said Mom looked young for her age, but me? I’d grown up hearing comments that I looked more mature for my age, and I had to owe that particular aspect of myself to him.
Someday soon, when things calmed down, my mom and I needed to sit down and have a long chat about that.
“I’m worried about you,” she told me, her expression softening. “I don’t want the other kids to—”
To gang up on me? To hate me? To believe what the police believed, that I murdered Brittany? Well, it was definitely too late for that. The kids at Midpark believed everything they heard about me, probably because I was an outsider from the beginning and didn’t play by their rules. Oh, and I’d fucked Brittany over from the beginning—though I’d argue that was a clueless mistake I would not have made if I’d known Archer was taken.
“I’ll be fine, Mom,” I told her firmly, meaning it. I would be, unless whoever killed Brittany looked to make me their next victim. Did I think it was Archer? I…I’d like to say no, but I knew enough about Midpark now to not make any assumptions.
I really couldn’t trust anyone here, though I did make an exception for Jacob.
And sort of Vaughn.
And kind of Dante.
Just stupid of me, considering what those last two were capable of.
“I can handle it,” I said when she kept quiet.
Eventually, Mom sighed as she went to hug me. “I know you’re strong, honey,” she whispered into my ear, her arms wrapped so tightly around me it felt like she wanted to pull me back into her body, a reverse-birth, or something. “But sometimes being strong isn’t enough.”
When the hug ended, I forced out a smile. I wanted to make my mom believe everything would be fine, wanted to be the adult here who soothed her instead. But I wasn’t; I was the kid. I was the girl stuck in a rich high school, surrounded by equally rich brats who would do anything to drag me through hell and make my life miserable.
Oh, yeah. Today was going to suck.
Gathering myself up, I told my mom goodbye and headed to the front door. My backpack sat on the ground near it, and I swung it over my shoulders. Within a moment, I was walking toward Jacob’s car and getting in, shooting Mr. Grumps himself a tiny smile.
“Morning, Grumps,” I said, enjoying the way he frowned at me in response. Irritating him shouldn’t make me so happy, but it did. What can I say? I liked getting a rise out of the ever-grumpy grouch. It was like, on the outside, he was a prickly guy who wanted no physical affection, but once you peeled back that first layer, he was nothing but a teddy bear who needed loving.
He'd hate it if he knew I just compared him to a teddy bear. Absolutely hate it. Hell, he’d probably make me get out of this car and walk to school if he knew.
All he said was, “It’s too early for that shit.” He pulled his car around the lot, circling back to the front gate, which Frank had opened for us. Jacob had a coffee sitting in the center console, and without thinking about it, I reached for it.
I reached for it and took a sip, only to find it was black. Black, as in, no sugar, no creamer, no nothing. Ugh. I made a face and put it back, wishing I