eyes narrowed, and he asked, “You can’t think of anyone else that might want to hurt your girlfriend?”
Honestly, everyone who wanted to hurt her the most was dead, besides Brittany. Who the hell could be in her wheelhouse?
“I don’t know,” I said, but, deep down, I did have an idea. It was an idea that didn’t sit well with me, for multiple reasons. I got up, jerking to my feet. “Thank you. I… I need to go think.”
“Great,” Markus spoke as I walked out, “anytime you need help again, please don’t fucking come to me.”
I didn’t sleep that night, mostly because I was too lost in my own thoughts, too worried at what might be the truth. The truth… it would hurt Jaz. It would hurt her a lot. I debated on texting her my theory, on calling her and talking to her, but in the end, I didn’t. I’d wait a bit, now that I knew who to watch.
Watching was something of a specialty of mine.
The next day at school, I paid special attention to one student. I watched what that student did, how that student moved through the halls… almost like no one else saw them, either. Like they knew how to put on a mask. Now that my attention was focused on that particular student, I was able to note the cracks in the shell they wore.
No. It couldn’t be, but it was the only thing that made sense.
When lunch came, Jaz sat beside me, practically bouncing in her seat, in such a good mood I hated to tell her my theory. So I didn’t. I didn’t want to hurt her until I was one hundred percent certain.
“Dudes,” Jaz spoke, glancing at both Dante and me. Today I didn’t get food from the kitchen, for once. “Guess what I heard.”
“I’ll play any game you want, babe, as long as you end up on your—”
Dante’s crude remark was interrupted by Jaz herself, “Shut up, and listen.” When she was confident both Dante and I would be silent, she went on, “Brittany’s out of the hospital.”
She was? Already? That didn’t sound right.
“Seems soon,” Dante remarked, voicing my thoughts as he glanced at me. I could only nod along with him.
“And that’s not all,” Jaz said. “She’s missing again. I guess she forced the doctors to do it, checked herself out and never went home.” She shook her head, acting a little too happy, with everything going on. “Let her try to come at me. Let her try.”
Something didn’t sit right with me. All the gusto of what she’d done, arriving during Archer’s mother’s funeral, and she’d just disappear again, after a little over twenty-four hours later? Suspicious didn’t seem to cut it.
Dante didn’t think it was right either, for he said, “You seem awfully happy, considering that bitch is somewhere out there, wanting to kill you.”
“I’m not happy about that,” she said. “Bobbi’s coming over. I guess Archer needs some things from his house, so Jacob’s taking him over there after school. It’s best, since the bitch is out there, looking for blood. I don’t trust her not to try to go after him. You know—” She lifted her hand, curling her fingers like she was holding onto a knife. “—the if I can’t have you, no one can kind of thing. Jacob will keep him safe.”
“When is that meeting with your mom, by the way?” Dante asked, smirking.
I tuned them out. This wasn’t right. None of this was right, and yet no one else saw the signs. It could very well be paranoia, but I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t.
“Not anytime soon,” Jaz said, sighing as she got out her lunch. “I’m just happy Bobbi’s dad doesn’t think I’m a killer anymore. I missed hanging out with her.”
“Be careful,” I said, causing Jaz to give me a questioning look.
“Ignoring the fact that I’m always careful—” Jaz paused, letting her sarcasticness seep in. “—what do you mean?”
I looked down at my lap, knowing I would sound crazy to Jaz. She liked to see the best in people; she certainly saw the best in me. Some days I wondered if she knew how dark my soul was. Sure, she knew I’d killed Ryan, knew I’d told Dante to take care of the others, but knowing it and seeing it firsthand were two different things.
Finally, I said, “With Bobbi. Please be careful with Bobbi.”
Jaz suddenly appeared uneasy. “Why would I have to be careful with Bobbi?” When I said