“She also helped me throw a coup at the dance,” Jaz went on. “Not that I got to rub my victory in Brittany’s face much, but it was good, to finally be above her…even though it was only for a day, before—well, you know.”
Yes, I knew. Everyone did. What happened to Brittany was only spoken of behind closed doors.
I’d heard what happened at the dance, but it had never really been my focus, since my family had been falling apart. Even though it pained me to say it, I said, “Tell me about it.” Even though I knew the gist of it, hearing it from her would be different.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. Listening to her would be enough.
And, as crazy as it was, it totally was. Jaz told me the entire plan, how Bobbi had helped her out, gotten her friend in the front office to help stage the voting results. I actually chuckled when I heard how Brittany had stormed the stage, frowned when Jaz said she’d hijacked the projector and played a video of Jaz at that fateful party, and nearly gasped when I heard that Brittany fell off the stage after lunging for Jaz.
“I might’ve helped her fall, just a bit,” Jaz was saying, hugging my arm close to her chest as we walked. “Jacob taught me some self-defense after what happened with Ryan and his friends.”
I looked down to the grass below us, hating that Brittany had told Ryan and his friends to go ahead and do it. Who the hell did that? Who could possibly give anyone permission to rape someone else? Brittany was a sociopath, and she always knew how to play the game and get what she wanted.
Not now, though.
“It’s ironic,” she muttered. “I got what I wanted—partially, I mean—and then she still has to go and upstage me by getting murdered.”
It was wrong to chuckle at that, but I did. Silently. Brittany always won. Her winning streak was officially over, though.
“You still don’t think it could’ve been her?” Jaz asked, stopping our walking. She still held onto me, but she angled her head up to look at me, her eyes reflecting the sliver of moon that hung in the sky. “She wouldn’t have told the police about your father?”
I shook my head. “It was the only reason I was with her. She knew that. She lorded it over me for so long…there’s no way she was the one who found out.” A beat passed before it was my turn to ask, “And you’re sure it wasn’t Vaughn? I know the Scotts have connections everywhere.” I’d bring up Dante, but he didn’t seem like the type to use blackmail against anyone; he was the type of person who liked to use his fist. Or another weapon.
Now, Vaughn? That quiet, silent guy? I knew better than to underestimate what he was capable of.
“Positive,” she said. “He would’ve told me if it was him.” Jaz let out a sigh. “I wish…I just wish we could figure out who’s doing all of this stuff, you know? It feels like we’re being targeted.”
“We just have to watch out and be careful.”
Jaz laughed, and the sound was like music to my ears. “Being careful means not going to parties together, Archer.” She stepped closer to me, now directly before me, her arm slipping from mine as she whispered, “It means you and I staying away from each other, but I don’t know if I can do that.”
The night breeze blew between us, a soft, gentle caress from the air as I let her words sink in. Honestly, I didn’t know if I could do that, either. Now that Jaz was within reach, I didn’t want to let her go, even if meant facing Dante or Vaughn daily. Hell, or even Jacob.
“Even if it’s stupid, I can’t stay away from you, Archer,” she murmured, angling her face up to mine. In the moonlight, she was beautiful, more beautiful than in any other light. Ethereal, unearthly, so beautiful it hurt. “This is where you tell me I’m crazy and let me down fast.”
Was that a hope, a plea? Was that what she wanted me to say to make things easier for the both of us? Well, if that’s what she wanted, she’d be sorely disappointed, because I felt the exact same way.
“This is not where you stare longingly into my eyes,” she spoke, her voice a bare whisper. “Things are so complicated between us.