Meeting Zeb’s eyes, I knew without him saying anything that we were thinking the same thing. Chase wanted to get close to me and was using my roommate to do so.
“Nope. We’re headed out,” Zeb said, standing. He was a few inches taller than Chase. Heavier, too.
We were?
“Coach gave us two days off, so we’re headed home for the break,” Zeb added.
Um, what?
“You know Devil’s Ditch, Chase?” Zeb asked, sounding like he was poking the guy with a stick. “The town where my brother’s the sheriff?”
Chase gave a nonchalant shrug, but his gazenarrowed. The casual, easygoing facade slipped away and his real, dark personality peeked out. “He’s tried to pin stuff on my family, but nothing’s stuck, Wilder.”
What was he talking about? Zeb’s brother, the sheriff, had been trying to arrest Chase’s family?
Zeb clenched his jaw.
“Nothing will,” Chase added, looking my way.
Meaning that if I went to the police about what I saw him involved in, it wasn’t going to stick. I had no evidence besides what I saw.
Rose was still smiling, but looked nervous. Like she was seeing a different side to Chase than what he’d given her before now. Her gaze kept flicking around the three of us, trying to get clued in on what was going on.
“Chase and I are from the same small town,” Zeb clarified.
He hadn’t told me that. Only that Chase’s entire family was a bunch of jerks. I hadn’t thought about how he knew that. So his dislike for Chase ran deeper than just the football team and here at school.
“Pancakes, babe?” Chase asked, setting his hand on Rose’s shoulder and giving her a wink.
Gross.
She had on the outfit from the night before, but her makeup was gone and her hair looked slept on.Knowing her, there was no way she was going out in public like that.
She eyed me for a moment, definitely picking up the dislike Zeb and I had for Chase, then shrugged off his touch. “I’m good. Faith invited me to go home with her for the break. I’ve got to get a shower and get packed.”
Chase looked Rose over like she smelled like roadkill. “Whatever. One and done, babe.”
Then he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him. It was dead silent in his wake.
“You okay, Rose?” Zeb asked. “He hurt you?”
She stared at the closed door, but blinked a couple times, then looked to Zeb. “I’m good. He didn’t hurt me. It’s like he has two different personalities. He was… cool.”
Zeb nodded. “I know what you mean.”
“You really going with Faith?” I asked, setting my hand on her arm. “I can stay here with you if you need me to.”
She smiled. “I’m good and, yes, Faith wants to go to a haunted corn maze. Sounds… fun.”
“I’m glad he was nice to you, but he’s a jerk,” Zeb told her, skipping over small talk and getting to what we really needed to talk about with her.
I nodded. I didn’t want to tell her about the drugdeal because the less who knew, the better. It was obvious Chase had no issue with stooping to hook up with my roommate only to fuck with me. I also wasn’t going to tell her she’d been used because that would only be cruel. I had a feeling she already knew though.
She shrugged. “I had a good time, but I’ve had better. If it makes you feel better, Cam, he has a small dick.” She held her hand up, thumb and pointer finger close together.
I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh, which made her smile, too.
“What’s going on?” she asked, concerned.
