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“Where are you right now?” he snaps back urgently.
“Everything’s a mess,” I groan, not knowing where to begin. Where I am right now doesn’t feel as a simple question as it should be, but I try to get myself together. “I’m at Malcolm Henderson’s,” I say finally.
“Does he know you’re talking to me?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I reply, the concern in my voice growing at the panic in his. “I stepped outside to take your call.”
“I don’t have much time to explain,” he huffs. “I’m on my way there. But you have to be careful, Ophelia. Malcolm’s dangerous.”
My heart pounds. An asshole definitely, but it hadn’t occurred to me that Malcolm could be more dangerous than refusing to take no for an answer. But Coach Granger doesn’t sound like he’s playing around, not even a little bit.
“What do you mean?” I question with caution, keeping my eyes glued on them through the window. “Lily is here, too.”
“Don’t trust either of them,” he orders. I already didn’t trust them, but it’s becoming obvious that something much bigger than I realized is going on. “The reason I was away those few weeks…” he explains slowly, clearing his throat. “My son died.”
“Oh my god…Coach…I’m so sorry,” I gasp, my heart breaking for him and a lump in my throat. “I had no idea. That’s terrible!” I feel awful for not knowing this whole time, for not being able to offer my condolences in some way. “But I don’t understand,” I continue carefully. “Why are you telling me this right now?”
“He was a recovering addict, Ophelia,” he answers. “He relapsed and overdosed on heroin.”
“Heroin…” I trail off, making the instant connection between what Lily and Vivian did to me and what happened to Coach’s son.
“My son was doing better than ever,” he explains vehemently. “We were very close. I knew what the signs of a relapse were, and he showed none of them. I knew the Elites had to be behind it somehow because of the timing of it all. I just didn’t know how. Until you told me what Vivian and Lily did to you.”
“I believe you,” I offer immediately, needing to show him the same trust he showed me when I was in trouble at school. Ironically, those are also the same words I am longing to hear from Emmett right now. “You think they did the same thing to your son?”
“The stuff they found in his room around his body, Ophelia…it was all wrapped in a bow. Like someone planted it there just for him, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist,” he illuminates chillingly. “After you told me what Vivian and Lily did, I called up a detective friend of mine and had him look into it. There was DNA on the items that matches two people from WJ Prep.”
“Lily and Vivian,” I announce confidently.
“No. Lily and Malcolm,” he corrects me.
“Why would Malcolm do that to your son?” I exclaim into the phone, quickly softening to a hushed tone so they won’t hear me inside.
“Ophelia, where are they right now?” he asks, the panic in his voice returning.
“They’re inside,” I reply. “I can see them through the window.”
“It’s not safe for you there, but I need you to try and make sure they don’t leave until I get there,” he instructs. “The police are on their way, and so am I. Can you do that for me? Without getting hurt?”
“I think so,” I say timidly. “I can try. But I don’t think either of them want to physically harm me…Just ruin my life.”
“No, they’re dangerous,” he reminds me. “Be very careful. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
20
Chapter Twenty
I walk back inside trembling, trying to hide my fear. I feel stupid for not realizing how much danger I could be in when I charged in the first time, and I am still having a hard time believing what Coach Granger said.
I never knew Lily to be vicious until recently. Same with Malcolm. I knew when the old Elite gang was together, they were capable of some pretty monstrous things, but Lily and Malcolm were never a part of that. They were supposed to be the good guys. But now it appears as though they may be the worst ones out of them all.
“So…you never said what it was you were doing here exactly,” I say carefully to Lily as I shut the door behind me, wishing I could leave it open as a means of a quick escape. “I didn’t know you and Malcolm were friends.”
“What…you think you know everything about me just because we hung out a couple of times?” she shoots back coldly.
“Obviously not,” I mutter, clenching my fingers around my phone before slipping it into my pocket.
“Who were you talking to on the phone?” she asks in a sly, questioning tone.
