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“Oh…uh…it was my mom.” I laugh nervously. “Just wondering where I was.” It feels like the energy in the room has shifted, but I can’t tell if I’m just being paranoid. I swear they know that I know something, and I suddenly feel like a rat thrown into a snake’s cage. “Can I use your restroom?” I blurt, needing some kind of retreat to collect myself.
They say nothing, but Malcolm lingers behind me, vaguely waving his arm towards the back of the room. So, I direct myself to the door I saw Lily coming out of before. I brace my back against the door as I close it behind me, blowing sharp breaths from my cheeks as quietly as possible. My shaking hands reach for the faucet, turning on a rush of water on to drown out the sound of my panic attack.
I lean over the sink and splash some water on my face. My heart is breaking for Coach Granger. Even though Lily and Malcolm didn’t murder his son with their own hands
, what they did seems worse somehow. To plant his weakness in front of him wrapped in a bow. They just left it there and waited, letting him take care of the rest. Coach sounded confident that his son would have never relapsed on his own, had it not been for their little gift.
I swallow down the sickness rising in my chest and try to regain my composure. With one last deep breath, I flush the toilet and turn off the water. I reach for the door handle to go out, realizing I have zero plan for what to do until Coach Granger gets there.
I frantically try to wrap my brain around some sort of explanation for my lingering presence and to keep them occupied, when I am frozen at the sight of both of them lurking on the other side of the door, waiting for me to come back out.
“Hey,” I gulp innocently.
“Been talking to Coach Granger, huh?” Lily’s voice burns as I blindly feel for my pocket and realize my phone is gone.
“Looking for this?” Malcolm teases as he holds my phone up in the air. He must have grabbed it just as I was walking past to the bathroom.
I lunge forward to grab it back, which is pointless because it’s obviously too late. Lily pounces on me from behind and wrestles me to the ground as Malcolm swings his hand back, snatching the phone from my reach. I squirm as he joins in, helping her pin me to the ground.
I’m terrified of what might happen once I am fully restrained, but suddenly the front door bursts open, slicing through my fear. I expect to see the police or Coach Granger standing there, but I’m shocked to see Emmett instead. He freezes at the sight of them tackling me.
“Emmett, help!” I scream out as he rushes over.
Emmett pulls Malcolm back by the hair and punches him in the face with enough force to scare Lily off of me. Malcolm stumbles off to the other side of the room, holding his hand over his eye and cheek while I pull myself to my feet and cower behind Emmett.
“Coach Granger and the police are on their way here,” I announce over his shoulder. “They know all about what you two did.”
“Your girl has officially lost it, Emmett,” Lily sneers, trying to play innocent.
“What’s going on?” Emmett asks, looking at Malcolm like he could kill him.
“He found your DNA on the needles and drugs you gift-wrapped for his recovering son,” I explain. “It’s all over now. He knows what you did and can prove it. He’s on his way with the police!”
Lily and Malcolm are still before us like deer in headlights, but Malcolm quickly bolts for the door. Emmett chases after him but doesn’t catch up in time. I see him sprinting across the yard out of sight as Emmett quickly locks and blocks the door so Lily can’t escape.
“What’s all this about, then?” he asks as he instinctively guards the escape. He’s smart enough to know to act and then ask questions. I’m glad he still has at least this much faith in me. “What are you talking about?” he asks again.
“I told you someone made sure Coach Granger wouldn’t be around when things came to a head with the rest of the Elites,” I remind him. “They’re the ones who did it. They made sure his son would use again, and it’s the reason he died.” I watch his expression as he pieces it all together before turning back to Lily. “How could you do something like this, Lily? Why were you helping the Elites?”
A look of defiance comes over her for a moment, but it quickly fades. She knows I’ve talked to Granger and that I know everything. Emmett knows now, too, and the police will be here soon. She accepts that she’s been caught. Her eyes close, and then she turns to Emmett in desperation.
“I did it for you,” she cries softly in his direction.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he thunders back.
“I’ve always loved you,” she sobs. “Ever since freshman year. You knew I had a crush on you.”
“What does that have to do with Coach Granger’s son?” I redirect her, growing impatient. If there’s any chance of getting a real explanation from her, it has to happen now, before the police show up.
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” she insists. “Malcolm promised nothing would happen to me.”
“He’s gone, Lily,” I remind her with a pitying, reprimanding stare. “He left you. He’s not going to help you.”
“I was furious with you and the Elites for ruining my chances for college,” she explains desperately. “And it was all your fault. All because I was stupid enough to try and help you and be your friend!”
I could never believe that those Elite monsters would stoop so low as to ruin Lily’s entire educational future just because she wasn’t in their good graces. It changed my entire view of the world, realizing that even the most prestigious institutions could be swayed by the right people in the right places. Nothing is sacred.
And now they have stooped even lower in the aftermath, reducing Lily to a love-raged murderer. She always seemed so bright and above all of the bullshit around here. But I guess maybe that was just an act. Maybe she was just trying to keep me close out of jealousy for Emmett.
