As she sits down beside Alex and opens her lunch, I catch a reflection of something shiny. Following the glint, I see a rather enormous diamond on Reesa’s very important ring finger. I’m stunned for a minute. Did Alex get engaged and not tell us?
“Is that…” Seb whispers to me. “Holy shit.”
“Reesa, that’s a stunning ring you have,” I tell her.
She smiles as Alex whips his head around to see what we’re talking about. When he spots the ring, he freezes. “Reesa, where did you get that ring?”
“Alicia,” she replies quietly.
Seb leans over to show me his phone. “Uh, congrats, man. You didn’t tell anyone you were engaged. How come?” I see an announcement of their engagement in the Charleston paper.
“We are not engaged,” he says, anger clear in his tone.
“Are you sure?” I ask, showing him the article on Seb’s phone. He skims it, then glares at Reesa. If looks could kill, she'd be dead right now. I’ve never seen Alex so enraged before.
“Reesa, come now,” he demands, standing up. Reesa doesn’t move initially, just bows her head to look at the table.
When he grabs her arm to yank her up, I stand up. No way is anyone going to physically hurt another under my watch. “Alex,” I reprimand. “Unhand her now.”
He looks up at me, eyebrows raised and mouth slightly parted in shock. “I know you’re upset, but don’t manhandle her, or you and I are going to have a problem.”
He immediately lets go and steps back. “Reesa, we need to talk immediately. Please follow me.” She quietly gets up and follows him out of the cafeteria.
“Something tells me this is a surprise to Alex,” Seb says. “That’s messed up.”
“Would Alicia go this far?” I ask. I know she's terrible, but to give Reesa an engagement ring and write up an announcement in the paper without Alex’s knowledge seems unimaginable.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” E comments.
“Wow. I have no words,” I say, shaking my head. I never imagined someone doing something like this. Why?
AP European History is, thankfully, much better than precalculus, as are my other two courses. The teachers are pleasant and engaging and seem to really enjoy their subjects.
I don’t see Alex for the rest of the day, and neither do the guys. He’s not in the parking lot after school either. I hop in with Bay and grab my knife as we head to my house, with E, Nick, and Seb following. Things with Bay are completely normal, but I’m still sad we won’t be together. I respect his decision, and he’s still one of my best friends, but I’m secretly hoping he changes his mind.
E helps me make dinner for everyone when we get home. The garden is still producing lots of veggies for me, so we decide on salad and lasagna. As the lasagna cooks, we chat on the back deck about our first day of classes, and I decide to send a text to Alex to check on him. There’s no immediate response, though. “Nick, did you contact your hacker friend?”
“Yeah,” he nods. My man of few words. He must be waiting for him to respond.
Troy and Zander come home around 5pm, and we enjoy a meal outside. Seb fills them in on the engagement announcement, and both seem concerned for Alex. The FBI is looking into Nick’s dad, but he’s not in South Carolina, so the local office can’t do much.
As I chat with Seb and E that night on the phone, E asks me to dinner at his grandparents’ house on Friday. They called him on the drive home and want to meet with him regarding his future. That doesn’t sound ominous at all.
School goes fine for the rest of the week with one big exception. Alex is not himself but unwilling to talk to any of us about his circumstances. I swear the temperature drops when Reesa joins us for lunch every day. They don’t speak to each other, not that they interacted much before, and she’s still wearing the ring. E said he’s tried to get him to talk, since he’s been staying with Alex, but his only response is that he’s handling it. Alex has either been on his phone, in his room, or working out at night.
Chapter 6
Summer
On Saturday, we’re having a combined birthday party for Alex and Seb. After much debate, they decided on an escape room followed by a murder mystery party. With the threat of Nick’s dad, we're all uneasy with a straight-up high school style party. Big crowds and drunk people mean opportunities to harm one of us. Alex’s actual birthday is Monday, while Seb’s is Tuesday.
Since it’s hotter than Hades today, I decide to wear dressier shorts and a tank top, putting my hair up into a high ponytail. I add the second tracker to my shoe and fill a small crossbody purse with the essentials. Since we’re spending the night at Alex’s, my duffle bag is all ready to go.
The doorbell ringing prompts me to exit my room. Nick is with Zander as they walk into the kitchen. “Hi Grumpy.”
“Shortie,” he grunts.
“A reminder to stay vigilant, darling. Do not remove your necklace and keep your phone charged. Nick, she goes nowhere alone, including the bathroom.”
