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“Your mom will be happy you’re okay, I promise.”
I usher her into the car before taking her to the hospital, calling her mom on the way. It doesn’t take long to reach the hospital, and thankfully we don’t wait long before someone comes to tend to her since it’s so early in the day, but I’m instructed to stay in the waiting room. Her mom breezes through the waiting room and heads straight for me, looking fucking terrified. “She’s okay, she’s just in with the nurses.”
“Thank you, Octavia.” she says, taking a deep breath before she heads into the room. I can’t imagine how she feels; that’s her daughter in there. Though her helplessness and rage are written all over her face. And after everything I’ve been through the last few months, I get it.
I move to actually sit in the waiting room and stare up at the tiled ceiling, searching for some answers. I drop a message to Smithy to let him know I’m going to miss school today, and he confirms he’ll let the school know. It isn’t like Thursdays are a typical skip day, and while I might be worried about my grades and getting behind, I’m more worried about my friend.
My phone buzzes again, and my heart stops when I see the message.
Unknown: We told you nobody you loved was safe. When will you listen?
This is my fault.
Holy shit.
I can’t breathe.
I put my head between my knees as I try to stave off the panic attack that threatens. My heart thumps in my chest and my hands shake; my temperature rises as everything around me becomes overwhelming. The noises in here sound like I’m underwater as I struggle to focus on my breathing.
This can’t be my fault. It has to be a coincidence. They wouldn’t do that.
Right?
* * *
Friday morning at school is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The hype for tonight’s game isout of this world.School spirit’s at an all time high, and it’s like everything else that happened this week is long forgotten. It feels like I’m not here, as if everyone’s forgotten to make my life a living hell, and I'm so fucking here for it.
Indi’s excitement is palpable. The cut on her head was small enough to not need stitches, and makeup covers the bruising on her cheek. I showed her the message I got when the nurses finally let me in her room, but she refused to put any of the blame on me. She said the guys that stole her car were older, so that it was likely someone heard about what happened and was trying to use it against me.
I hate to hope that it's true, but she’s been adamant about it, and despite everything, she’s still my sunshine friend. When she appeared at my gates this morning in her Wrangler, I was beyond shocked. Apparently it was found not an hour after we reported it stolen, without a single scratch on it.
That alone makes me think she’s wrong about it being a coincidence. She won’t hear any of it, so I keep my thoughts about it to myself.
As I walk through the halls with Indi, I can’t help but be amazed once more about the complete change in the whole mood and demeanor of the entire fucking student body. “This is weird, right? It’s just a high school football game.”
Indi looks at me with wide eyes full of fear, which is sobering but makes me want to laugh at the same time. “Please, sweet baby Jesus, do not let anyone hear you saying those words. Football is basically a religion here. Why do you think that Raleigh and the guys are basically untouchable? Even Lincoln and his merry band of assholes don’t tend to fuck with the team.Religion.”
“It’s still weird,” I say with a shrug as we reach my locker. I open it and put my bag inside, grabbing my phone and sliding it into my pocket before locking it up.
“Oh, it’s absolutely fucking nuts, but is that even a surprise about this place at this point? Everything about Echoes Cove is fucking weird. The sheer amount of money that gets funneled into the team is staggering. If there isn’t some shady shit going on with that, I’d be amazed.” She pops her bubblegum when she finishes speaking, and I consider her words. She’s not wrong. Echoes Cove is a web of lies and secrets. There’s no way there’s this many rich people in such a small place without there being something shady going down.
I’m just glad I’ve managed to keep out of that shit.
She shoves her stuff in her locker and we head to the cafeteria in time for a mass exodus. The cheers and chanting leave me at a loss as the loudspeaker sounds with the principal’s voice. “Today’s pep rally will start in thirty minutes. Please start making your way to the gym.”
Indi groans beside me, rolling her eyes. “I totally forgot they wipe the whole fucking afternoon for this bullshit.”
My stomach growls at her words. “Okay, well, if I have to deal with this much school spirit and not kill people, I need food.”
“Same, girl. Same,” she says as she heads into the near empty cafeteria. I follow her, stoked to see that the one advantage of the insane pep rally is that there’s no one in line for food. Some of the tables still hold kids, the ones who are obviously choosing to study instead of going to the pep rally.
Maybe they have the right idea.
I grab a couple slices of pepperoni pizza and a bag of chips before heading to a table with Indi, who carries her own pizza and a brownie. “Maybe we should skip and study? We never had our study date.”
She pauses, her slice of pizza halfway to her mouth before shaking her head. “If I wasn’t a football fiend, I would usually say yes… Except for the fact that Jackson asked if I’d be there, and I already told him yes.”
“Ooh, how’s that whole thing going?” I ask, wagging my eyebrows, and she blushes.
