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My cheeks are flaming. I’m a terrible liar.
“Bro, you look guilty. You sound guilty.” August steps in closer and lowers his voice. “Shit. Did you murder him?”
“Oh my god, no! That’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Really?”
August shrugs and then says, “You’re small, but I’m sure you could manage to get a knife in that thick chest of his. I’m just not sure you’d have the strength to dispose of the body. Unless, of course, you chopped him up into tiny pieces.”
I grab my satchel and throw it over my shoulders. “You are crazy. Certifiable. No, I did not murder him, nor would I ever do that to someone. And really, could we just not. No more talk of him. I don’t even want tothinkof him, okay?”
“Alright, if you say so,” August says, holding up his hands. “Let’s go then. Let’s go hit some balls.”
“Ugh. You know I suck at that. I’m not sporty. Not in the least. Why do you keep inviting me to my own personal hell? Do you enjoy torturing me?”
August laughs and ruffles my hair. “It’s good for your coordination and upper body strength.” He reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Too skinny.”
“It’s just how I’m made, okay? I have muscles. They’re just hidden. They don’t just pop out like they do on you.”
Or Sem. He has a lot of muscles. More than anyone I know, actually.
August grins as if he’s followed my train of thought. I quickly squash it, just in case he truly is telepathic. “Come on. No more complaining. Let’s go.”
I groan but follow my best friend out of the school, locking up behind me, because there’s no saying no to him, apparently.
“You still hanging out with Emery?” I ask, and August glowers at me.
“It’s bad enough that he’s going to be my stepbrother in a few short months. Can we please not talk about him now? You’re ruining my night just mentioning his name.”
“Oh, so you can go on and on about Sem, but I can’t ask a simple question about Emery?”
“Yeah, but man, Sem has a total crush on you.”
“He does not.”
“Yeah, bro, he does.” He walks me to my car and says, “But Emery and I…he’s just a…tool. I’m doing this for my mom, okay? I’m trying to be nice, but he’s just a little shit.” He glances at me and then arches an eyebrow. “Happy now?”
“Perhaps,” I say and slide into my car to follow him to the batting cages.
When I arrive home two hours later, I could pass out. My entire body aches even more than it did after work. Hitting balls is no joke. My arms are screaming at me. Luckily, August fed me before he dropped me off because I was getting hangry and was close to disowning him as my best friend.
“Oh, shit on a stick!” I shout when I see Sem sitting at my desk, thumbing through some of my bills. My heart jumps in my chest and continues to pound erratically despite knowing I’m not in any danger. Sem may be a bit of a stalker, but deep down I know he’s not dangerous.
My eyes slide over him as I lock the door. He’s wearing torn jeans and a sleeveless grey shirt. On his right bicep is a large tattoo of an eagle in front of an American flag. It’s utterly ridiculous and ostentatious. How had I never noticed that before?
I shake my head because why would I have noticed that? I try my best tonotlook at him. Even if he makes it impossible.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I say and rush over, snatching the paperwork he’s flipping through, and stuff it into a drawer. I’d lock it up, but it wouldn’t matter. He’d just pick the lock open if he wanted to. “You can’t just snoop around like this, Sem. That stuff is not your business. It’s private.”
He glances up at me and swivels around in the chair, disregarding my obvious anger.
“Where were you?” he asks.
My eyes roll so hard it hurts. “None of your business.”
“I waited for you.”
“Tough shit.”
Sem fiddles with the button on the bottom of my shirt, and I step back.
