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Now I know what she means when she says something’s wrong with my face, because I see clear as day from her face that she’s hiding something from me. Maybe it’s a sister thing, that she can see something’s wrong with me and vice versa. Or maybe it’s just because we know each other so well or have been through so many shitty things together we know what the other is thinking from a facial expression, but right now, I know my hunch is right. She has the phone.
“I know it was Brandon, Gia. He doesn’t have the phone, and it was in my room before he broke in. If he had it, he wouldn’t be blackmailing me to give it back to him. So where is it?”
Her eyes widen in alarm, and she jumps up from the bed. “Blackmail? How is he blackmailing you?”
Shit. The word slipped out without me realizing. I don’t want to alarm her, but I need her to take this seriously.
Reluctantly, I admit, “Brandon knows why I was arrested in LA. He has proof, I’ve seen it, and he’s going to share it with the school if I don’t give him the phone.”
Her face twists with panic as she sorts through what that would mean. “He’s going to tell everyone? Siena, we have to give him the phone!”
I have no intention of giving him the phone. “Do you have it?”
Rushing to her dresser, she admits, “Yes, I have it. You know I do.”
I knew she was snooping through my room! I should’ve realized sooner that she found it, but this is good. This means Brandon really doesn’t have it, and I can find out what he’s hiding. “Why do you have it? Why were you looking for it in my room?”
Gia yanks open her middle dresser drawer and sifts through the clothes. “I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t know you had it. I found it by accident and recognized it when I was snooping through your things to see if I could find another note from Mom.”
“Gia . . .” I start.
“Don’tGiame. Just because you decided we’re better off without Mom doesn’t mean I feel the same way.”
“I haven’t heard from Mom since the last time.” She did end up texting me a few of that director Lincoln’s ideas, which I ignored, but Gia doesn’t need to know that.
“She doesn’t care about us, Gia.”
“So you say.”
“She doesn’t! I don’t know what gives you the impression that she does. She hasn’t tried to contact you at all.”
Gia huffs, turning to face me with a small cloth makeup bag in her hand. “I don’t want to talk about Mom right now. We need to handle this thing with Brandon first. Are you going to give it to him now? Are you meeting up with him?”
“No, I’m going to work. Isla offered to come pick me up before our shift starts since Jason is at work. She’ll be here soon.”
Her brows knit together with a puzzled frown. “What do you mean? Why aren’t you making sure he has the phone right away? He can’t tell everyone, Siena! I’m finally getting somewhere with my social life. I’mpopular, I’m on teams, I’m invited toeverything. People love me! What do you think will happen when everyone starts talking about how my sister killed a man? You know what happens with rumors here; they can destroy you. Three weeks ago, a rumor started that Theodore Hartwell sucks his thumb at night, and now not a single person will talk to him.
He eats alone in the corner of the cafeteria, and peoplestillwhisper about him as he walks by, all oversucking histhumb. What’s going to happen to us once people find out? That’s way better gossip than sucking your thumb!
I’m not going to sit in the corner and eat lunch with Thumb-sucker Theodore for three years! And as awful as that is, it would still be theleastof my problems!”
I know how she feels, and I know people finding out is her worst fear—right after people finding outshewas the one who actually killed Stan. Gia needs to feel accepted and to fit in, and she can’t do that once the secret is out and we become social pariahs. But lying to her is what caused our fights in the past, so I say, “I’m not giving it to him, Gia. Is that it?”
I gesture at the bag she has in her hand, and she clutches it closer against her chest protectively.
“Why the hell not?” she demands. “You said he has proof. It won’t just be some stupid thing he says that people don’t pay attention to. They’ll believe him and harass us. I don’t want the negative attention, Siena. We have to give it to him.”
“Even if wedogive it to him, we have no way of ensuring he won’t still send out the picture, and we know him, he’s an ass, he’s going to send it out anyway.”
“But we don’t know that for sure!”
“True,” I concede, carefully stepping closer to Gia since she looks like a baby deer ready to bolt. “But wedoknow that he wants the phone badly enough to break into my room, trash it, and blackmail me. Something really awful must be on it. We can find out what it is and take him down.”
“But we can’t even unlock it! I tried!” She frantically shakes her head. “We’re better off taking our chances and giving it back to him.”
“Give me the phone, Gia,” I demand, holding my hand out.
“No. I’ll give it to him myself.”
