“That was just me being hungry. Besides, they were cookies. Who needs an excuse to eat cookies?”
“I feel like that’s a sexual question,” Wade chimes in. “And the correct answer is, no one ever needs an excuse to eat cookies.”
“You do need permission, though,” Val says tersely, focusing her gaze on Wade for the first time since he sat down. “And if your mouth is all over someone else’s cookies, then other bakers aren’t going to be interested in offering you their cookies.”
Then she gets up from the table and stomps off.
“Hey!” Wade shouts after her. “I only had those other cookies that one time and only because the baker I wanted to get the cookies from was closed!”
He shoots up from his seat and hustles after Val, leaving Easton, Reed, and me staring after them.
“I have a feeling they aren’t talking about cookies,” Easton remarks.
No kidding. And as much as I hate seeing Val upset, I can’t help but envy her problems.
Relationship issues are a lot easier to manage when you’re not worrying that your boyfriend might go to prison.
7
Reed
The moment I walk through the front door, my dad pokes his head into the parlor and jerks a finger in my direction. “I need you in my study. Now.”
Ella and I exchange a wary look. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that word of my fight with Richmond got back to Dad. Damn it. I was hoping to tell him myself.
“Should I come with you?” Ella asks with a grimace.
After a beat, I shake my head. “Nah. Go upstairs and do some homework or something. This won’t be fun.” When she hesitates, I give her a gentle nudge. “Go. I’ll be up soon.”
I wait in the parlor until she disappears upstairs, then release the unhappy sigh that’s been jammed in my chest all day long. School sucked ass today, and not just because I broke a teammate’s nose. The whispers and stares got to me. Normally I don’t give a crap what my classmates think of me, but today the tension in the air was almost suffocating.
Everyone wonders if I killed Brooke. Most believe it. Even some of my own teammates. Hell, sometimes I think Ella might believe it, too. She hasn’t said that, but at lunch I caught her staring at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. She had this expression on her face. I can’t even describe it. Not quite doubt, but apprehension maybe. A flicker of sadness, too.
I told myself that she was just freaked out about everything, but a part of me wonders if she wonders. If she keeps looking at me like that because she’s trying to figure out if she’s dating a killer or some shit.
“Reed.”
Dad’s sharp voice spurs me to motion. I march down the hall to his study, and my mood sinks even lower when I spot Grier behind the commanding desk. Dad is sitting on the nearby armchair.
“What’s wrong?” I ask instantly.
“Do you really need to ask?” Dad’s expression is dark and menacing. “I got a phone call from the headmaster earlier. He told me all about your little temper tantrum in the locker room.”
I bristle. “It wasn’t a temper tantrum. Richmond was saying shit about Mom.”
For once, the mention of my mother doesn’t cause my dad to soften. “I don’t care if he was insulting Jesus Christ himself—you can’t fight at school, Reed! Not anymore, and especially not when you’re facing a second-degree murder charge!”
Equal parts shame and anger weigh on my gut. My dad’s face is red, his fists clenched together at his sides, but through the haze of anger in his eyes, I catch a glimpse of something even worse—disappointment.
I can’t remember the last time I cared whether or not my father was disappointed in me. But…I kind of care right now.
“Sit down, Reed.” The request comes from Grier, who has his trusty gold pen poised over his legal pad. “There are a few things we need to go over.”
Reluctantly, I walk over to one of the padded chairs and sit down. My dad stiffly lowers himself into the other chair.
“We’ll discuss the fighting in a moment,” Grier says. “First, you need to tell me why your DNA was found under Brooke’s fingernails.”
Shock slams into me. “What?”
“I spoke to the assistant district attorney today, as well the detectives in charge of the investigation. They were waiting for DNA testing to be conducted before they divulged any details to us. But the results are back, and believe me, they were eager to share them.” Grier’s face becomes grave. “Skin cells were found in the fingernail scrapings they took from Brooke. DNA matches yours.”
“How did they get my DNA?” I demand. “I didn’t provide a sample.”
“They have it from the last arrest.”
I wince. Last arrest. That sounds bad. “They can do that?”
“Once you’re in the system, you’re there forever.” Grier shuffles a few papers while Dad looks on grimly. “We’re going to go over your night, step by step, second by second. Don’t leave anything out. If you passed gas, I want to know about it. What did you do after you went to see Brooke?”