chapter 17
I opened the overnight box after I read the attached message, my face numb. All I found was my phone, pink and perfect, completely unharmed. And for a second, I was disappointed, expecting some grand gesture. Flowers maybe.
Ugh. What was I saying? Chloe had accused him of being a saboteur, the reason my ankle was broken. Everyone at school hated us, and it was all because of him. But still … maybe some chocolates?
I shook my head, pushing the box into the middle of the kitchen table as I sat there feeling melancholy. Here I was, thinking about Aiden when I’d just kissed Joel last night! Everything was supposed to be perfect now.
There was a vibrating sound from the box, and I jumped. Leaning into the table I peeked over the cardboard lid to see my phone shaking. I reached in to grab it, and when I looked at the caller ID, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
It said I was receiving a call from “Mr. Awesome.” And since I was pretty sure I’d never programmed that number in, I had a feeling I knew who it was.
“Mr. Awesome? Really?”
Aiden laughed. “I guess the box arrived.”
“It did.”
“You going to change my name?” He sounded amused.
The warm and fuzzies suddenly turned cool and scratchy. “Aiden, I—”
“It’s okay,” he interrupted. “I saw your last text message from Joel. I know you guys were planning on going out to dinner. How’d it go?”
My face reddened with shame even though I knew it was acceptable for me to move on. Still, somehow Aiden knowing made me feel awful. “I don’t really think I should be talking about it with you.”
“You do what you need to, Tessa,” he said. “I won’t hold it against you.”
“I know it was you” tried to form on my lips, but I couldn’t bring myself to accuse him. I kept hearing my father’s voice, preaching about forgiveness. And in a way, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear that Aiden had betrayed me.
“I was thinking,” he said, oblivious to my struggling emotions, “since our anniversary already passed—without a word from you, I might add—I was thinking that maybe I could take you out sometime. Not a date. Just … I don’t know, a those-were-fun-times lunch?” He sounded amused, but I closed my eyes.
“I don’t think so.”
“Aw!” He laughed. “Come on. I doubt your friend Joel would mind. Besides, he doesn’t really have a say in it. It’s not like—”
“He’s my boyfriend,” I said abruptly. “We’re going out now.”
There wasn’t a sound on the other line, just pained silence. Finally, I heard Aiden swallow loudly. “I see. Guess I’m the one that doesn’t have a say.”
Oh, heck. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Bye, Aiden.” I hung up before he could say anything else, feeling absolutely devastated. How did I just tell him that? It seemed like the meanest thing I’d ever done, and yet he’d been the one to betray me. What was wrong with me? What was happening to me?
Dropping my phone on the table with a clank, I rubbed roughly at my face, smearing the tears around. After a few long seconds of even breathing, I looked back down at my phone. I needed to let this go. I had to let him go.
I scrolled though my phone book until I found his listing. I hit edit, and when it came up, I stared at “Mr. Awesome.” He’d even uploaded a picture. It was him against the brick wall of a building wearing a backward hat and smiling widely, ridiculously. It was absolutely adorable.
So I shut the phone off and didn’t change a thing. Not yet.
The Kittens and I met in full uniform in the gymnasium Monday morning. To keep the peace, I’d told them all about Aiden and let Chloe explain her evidence. Several of them offered their condolences, but I just waved them off. I didn’t want their pity.
Before school, I’d e-mailed Joel and asked him to keep our relationship status secret until I could talk to Kira in private. But now that I was here, I didn’t have the guts to tell her. It was just that it was so nice having us all gathered around, forming plans of action. I’d ruin the moment if I told her. But I would. Eventually.
We’d all arrived at school early enough to miss the crowd. Or rather, angry mob. Things hadn’t really toned down yet. After the weekend, I’d had the small hope that the student body had moved on to bigger news. Cheerleader spies. Jeez, was there nothing else going on?
But I did look into our latest SOS case and planned to steal the SIM card from Midas’s phone later today. I thought the girls might appreciate my ambition.
As I crutched to center court, ready to begin practice, Kira stood up from where she was sitting on the bleachers.
“K!” I gasped, touching my chest. “Your skirt is well above regulation length.” And that was putting it mildly. Her maroon skirt barely covered her bloomers.
She smiled. “Well, I figured if the boys were distracted, they might not be so mean.” She tapped her temple. “I’m thinking ahead.”
She had a good point. Kira’s legs were well-known for their distractive quality. But still, we had an image to maintain. “Make sure you wear matching bloomers, then.”
“Got it, Tess.”
“Now,” I said, looking around at the girls. “I have something amazing planned for the ESPN game. It came to me last night, and I worked it all out so that despite my handicap, we should be able to pull it off no problem.”
“Excellent,” Leona said, coming to stand next to me. The girls were buzzing about the possible routine, but I looked at the empty spot in my lineup and felt sad. No Izzie. It just didn’t seem like the Smitten Kittens without her. “She’ll be back soon,” Leona whispered, bumping my shoulder. “I’m going to go by there after school, so I’ll teach her the moves so she’ll be ready on game day. We won’t go on without her.”
I smiled. “You’re the best.”
“Actually,” Kira called, putting her hand on her hip. “I was hoping we could try my routine. It has way more pizzazz.”
“K, it’s way too dangerous. Someone could get hurt.” Kira’s cheer was great, amazing really. But the projection of the jumper and the impossible amount of twists made it a no-no.
“But a stellar cheer can get the school back on our side!”
“I agree,” Chloe chimed in, tying her blond hair up in a ponytail. “I’ve seen Kira do it, and it freaking rocks.”
“I like you’re train of thought,” I said to them. “But I’ve been working on a cheer, a safer one, that I think can still wow the crowd without needing an ambulance.”
Kira’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what this is about? You want to use your cheer instead?”
“No.” I looked around and saw all of the girls watch me suspiciously. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just—”
“Whatever.”
Kira and I stared each other down. “I’m thinking about our safety,” I said, my adrenaline heightened now that she was confronting me. “Not about taking credit for a cheer.”
“Sure, Tessa. Of course.” She smiled as if all were forgiven, but I knew differently; I knew her. And suddenly, I realized that she already knew about Joel and me. I could see it in her blue, icy glare.
I blinked quickly and moved back on my crutches, confused. How did she know?
“See,” Leona said, looking back and forth between us. “All better. Now, let’s see Tessa’s routine before the bell rings.”
And just then, my cell rang inside my backpack, the sound echoing through the gym. I didn’t recognize the standard ring tone. “Hold up.” I crutched over to it, unzipping and pulling it out when Kira scoffed.
“Answering your phone during practice?”
“I’m waiting for a call from my doctor. We did x-rays on Friday.” It seemed that all the progress that Kira and I had made had just flown out the sunroof. She’d been faking friendly earlier—maybe hoping to get her cheer in the rotation.
Mr. Awesome. My mouth twitched when I saw Aiden’s alias on my screen. What would the girls say if I answered? What would Aiden say?
But as I stared at his goofy smile, I couldn’t help picking up. Maybe it was important.
“I’m at practice,” I said as a greeting. I glanced nervously over my shoulder and saw Chloe watching me, her head tilted slightly. The rest of the squad started talking among themselves.
“Didn’t think you would answer,” he said with an embarrassed laugh. “Sort of hoping I could just leave a message.”
“Why?”
“Uh … it’s sort of hard to say, Tess. And now that I’ve got you on the phone, I’m not really sure where to start.”
Well, he could start by apologizing, admitting what he’d done and then possibly explaining why he did it. But I wasn’t Aiden’s guardian angel. He needed to figure it out himself.
“Try.”
He sucked in a breath as if he really didn’t want to. “Look, will you meet me? I’d rather talk about it in person.”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“It’s complicated. If we had dinner, maybe I could explain better.”
“Aiden, I—”
“Wait,” Kira snapped. “You’re talking with Aiden?”
I looked back at her, hearing the accusation in her voice. “Yes, but he knows who—”
“Wow,” she said, turning away from me. “It’s never enough for you, is it?” “Hey!”
“Listen,” Leona said quickly, stepping in front of Kira and motioning to the rest of the squad. “Class is about to start, so let’s head into the locker room and draw up the blueprints for the Midas Murdock investigation. I’m sure Tessa will be there in a second.”
She glanced over at me, and I nodded, putting my hand over the phone. “I’m sorry. This will only take a sec.”
Leona turned, leading the girls toward the heavy double doors as if it were no big deal, but Kira wouldn’t look my way at all. She even gave me a hair flip.
Chloe paused in mid court, glancing my way with a hitched eyebrow. “If it makes you feel any better,” she said, “I would’ve answered, too.”
My expression faltered, and she shrugged, trotting toward the rest of the squad. Yeah. Of course, she would have. Argh! This was becoming such a bad day, and the first bell hadn’t even rang yet!
I took a second to compose myself and then put the phone to my ear. “Aiden, I’m not sure I have the emotional stability to deal with this right now. Is there any way—”
“Just meet me one more time, Tess,” he said softly. “And if you don’t want to see me after that, I’ll understand.” Somehow the thought of never seeing him again made my heart hurt.
“When?”
“Tonight. I’ll come by at seven.”
Excalibur! This was such a bad idea. But I really wanted to hear his explanation. I almost felt like I needed to. “Fine.”
He sighed, sounding relieved. “Fine. Oh, and, Tess, you probably shouldn’t mention this to your boyfriend.” And he hung up.
“What are we doing here?” I whispered to Kira as we squatted down on the carpet in the back of the deserted public library. And it wasn’t easy to squat with a giant cast on my leg!
“Shhh …” She put her polished finger to her lips. “Midas is in that study carrel with Carnie Trinadad.”
“The girl from his English class?”
“Yep.”
“Are they studying?”
Kira glanced over at me sharply and held out her phone. There was a message from Carnie to Midas—it was about her underwear. Or lack of. Gross!
Ugh. After this morning, the rest of my day had been just as awful. Blaze Harmon’s cronies had stuck maxi pads all over the front of my locker—which I didn’t even understand. What was he trying to say?
Then Joel wasn’t around during lunch because he’d gotten called to the office for skipping school last week. I’d planned on asking him why he told Kira we were going out, but I didn’t get a chance. Instead, I got five minutes with him in exchange for a quick peck on the lips.
Immediately after class, the squad practiced my new routine, which I had to admit looked stellar. And finally, at 4:45, Kira and I hightailed it over to the library to catch the cheater. I was a busy Kitten!
“So do you want to snap the pics?” I asked, quietly unzipping my backpack to take out the camera.
“I probably should.” Kira paused before seeming to waver over something. “I want to apologize,” she whispered. “I was mean to you at practice today. I’m not even sure why.”
Kira saying she was sorry was enough to make me jump for joy—if I could jump at all. I hated fighting, and now that Joel and I were a couple (and Kira knew about it), we should try to bury the hatchet. Preferably not in my back. “K, that means so much to me. You have no idea how—”
“Wait, that’s not true. I do know why.”
“Oh.” I shifted uncomfortably, needing to sit down to take the pressure off my good leg. I stretched out my cast in front of me on the navy carpet, and Kira joined me on the floor. “Why?”
Kira’s lips pulled into a pout. “Joel told me that you two are going out now. And he told me that you kissed.”
My stomach flipped. I felt a little grossed out that she knew that. Not that I hadn’t told her plenty about Aiden and me, but that was different. She didn’t have personal experience with him. “He told you that?”
She nodded, her face pale. “He’s in love with you, Tessa.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure if I should be happy, or feel offended that he told Kira personal information about us. Lady and the Tramp! Love?
She shook her head, her curls bouncing over her shoulders. “I didn’t even want to bring it up. Have every intention of sucking it up and moving on.” She stopped, looking away as if she might cry.
“I’m sorry,” I said, touching her shoulder. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I wanted us to be friends again.”
Kira closed her eyes before opening them to glance over her shoulder at me. “I want that, too, Tess. I really do. But … I just can’t. Not when you’re with him. It’s too hard for me.”
It was like a dagger in my chest. I basically had to choose. My new boyfriend or my former best friend. Just then, my phone beeped a text message alert in my pocket. Kira motioned for me to answer it.
MR. AWESOME IS ON HIS WAY
I laughed despite myself and deleted the message.
“Who is Mr. Awesome?” Kira scrunched her nose.
My smile faded as I looked up at Kira. “Oh, that’s Aiden. He programmed it into my phone as a joke when I forgot it in his car after Rick’s party.”
Kira’s eyes widened. If she were a cartoon, a lightbulb would have illuminated over her head. “I see.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Like what?” she asked innocently. “I’m sure you have a perfectly good reason to be exchanging texts with Mr. Awesome.” She swallowed with a click and put her hands on the ground, pushing herself up. “And it’s none of my business. Joel chose you.” She paused, taking the cap off the camera lens. “He deserves whatever he gets.”
I wanted to explain why I was meeting with Aiden, but really, what was the point? Kira was firmly on Team Aiden, and that was only because she wanted Joel for herself.
Grabbing my crutches from the carpeted floor, I pulled myself to a standing position. I would end this ridiculous Aiden situation tonight. I needed to know why he did it, not for the squad, for me. I deserved the explanation.
I started crutching forward, determined to get on with this investigation and on with my life. Kira was close behind me, camera poised in hand, as we got to the other side of the study carrel—silent as ninjas.
She tugged my sleeve from behind and we both crouched down. She got in position and zoomed in, clicking off frames.
Ew. The library was no longer a sacred place. Seriously, cheaters were making me nauseous.
SOS
CHEATER INCIDENT REPORT
CASE: 069
CLIENT: Hillary Hamm
SUBJECT: Midas Murdock
FINDINGS: At approximately 4:00 p.m. on October 14, Mr. Murdock’s phone received an obscene text from Carnie Trinidad (the slutty new girl from his writing class). The exact text was recorded and transcribed; you’ll find it included with this letter.
Take note on page three of the mention of “no underwear” and meeting in the library study carrel. It is our assertion that you were correct about Ms. Trinidad. You were also correct about Mr. Murdock’s infidelity. He was later observed engaging in inappropriate forms of PDA in the library. The front office was notified.
SOS offers our deepest sympathies. We hope that we will not have to assist you again in the future, but please keep us in mind for referrals.
Keep smiling,
SOS : )
SOS
Text: 555-0101 * Exposing Cheaters for Over Three Years