“Come on, faster,” someone shouted.
I was almost to the ground when I heard a rip. My sweater was caught on the trellis by the sleeve.
“Jackie, we need to go now!” Isaac said.
“I can’t. I’m stuck!” I cried, trying to pull my sleeve away.
“Who’s out there?” a deep voice called from the patio door.
“Just take it off,” Alex said.
I tried to shrug out of it, but I was shaking too hard. Suddenly Cole was by my side, and he yanked me from the fabric.
“Come on,” he said, jumping down to the ground.
“But my sweater,” I said turning back to the rose trellis. “It’s still stuck.”
“Leave it. I’ll buy you a new one.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the cover of the trees.
“Damn kids!” someone yelled into the night.
Everyone ran as fast as they could back to the truck. When we got there, I was gasping for air.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Alex demanded and shoved Cole into the side of the truck. “You did that on purpose. You wanted her to get caught, didn’t you?”
“But she didn’t get caught, did she?” Cole asked. There was a smug smile on his face.
“She shouldn’t have been up there in the first place!” Alex yelled. “Just because you’re jealous doesn’t mean—”
“Wait!” I said, cutting them off. I could feel my heart sinking. “You don’t normally toilet-paper the balcony?”
“Are you crazy?” Isaac said as Danny shook his head. “That’s insane. We don’t want to get caught.”
But I wasn’t really listening to him. My eyes were on Cole, watching the way he reacted. His forehead was bunched together in a frown as if he thought everyone was blowing the situation out of proportion.
“Why would you lie to me?” I asked him. I spoke softly and slowly to keep my voice from cracking. But it didn’t matter—my question was filled with the ring of betrayal. If Principal McHale had seen me, it could have been the end to my Princeton dream and everything that followed after. Cole knew the importance I placed on school and my future, yet he purposely jeopardized it. I could feel the anger building up inside my chest, but then I made a terrifying realization. Tonight, I risked my future just as much as Cole did. Nobody forced me up the trellis. I climbed up all on my own. What had gotten into me lately? Never in my life had I ever been so reckless.
Cole crossed his arms. “It was just a joke,” he said. “Stop acting like someone died.”
Beside me, I heard Danny gasp. I didn’t turn to see the other boys’ reactions—I was focused on Cole, searching his icy gaze to see if he’d purposely meant what he said. How could he be so insensitive?
“That was totally out of line,” Alex said, breaking the silence as he stepped in front of me to face Cole. “Apologize to Jackie.”
“Oh, piss off,” Cole said, dismissing his brother with the wave of his hand.
“Apologize,” Alex said again.
“And if I don’t want to? What are you going to do?”
“This,” Alex told Cole before slamming his fist into his brother’s nose.
Cole stumbled back, crashing into the side of the truck. Alex rushed after him, but Isaac reacted quickly, jumping in to grab Alex’s arms before he could land another hit. Before Cole could regain his focus, Danny stepped in and wrapped his arms around his twin to hold him back.
I should have seen the punch coming. It was long overdue. Alex and Cole were fighting before I arrived in Colorado, but I was a catalyst that instigated a full-out war.
“What the hell?” Cole roared, trying to break free from Danny.
It took a while for everyone to calm down, especially Cole. The other boys seemed just as mad at Cole as he was at us, and they voted to make him walk home. Thankfully, I convinced them to change their minds. I was upset about what Cole said, his words a slap across the face, but I knew things would get worse if we let him fester in anger. We all piled back into the truck, Danny taking the wheel. Cole sat in the front seat nursing his injury and swore at anyone who talked to him. I was in the back, sitting as far away as possible.
“That was awesome,” Isaac said, still laughing. “I mean really, it was the best part of the night. I’ve never seen Cole get decked so hard.”
“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “I wish I had Jack and Jordan’s camera.”
“You better shut your mouth, or you’re going to wish you never said anything at all,” Cole grumbled. Everyone laughed except me.
“Hey, Jackie, you all right?” Alex whispered in my ear. I shook my head no. “What’s wrong? I probably shouldn’t have punched Cole, but didn’t it make you feel a little bit better?”
“My sweater is back there,” I said, trying not to cry. After climbing into the truck, I couldn’t stop replaying the entire night in my head. I had remembered something incredibly important.
“So?” Alex said, shrugging, “It’s just a sweater.”
I turned to Alex with watery eyes. “It has my name on it.”
Chapter 14