CHAPTER Twenty-Two
In the hall, I spot Samantha stalking my way.
“This is all your fault,” she says.
“Shhhh,” I say. “Let’s go somewhere more private.” I grab her arm, but she shakes me off and heads toward the bathroom. I follow her, cringing. Once inside, I hold out the stack of notebooks she left behind in Mrs. Winger’s room. “Here are your things.”
Samantha snatches the pile of books and slams them onto a sink. A freshman girl comes out of one of the stalls, and Samantha gives her a look scornful enough to make the poor girl scurry out of the room without washing her hands.
After the door swings closed, Samantha begins whispering angrily. “So that cop totally thinks I pushed Scotch.”
“Did he say that?” I say, my heart sinking.
“No, but what else is he supposed to think? Scotch drove me home from the party on Thursday night. If he asks around, he’s sure to find out that Scotch spread those nasty rumors about me. It’s the only logical conclusion.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s enough to pin Scotch’s fall on you. He’d need evidence that you were there that night. A witness, or something.”
Samantha stares stonily at me. “And what do you think Regina’s going to say when she’s called in for questioning?”
I lift my hands to my temples and try to rub away the headache that is steadily building. There’s only one way to fix this. I have to confess. “Samantha, I’ll talk to the cops. I’ll explain what happened. We didn’t mean—”
Samantha grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “No! All you were doing was trying to help me. I’ll be damned if you get in trouble for this. We’ll talk to Regina. I’ll make sure she doesn’t say anything. We have to stick together. Okay?”
I remember how Mattie begged me to stay quiet.
“Okay,” I say finally. “Okay.”
There’s something disturbing about watching Rollins crack up at Anna’s jokes. Even though I know they’re just friends. Even though I trust him completely. It’s like a tornado of jealousy inside me when I watch them together. Especially when Rollins and I are supposed to be alone right now. Instead, he brought Anna to eat lunch with us under the bleachers.
This is our spot. It may be littered with decaying leaves and candy-bar wrappers, but it’s ours. And now he’s desecrating it with Anna and her joke about Mrs. Winger and her addiction to computer solitaire. She’s not even funny.
Miffed, I take a giant bite of my Pop-Tart.
“So I’ve been thinking about my playlist for tonight,” Anna says, giving Rollins a serious look. “I want a nice mix of old and new, like something really cool. A little Emily’s Army mixed with some Nina Simone, maybe.”
Rollins looks thoughtful. “Totally agree. You just want to make sure it segues smoothly. I’ve got some ideas for you.”
She brightens. “Great!”
I cough. Rollins looks at me as though he forgot I was here. “Oh, shit, Vee. This has to be so boring for you. I’m sorry.”
Haughtily, I say, “I’m interested in music. Maybe I’ve got ideas, too.”
They both stare at me, waiting for me to go on.
I panic, trying to think of something cool to say. I see a kid in a tie-dye T-shirt walking into school. “How about some Jimi Hendrix?”
Anna blinks, and Rollins rubs my shoulder. “I don’t think that’s exactly the type of playlist Anna had in mind, Vee. She’s focusing on female artists, anyway.”
“Oh,” I say, popping the last bit of Pop-Tart into my mouth and standing up—well, standing up the best I can underneath the bleachers. Really, I’m more crouching than anything. “I’m done. I’ll leave you two to finish your discussion.”
Rollins looks from me to Anna. “Wait. Don’t go. We can talk about this later.”
“No, it’s fine,” I say, already shuffling away, kicking leaves as I go. “I’ll see you in Intro to Psych.”
I expect him to come after me. I mean, I know it’s pretty childish of me, but I really do. The fact that he doesn’t kind of rips me up inside. I stand outside the school, counting to a hundred, but he never comes.
So I go inside alone.
Between classes, Mattie catches my arm and pulls me into an empty doorway. Her face is serious. Immediately, I imagine the worst. Did Officer Teahen already question her? Are we all going to jail for our idiotic prank?
“What is it?”
Mattie looks around cautiously and speaks in a low voice. “Regina texted me. She’s not at school today. She went to visit Scotch at the hospital.”
My stomach drops. “He’s awake?”
“No, but she’s convinced she’ll be able to get him to wake up if she sits and talks to him.”
For a moment, I’m ashamed of myself for feeling relieved that Scotch hasn’t awakened. As long as he’s asleep, he’s quiet, making my life so much easier.
“Okay,” I say, trying to figure out what this means for us. “Okay.”
If Regina is visiting Scotch at the hospital, it’s only a matter of time before it comes out that she’s the one who was with him that night. And when the cops find her, she’ll lead them to us. Samantha is going to freak when she finds out where Regina is.
“Shit,” I finally say. “This isn’t good. Were his parents there?”
“No. She told the nurse she was his sister. I think she feels guilty for what happened. She keeps talking about what a tough life Scotch has. How she wants to be there for him.”
My mind is racing. “We’ve got to get her out of there before Scotch’s parents—or worse, the cops—show up.”
Someone touches my arm. Rollins.
“What’s wrong?”
“Rollins, could you give me a ride to the hospital? Regina’s there, visiting Scotch. I’m afraid she’s going to say something stupid.”
Rollins nods. “Sure. I didn’t really feel like going to Psych today anyway.”
“Can I come?” Mattie looks at me hopefully.
“No. You stay here. If we get caught, I don’t want both of us to get in trouble. Okay?” I put my hand on my sister’s shoulder. She nods reluctantly and then heads toward her next class.
I watch my sister sulk away, her cell phone close to her ear. Regret floods through me. She shouldn’t have to be dealing with things like this. She should be able to giggle and talk to Russ and daydream about what color her prom dress will be.
I shake my head sadly and follow Rollins toward the exit. As we’re ducking out, I see Officer Teahen at the other end of the hallway. My heart pounding, I grab Rollins by the sleeve and pull him out the door.
“What was that all about?” Rollins asks when we’re safely inside his car. “You just about yanked my arm off.”
I frown. “Officer Teahen is here at school questioning people. I was going to tell you at lunch, but Anna was there.”
Rollins gapes at me. “Holy shit. Did he talk to you?”
I shake my head. “He pulled Samantha out of English. She said she got a ride home from the party with Scotch on Thursday night but didn’t tell about our little plot to get back at him. It’s only a matter of time, though. If the cops talk to Regina, it would be bad.”
Turning the key in the ignition, Rollins says, “Sorry about lunch. Anna kind of ambushed me.”
I shrug. “No biggie.”
“Really? I got the impression you were a little pissed.”
“Well, maybe a little.”
We pull out of the school parking lot. I keep my eyes peeled for any policemen, but there’s no one.
Rollins reaches over and squeezes my knee. “I’ll make it up to you. That’s a promise.”
The warmth from his fingers radiates upward. It’s almost enough to make me forget that Regina is at the hospital right now, about to completely blow our cover.
Almost.