Masquerade of Lies (13 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE—KISSING THE ENEMY

“Gimme a W! Gimme an O! Gimme an L! Gimme a V! Gimme an E! Gimme an S! Gooooo, Wolves!” chanted the cheerleaders.

Their routine was flawless. Claire was the captain of the cheerleading squad, and she clearly had them well-trained.

This was the Willowdale football team’s big game the night before the homecoming dance. They were playing against
The Vulchers
and winning fourteen to nine. Stephanie couldn’t make it because she had to work on her paper, so I begged my mother to let me borrow her car so I could go to the game solo. I had my eye on
23
, because that was Josh’s number. I also followed
17
, as that was Mark’s number.

It was Friday night, and there were so many people at the game. The bleachers were jam-packed. Almost everybody had a small flag in their hand that they were waving. The clapping sounded like thunder, and the roar of the crowd like lions. The big bright lights illuminated the field. The smell of popcorn permeated the air. I started getting hungry, so I called over one of the servers so I could get a hot dog. I was struggling with a small pack of ketchup, and when I finally got it open, the guy next to me accidentally bumped my arm, causing me to spill ketchup on myself.

“I’m so sorry,” he said.

“That’s okay,” I muttered as I turned my head to see who I was talking to. He was cute, with short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes; he had a Paul Walker vibe to him.

“Are you here alone?” he asked.

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“Me, too. Why didn’t your boyfriend come with you?”

“Don’t really have one.”

“That’s too bad,” he said in a
I’m not really disappointed
kind of way. “Hey...you’re that girl who found that student dead, right?” 

“Actually…yeah, I am.” 
Yeah…that’s how I wanna be known…as the girl who found a student dead.

“Hanna, right?”

“That’s me. So, why are you here alone?” I asked.

“My buddy bailed on me.”

“That sucks.”

“It did...until now,” he said with a smile.

My phone started buzzing, so I took it out of my pocket to see who it was. As I looked at the screen, my heart seized in my chest: it was a mysterious text that said
you could be next
. The text message came from a blocked number. I snapped up and looked around nervously.

“Is everything okay?” the cute guy asked.

“Yeah...I just have a headache.” 

I ran my hand through my hair and scanned the arena, but almost everybody had their fingers hovered over their smartphones. Suddenly, I spotted somebody in a hooded sweater lurking behind a big oak tree by the parking lot.

“Are you all right?” the cute guy asked as he stood up beside me and touched my arm.

I jumped out of my skin. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” I said.

Clutching my phone, I ran down the bleachers and took a little stumble. I got up and continued to run. The big oak tree was abandoned; the hooded stranger I saw lurking behind it was gone. It was dark, and there wasn’t a person in sight. Everybody was at the game. The parking lot was quiet, but the music from the game vibrated in the background. My heart pounded in my throat.

I had turned around to go back to the game when a car came out of nowhere at full speed. It was a dark blue sedan, similar to the unknown car I saw outside of Starbucks. The parking lot was lightless, so I couldn’t make out the license plate. I was running as fast as I could when I suddenly thudded into something hard and everything went black.

***

I slowly opened my eyes and found my mom and dad hovering over me. Claire and Katie stood behind them.

“Dad?”

“Hi, honey. How are you feeling?” he asked.

I slowly turned my head and saw Stephanie. “Where am I?” I asked. My head was pounding.

“You’re in the hospital. You hit your head,” Stephanie said.

Or somebody hit me in the head
, I thought. “There was a blue sedan,” I said.

“What blue sedan?” my mother asked.

I slowly sat up in the bed. “The one that almost ran me over in the parking lot.” 

My mom and dad looked at each other, then back at me with concerned looks on their faces.

“There was no blue sedan. Stephanie said she found you unconscious in the parking lot,” my mom said.

“How did you know I was there?” I asked Stephanie.

“I didn’t. I finished my paper and decided to come to the game, and I saw you lying there.”

“Why didn’t you text me?”

“Because I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh. Well, if you had showed up a little earlier, you would have seen the blue sedan.”

“How hard did you hit your head, new girl?” asked Claire with a sneer.

“All I remember is standing in the parking lot, and then this blue four door sped towards me. Then I blacked out.”

“Why were you in the parking lot all by yourself?” my dad asked.

“Because I got this weird text, and I saw somebody watching me behind a tree and…”

Everybody stared at me like I was crazy. “Where’s my phone? Mom, get my phone!”

“Hanna, you need to rest right now,” my dad said. “You can have your ph–”

“No!” I shouted, cutting him off. “I need my phone now!” 

My mother walked over to my purse and collected my phone. She handed it to me, and I searched for the strange text message I’d received.

“I remember watching the game and talking with this cute guy when I got this creepy text message telling me to–” My fingers stopped scrolling, and I just froze. Suddenly, I couldn’t catch my breath. “It’s gone,” I whispered.

“What’s gone?” my mother asked.

I looked up at everybody and rested my head on the pillow. “Nothing,” I said.

The doctor came in and told my parents I was free to go home. I knew I wasn’t imagining the whole thing. Somebody tried to run me over, and whoever it was probably had something to do with Brooke’s murder. Either they were the ones who killed Brooke, or they knew who did.

***

That night, I was lying on the couch watching television with my mother when the doorbell rang. My mom got up and answered the door. “Hanna! It’s for you! It’s Mark!” yelled my mother. I suddenly felt a warm glow through my body. My head was still aching, so I slowly got up from the couch and sauntered to the door. Mark was standing there and he was still in his football uniform. He had a small bouquet of red roses in his hand. When I saw him I smiled and he smiled back.

“There she is,” he said in a thoughtful voice.

“Hey.”

He encased me in his arms for a long moment then released me.

“Here, these are for you,” he said as he handed me the roses.

“Thank you, they’re beautiful.”

“Just like you.” My cheeks felt hot.

“I’m sorry I missed the game.”

“That’s all right…at least you’re okay. Besides, we won.”

“Oh good.”

“So, what happened anyway?”

“It’s a long story and my head is killing me. I’ll tell you tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Oh…yeah, sure. I’ll let you rest then. I’ll see you tomorrow for the homecoming dance?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” He leaned towards me and gave me a soft kiss on my lips. “Bye. Thanks again for the roses.”

“My pleasure,” he said before he turned around and walked away.

The next morning, I woke up to a text from Josh. It said:
I heard what happened at the game last night. R u ok?
I wrote back:
Yeah, I’m fine thanks. How did you get my number?
Then he said: 
I got it from Claire’s phone. Hey, can you meet me at Goodies Café in about an hour? It’s important.
I wrote back:
Sure
. He said:
Cool, c u soon.

I rolled out of bed and dragged my feet over to the mirror attached to my dresser. My hair was in shambles, and my skin looked dull. My eyes were red, and grey circles hung underneath them. I put my hands on my cheeks and suddenly noticed a purplish bruise on my forehead; I must have gotten that from hitting my head last night
. Crap!
Tonight was the homecoming dance. Thank God for concealer.

On the twenty-minute walk to the café, I couldn’t stop looking over my shoulder. I couldn’t help feeling somebody was watching me or following me. An empty bag of Doritos whisked by my feet. There were several parked cars on the curb, but there wasn’t a single person in sight. As I passed a patch of bushes, I suddenly heard a rustling noise. My heart began hammering in my chest. I stopped and peered over my shoulder, but there wasn’t anybody there.

When I reached the café, I pulled open the door, and the sweet smell of baked goods pervaded my nose.
Don’t You (Forget about Me)
played softly in the background, and the buzzing of people talking carried throughout the room. A lady wearing an orange apron with white stripes cleaned off a table that occupied a group of businessmen. I spotted Josh sitting at a two-seater table at the back of the cafe, adjacent to the bathroom. He noticed me and waved me over. I bit my lip as I walked over to his table.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Hanna.” He winced when he saw my forehead. “Is that from last night?”

“I’m fine. Nothing some MAC can’t fix.” I sat down and placed my purse on the table. My stomach was grumbling. “I need to tell you something, but first I’m gonna grab something to eat. Do you want anything?”

“No, it’s okay, thanks. I got a coffee,” he said. As I stood up, his iPhone started buzzing. “Shit, it’s Claire.”

“What are you gonna tell her?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and began texting. I went to the front, got in line, and looked at the menu behind the counter. I glared back at Josh; he was still typing on his phone.

“Next, please!” shouted the woman behind the counter.

I dashed towards her to place my order. The thought of a BLT sandwich made my mouth water, so I got that and a coffee in a to-go cup. I picked up my tray of food and went back to meet Josh, placing my tray on the table as I sat down.

“What did you tell Claire?”

“I just told her I was at the gym. If she knew I was here with you, she’d flip out.”

I lifted the flap of my coffee cup and took a sip. “So, you guys are back together, eh?” I said.

“Like I said, it’s complicated. Nobody gets me like she does. We always break up and get back together. It’s what we do.” 

“Even though she kissed Chad McCowen?”

“Well, it was just a kiss. Besides, I’m no saint.”

“Why? What have you done that’s sooo bad?”

He didn’t respond; he just gazed at me, then took a swig of his coffee.

After a few moments, he said, “Look, there’s a reason I asked you to meet me.” He looked around to make sure nobody was watching or listening to us. “I need your help.” As he gripped his neck, I gazed at him, waiting for an explanation. “Remember that day I got called down to the principal’s office?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, the police wanted me to go down to the station for questioning.” 

My heart skipped a beat. I was afraid of the words that were going to come out of his mouth.

“Josh, what are you saying?” I asked.

“I kissed Brooke.” My breath got caught in my throat.

“What? When?”

“The day she died. I went to her house after school to score some weed. She asked me to come in and smoke a joint with her. She opened up to me and told me that she was pregnant. She started crying, so I hugged her, and then we kissed. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

He leaned over the table and put his face in his hands. “I’ve been feeling guilty for betraying Claire, especially with the one person she hated the most.”

“So that’s why you took her back.”

“I told you it was complicated.” He rubbed his hands together nervously. “Anyway, the police said they found a joint at Brooke’s house with my DNA. They think I killed her, but they don’t have enough evidence to indict me.”

“Did she tell you who the father was?”

“No, she didn’t want anybody to know.”

“Why wouldn’t she want anybody to know?”

“Who knows.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he was married.”

I put my hands over his. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Together, we’ll find out who really killed Brooke,” I said. “Brooke was like a sister to me, so I don’t just want to clear our names; I also want to get justice for her death.” Josh nodded his head in agreement. I sat back in my chair and took a sip of my coffee. I had an urge to look over my shoulder.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I think I’m being followed.”

“What? Who would be following you?”