Page 71 of Did You See Evie

A man walks past the rows of cars, his back to the camera, heading to the main entrance. At the sight of him, my body wilts in relief.

“That’s Connor,” I say. “My fiancé.”

Mr. Lake looks at me, confused. “You never told me he was there that night.”

“He came shortly after the parents left,” I tell him. “He brought me some food. Hours before anything happened with Evie.”

“Mr. Lake,” Reynolds says, trying in vain to make us stop watching. I still can’t understand why. “We don’t need to keep?—”

But it’s too late. Before Connor can enter the school, the main door opens. A woman walks outside, wrapping her arms around his neck. The two kiss, swaying from side to side in the parking lot.

“Is that you?” Mr. Lake asks.

“No.” I choke on the word, unable to pull my eyes away from the screen. “That’s Joanna.”

My assistant coach. The younger sister of Connor’s best friend. In the video, her arms are still wrapped around Connor. You’d think the cameras had caught two students playing tonsil hockey. In the two years we’ve been together, I don’t think he’s ever acted that happy to see me.

I look over at Reynolds. He’s already watched the tape. This is what he didn’t want me to see. Now, he won’t meet my eyes. His cheeks are red, but unlike in the past, I don’t believe it’s from pride. It’s embarrassment, shame even.

“I tried to warn you,” he says, weakly.

“I don’t understand,” Mr. Lake says, his eyes inspecting the couple onscreen. “Are you sure that’s your fiancé?”

“I’m sure,” I say through gritted teeth. I recognize his walk, the way he stands. I can even see the bag of snacks he’d brought me that night. He said he wanted to surprise me, but that can’t be true. He wanted to surprise Joanna.

Joanna looks back at the school, removing her hands from Connor’s body. She takes a step in that direction when the screen turns black.

The silence in the room is suffocating. I can’t believe I’ve just uncovered my fiancé’s infidelity in front of my boss and my nemesis.

“Reynolds,” Mr. Lake begins, his voice matter-of-fact, “Was there anything else on the tape?”

“No. That’s what I was trying to tell you,” he says. “The IT team is still trying to uncover the rest.”

Which means it’s only a matter of time until they do see the truth. They’ll see me leaving the gymnasium and walking down the computer lab hallway, opening the door.

“Cass, are you okay?” Mr. Lake asks.

I can only imagine the look on my face. Inside, I feel exhausted, drained of all life and color and feeling.

“Do you need anything else from me?” I ask, standing.

“Just remember that our parents?—”

“Got it,” I say, cutting him off. I can’t stand the pity in his voice. “No more investigating on my own.”

Before he can say anything else, I’m out the door, marching in the direction of my office.

“Cass?”

I turn around to see Coach Reynolds only a few steps behind me. I ignore him and continue moving forward.

“Cass, wait. Are you okay?”

“Why do you even care?” I halt, turning on him with a viciousness I’ve always managed to contain in his presence. “This must be a great week for you. First, you get to watch my career unravel. Now, you get to see my relationship fall apart.”

“I’m not happy about any of this,” he says, reaching for my shoulder. “I tried warning Mr. Lake. I didn’t know you’d be in there.”

“Good thing I was,” I say. “There’s nothing worse than being the last to know.”