Page 24

Dallas

“That was a nice touch,” Austin grins, “adding that picture at the last minute.”

“Don’t tell anyone, it’ll be an Easter egg for anyone who’s actually bored enough to look at it.”

Once Shelby fixed her broken links, our redesigned pages for the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams earned us an A in Web Design. Cassie Heeley, the captain of the girls’ team, who also happens to be in our class, asked if I could include photos from their team lock-in last summer. It was a cute idea, so of course I had to do something extra for the boys’ team, too.

They, however, didn’t have a team-building sleepover like the girls. Instead, I took it upon myself to trawl through my mom’s photos and find a few candid ones of the boys, and I might’ve included one of Colson, Mason, Alex, and Aiden from their freshman year. The team hosted a carwash fundraiser and the four of them are standing in a line being hazed by the seniors, with thick suds strategically placed on their chests to look like bikini tops.

They all look like a bunch of douches.

Austin turns at the double doors that lead to the senior lot, but I don’t follow.

“See you tomorrow,” I say as I continue on down the hall.

“You’re not leaving?” he asks, coming to a halt.

“No, Coach Duvall emailed me and said she wanted to see me in her office after school,” I mutter. “She’s probably going to tell me she cut me from the team.”

I haven’t spoken to my track coach since Evie went missing. I missed try-outs and then after Colson found her, I just avoided the entire team. I don’t even know how I ranked for the season because I never bothered to look.

“She needs to see you in person to do that?” Austin asks skeptically.

I give a shrug before waving and continuing down the hall. I just want to get it over with and hopefully Colson saw my text and doesn’t leave without me. When I arrive at the gym, there are only a few stragglers left in the vestibule. I tug open the gym door and immediately chuckle to myself. The entire back wall is lined with stacks of brand-new flooring to replace the dented and scratched basketball court. I half expect to see Coach Wheeler fawning over it like a dragon over its horde.

I make my way down the long corridor behind the bleachers to the girls’ locker room where Coach Duvall’s office is. As soon as I round the lockers, I see her tall, slim figure at the desk in the back office.

She waves and motions for me to come in. “Dallas!” She sounds downright cheery for someone who’s about to ax me from the team. Her eyes dart back and forth between me and the computer screen, making her gold hoops swing erratically. “How are you holding up?”

“Alright, I guess,” I reply as I take a seat in one of the chairs.

“I wanted to meet with you because I didn’t think this was appropriate for an email.”

Here we go…

She finishes clicking around on her computer and then brushes her shiny brown hair behind one ear. “Are you aware that you qualify for the Varsity team next year?”

I just stare at her.

“No,” I deadpan.

“I noticed you didn’t sign up or attend try-outs, which I completely understand because you’ve been through a lot recently. However, I looked at your times and you’re one of my more consistent runners. If you want the spot, it’s yours.”

My heart starts thumping against my chest and I’m not sure whether to scream with excitement or ask if she’s made a mistake.

“Yes!” I blurt out louder than I mean to. “I mean, yes, that would be amazing.”

“Very good,” Duvall grins. “Well, you have plenty of time before the season starts, so all you need to do right now is take care of yourself. Take your time getting back into training and please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. But, in the meantime, good luck with finals and have a good summer!”

“Yeah,” I stammer, still in disbelief. “Yeah, I will.”

I don’t even remember walking out of Duvall’s office and making my way back down the long tunnel to the gym. I’m still lost in my own head, wondering how I managed to blow off try-outs and still make the Varsity team, when I run straight into someone walking in the opposite direction.

I gasp and immediately mutter an apology, but before I can even look up, he swiftly ducks down and grabs me around my legs.

“Hey!” I shriek as I’m hoisted into the air.

He tosses me over his shoulder and makes a beeline to the opposite end of the gym. I try to look around, but I can’t see much while I’m hanging upside down. I try to wriggle out of his grip, but he holds my legs firm against his chest.

“Put me down!” I shout as the floor whips by.

“ Shhh… ” he hisses as we’re plunged into darkness.

My heart starts pounding and I can’t see the floor anymore, but I know we’re in the tunnel that leads to the boys’ locker room. There aren’t any lights in it, just like the one on the girls’ side. I start to struggle more as dark thoughts begin to seep in. I still can’t see any distinguishable features besides the Navy-blue t-shirt and jeans he’s wearing.

Shit, shit, shit. What if it’s…

“Rory! Put me down!” I pound on his back.

All I hear is an airy chuckle as we emerge from the dark tunnel. There’s a sharp rattle as he throws open a shower curtain and the concrete floor gives way to dingey tile. When he finally dumps me off his shoulder, I try to bolt, but he grabs my arms and pins me to the cinder block wall. I’m prepared to see Rory’s menacing smirk, but my terror instantly turns to confusion and then relief.

Alex grins back at me like he’s trying not to burst out laughing.

“Alex fucking Barrera!” I hiss, smacking him in the shoulder.

I barely get his last name out before he dips down and grabs the sides of my face, sliding his tongue between my parted lips. I still, and then wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer. He tastes so good, and smells so good, and a part of me deflates as soon as he pulls away.

I glance around the dim shower stall. “Why’d you drag me into your creepy-ass locker room?”

I’ve never thought about what the boys’ locker room is like, but now I’ll keep in mind that it looks like something out of a snuff film.

“I was behind you on the stairs and you didn’t go meet Col, so I followed you here and waited ‘til you came back out of the girls’ locker room.”

“You are such a creep,” I laugh.

“Why are you still here, anyway?”

“ Oh, ” my excitement returns as I remember my good news, “I thought Coach Duvall was going to cut me from the track team because I stopped showing up and then bailed on try-outs. But, instead, she offered me a spot on the Varsity team.”

“No shit,” he grins, “that’s amazing!”

“Yeah, apparently if I just stop caring, then good things happen. Maybe I’ll roll the dice and not study for finals. Bet I’d get straight A’s.”

“About that,” Alex’s face relaxes, “I also wanted to catch you because I have to study for finals, then I’ll be with the guys until graduation on Friday. So, I don’t know when I’ll get to see you before I leave.”

The guys, meaning the other three of them, because it’s always the other three of them. And leave, meaning when he leaves for boot camp and then gets shipped off to who-knows-where for the next four years.

“I get it,” I glance down, “you’re still a quarter of the brain, and I’m still Colson’s little sister. ”

“Hey,” he tips my chin up, giving me a start, “you’re not anyone else’s anything. You’re mine, and that’s it.”

My heart skips a beat and I try to tamp down the smile threatening to betray my front. Then he bends down and grabs me behind my thighs, lifting me to his waist. I clench my legs around him as he presses me against the wall, the rush of dopamine making my head swim.

“I know you like having your dirty little secrets,” Alex murmurs.

“You're not that little..." I snicker, the words tumbling out before I can stop myself.

I must be insane now, because I never would’ve uttered anything so bold just a couple of weeks ago.

“You’re going to get yourself in trouble,” he whispers, “ Angelína .”

“ Secrets, secrets, are so fun… ” I taunt back.

“I promise you, Dallas, one day you won’t be.”

“What do you mean?”

“As much as I want to ruin you right now, I want you to be able to ruin me back. I’ll gladly wait for the day when you can show me what a hellion you really are.”

He speaks in a low hum, sending chills down my spine that melt into liquid heat between my thighs. I might be standing—dangling—in a room that looks like it belongs on the set of Saw, but I couldn’t care less. Right now, I never want to leave.

“I…” I want to say the words, but they won’t come out.

“I love you, too, Dal,” Alex finishes my sentence like he can read every thought in my head.

All I can do is smile back at him, my cheeks aching the longer I gaze into his deep brown irises. But the moment is interrupted by my phone going off in my back pocket with a text.

“It’s probably Colson. I told him to wait for me.”

“ Shit ,” Alex slowly lowers be back down to my feet, “are you trying to get me killed— again? ”

“ You’re the one who decided to waltz out my front door the other morning!” I shoot back.

“Alright, then get out of here,” he smirks, “before he comes looking for you.”

Alex steps aside and gives a nod across the locker room. When I try to step past him, he grabs my head again and kisses me so deeply, I think my knees are about to buckle. And when he lets go, he gives my ass a sharp smack, driving me with a yelp back toward the tunnel leading to the gym.

On my way out, I hurriedly text Colson to tell him where I am. I decide to take the doors at the back of the vestibule between the gym and the cafeteria, making a detour to the restroom at the last minute. I start to fix my smeared lip gloss in the mirror and then a laugh when I think about what Alex might look like. I hope someone calls him out for the subtle hues of berry mixed with a hint of glitter.

Suddenly, the restroom door slams shut, making me jump.

“Hey, Jailbait, ” a voice snips from behind me.

I glance in the mirror and my stomach drops. Jordy is glaring at my reflection through narrowed eyes, her oversized sweatshirt hanging off her sharp, angular shoulders as she props one hand on her hip. Slowly, I straighten up and turn around.

“Is that not what you answer to?” she asks. “What about bitch? Or slut? ”

“Excuse me?” I ask, trying to remain as calm as possible.

“Are you stupid, too?” she scoffs. “Alex—my boyfriend. ”

“He’s not your boyfriend,” I reply.

“You’re right,” Jordy furrows her brow sarcastically, “that’s why he begged to drive me home yesterday and pulled off into the woods so he could fuck me in the front seat of his car.”

My heart hammers in my chest, the adrenaline pumping as I try to focus.

No…no, he didn’t...

“But now that I know he fucks around with freshmen, ” she takes a step toward me, “there are some people who might want to know about it.”

My mind races, trying to make sense of what’s happening and how I can get out of it. How does Jordy know about me and Alex? There was no one else in the gym. Where did she even come from?

“He didn’t—” I start to argue, but Jordy cuts me off.

“It’d be a shame,” she muses, “if someone found out what you’re doing, and Alex got arrested—if he had to trade in his camo for an orange jumpsuit and the sex offender registry.” A cruel smile slowly spreads across her glossy pink lips. “ Poor Alex …”

I’ve never wanted to punch someone so much in my life. And maybe I should. Even if she beats the hell out of me afterward, it’ll feel good for at least a few seconds. But like in every other situation, I don’t have the upper hand when it comes to size. Before I can try to brush past her and make my escape, she thrusts her arms out and shoves me square in the shoulders. I stumble back and catch myself on the wall, caught off-guard that she actually put her hands on me. And she’s still coming.

Jordy reaches into her sweatshirt pocket and pulls out something small and black, toggling it back and forth in her fingers as she strolls toward me. When she stops, I realize it’s a black metal pocket knife. Then I recognize the white Adidas emblem on the front pocket of her sweatshirt that’s far too big.

Where did she get Alex’s knife? And his sweatshirt?

“Or maybe it was you who couldn’t keep your mouth shut,” Jordy smirks, “and he had to find some way to shut you up before you wrecked everything for him.”

I have to get out of here. Where’s Colson? If I don’t show up soon, maybe he’ll come find me.

But that’s stupid, why would Colson come into the girls’ restroom to search for me? No one is coming. I have to get out of this myself.

I clench my fists, ready to fight my way out of this bathroom—the same one where I listened to Jordy and her friends talk so flippantly about Evie’s death. Except, this time, I won’t just sit here and take it. But I don’t get the chance.

The restroom door swings open, drawing my attention over Jordy’s shoulder. The door groans as it closes, once again shutting me inside this deathtrap. Footsteps approach and soon, a new figure comes into view. Jordy glances behind her, and when I see who it is, I do a double-take. My stomach drops, and I’m hit with an unexpected sense of betrayal.

I might be Colson’s sister, but I’ll never be one of them.

And the person staring back at me all but guarantees my demise.