Page 116 of Strange Lad

“You always did like the weird scents.”

“Lavender is hardly weird,” Lex interrupts. “It’s calming. With the amount of stress you fuckers put me through, I need all the help I can get.” And he squeezes the steering wheel for emphasis.

See what I mean? Rude.

“We’re all going to smell like it when we leave the car,” Phoenix grumbles, folding his arms.

“As opposed to prison funk? I’d like to think it’d be an improvement.”

Phoenix leans forward and flips off Lex.

“You all really fucked yourselves good, you know. If Morgan presses charges, I won’t be able to—”

“He won’t,” Oli says. “That kid he drugged is why he’s keeping his mouth shut.”

Lightbulb!

I twist in my seat to look back at Oli. “Babe! Did you check your phone? See if it recorded anything usable?”

With wide eyes, he reaches into his pocket and retrieves his phone. We all hold our breaths as he cues up the app and presses play. Loud country music sounds through the speakers, and some girl is laughing loudly. Then 'what the hell, jerk?'.You can hear Oli moving through the bar. My skin bubbles with goosebumps when Morgan’s voice is clear as a bell on the recording. That mic Kelly bought must’ve been hypersensitive because we can hear everything.

And I want to turn the car around, drive right back to the jail, and kill Morgan.

The tone of his voice, the things he said,motherfucker.I’m clenching my fists, grinding my jaw, and when you hear my terrible curses and the crack of Morgan’s face, I start shaking. The yells get muffled by all the chaos, but Phoenix, that genius, says something.

“You fucking rapist! Admit it! Admit what you did to my brother!”

Punch, groan, shouting to call the police.

“—you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

There’s a loud crackle, and then the audio goes dead. I spin in my seat again to check on Oli. He’s pale as death, staring blankly at his phone. Phoenix meets my eyes and blows out his lips. Lex, who has been silent this whole time, clears his throat.

“Well, I can confidently say that isn’t denial.”

Oli puts his phone away and rakes a hand through his hair. “You okay?” I ask him.

“Think so,” he whispers.

I reach back, offering my hand. He takes it and squeezes.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Oli,” Lex says, surprising the shit out of me.

“Thanks.”

“Since when did you grow a heart?” I blurt before I can stop myself.

Lex huffs. “Am I still dropping you off at your parents’?”

I nod.

We unload, reeking of lavender and Lex leaves. My parentsandthe Sawyers are outside, and Eli, Devon, Michael, and Kelly are also there. Sonia comes out of my house with coffee on a serving platter. When my mama sees me, she rushes over to fuss over my face. Emma and Brandon do the same to their sons.

“What happened?” My mom asks me in Spanish.

“Got in a fight.” I shrug. “It wasn’t that bad…we made bail.”

She slaps my chest, then sniffles. “Michael called me at midnight, Jorge! Midnight! You got arrested? Who did you fight? Why?”

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