Page 62 of Catch Me

There are a couple of problems with what I’ve just sent him. One, Jules doesn’t even know she’s picking me up yet. Two, we don’t need girl time. I know I’m lying to him right now, but since it’s for his own good, that makes it better, right?

OK. Be safe.

I take a deep breath and get out of that text conversation as soon as I can. I go right to Jules’ name and hit the call button. She answers on the second ring. “Hey,” I say to her.

“What’s up?” she asks. Her voice is a little breathless like she’s been running around. “Is everything okay? Did Sasha say something yet?” We finally had to fill her in on what Reid did, so she’s been as worried as the rest of us.

Also, she’s of the same mind as me. She thinks Sasha’s definitely going to say something, damn the consequences. Reid even tried to get an appointment with another doctor to get checked over, but he couldn’t make one in such short notice. Especially with the doctor not being acquainted with his past medical information.

“No,” I say. “Not that I know of. But I have an idea about that. Something that might help.”

She responds immediately. “Whatever it is, I’m all for it.”

“Can you pick me up? I’ll tell you about it on the way to where we’re going.”

“And I take it we’re not going to school?”

“Nope. Not yet, anyway.”

“Be right there,” she says.

It’s one of those mornings where both my parents had to go into the office early, which I’m grateful for. If I had to pretend like everything was fine right now, I couldn’t. My mom would be able to see right through me. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for Jules to get here. I slide inside her car once she’s put it in Park. She’s already twisted in the seat toward me. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

I rub my forehead. When I’m about to say it out loud, it sounds crazy. “I thought we’d pay Reid’s doctor a visit.”

“Okay,” she says, like I’ve just told her my parents are cooking meatloaf tonight.

“Okay?”

Jules cracks a smile. “Briar, Reid and the guys were there for me after Brady died, too. I’m with you one-hundred percent. We can’t let Sasha do this to Reid. It’s not right. But, I think we need more of a plan than just go visiting him…”

I nod. “I thought we’d pose as friends of Sasha’s. Tell him we want to know why he signed off on Reid’s note. Hopefully,” I say, pulling out my cell phone and showing her the recording app I downloaded last night and made sure I knew how to work this morning. Thank you, Cade, for giving me the idea. “If he knows something about what happened, he’ll talk. If he doesn’t, no harm done.” I don’t tell her that I’m desperate. If it doesn’t work, I’m threatening to expose everything. After Reid asked if Sasha if she was fucking his doctor, I’m convinced the doctor has to be involved somehow.

She nods slowly. “I like everything but the friends part. If they’re involved in this together, the doctor would know if Sasha had siblings, so let’s say cousins. That makes it more understandable as to why we would want to know.”

“Agreed,” I tell her. I sit back, reading the address to Reid’s doctor’s office off my phone, hoping to get there before any real patients show up, and also hoping that just Sasha Pontine’s name will get us in the door.

We cross town in just shy of ten minutes. “Okay,” Jules says as soon as we park. “Don’t break with our story even if he gets mad.”

My stomach clenches. “Why would he get mad?”

“I don’t know. If he did what we’re accusing him of, he could get in serious trouble. Don’t come right out and say that he did it. Really play up the angle that we’re cousins, and we want to know why he signed Reid’s paperwork to return to playing.”

“Got it,” I tell her.

We step out of the car and walk in at the same time. I try to give myself that Pontine air of knowing everything and being in charge of everything. Basically, I put on my resting bitch face and approach the front desk. When I first talk, I hear my voice waver, but eventually it comes out surer. “Excuse me, I’m Lizzie and this is Jane. We’re here to see Dr. Campbell about our cousin, Sasha Pontine.”

“Do you have an appointment?” the lady asks. She’s staring us down, and my breath hitches in my chest.

“No, but can you tell him it’s important, please?”

“Have a seat,” the woman says.

Jules and I move to two of the waiting room chairs. There’s only one other person in the room, the tip of their nose bright red. I immediately pull out hand sanitizer and offer it to Jules. She waits until I’m looking at her and then smirks. “Lizzie and Jane, huh?”

“I panicked,” I tell her. “I think I moved my copy of Pride and Prejudice last night, so those names were stuck in my head. You know I can draw a lot of similarities between Darcy and Reid.”

Jules laughs despite the fact that we’re in the middle of something we would never dream of doing. “How so?”

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