Page 30 of A Lesson in Deceit
A few seconds later a picture of my mom and Beau popped up on my screen. I needed to go home soon, just for a day or two.
I reached into my backpack to pull out my notebook, thinking that getting an early start on homework for next week would keep me from berating my boyfriend with questions. I noticed a crumpled paper at the bottom of my bag. I reached inside, unfolding it and laying it out on the table.
It was the police report I’d been looking at days ago. I hadn’t thought about it since I didn’t think I needed it anymore. It was all the same information I’d always had, but then my eyes stopped near the bottom.
The witness statement was something I’d either skipped over or just never really looked at all. The statement itself wasn’t what was important. They hadn’t seen anything that happened, but they did find him and attested to his drinking. That had me rolling my eyes, hard. I dragged my finger over to the witness’s name.
Oliver St. James. River’s dad.
I gathered my shit,stuffing everything in my backpack. I nearly tripped over my chair as I hustled out to the elevator of the library. I stopped when I heard Grayson’s voice. It was low, but I would know him anywhere.
He was speaking more Tagalog than English, which led me to believe he was talking to someone in his family. Grayson wasn’t so fluent in Tagalog that he could have full-blown, long-winded conversations, but he knew enough to understand and reply back when necessary.
I looked down one of the aisles, seeing him on the floor. He had his back propped up against one of the shelves. He caught sight of me and tilted his chin up in recognition.
“No. Okaylang po ako,Mom.” He gave me a look and smiled, rolling his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling, clearly a little frustrated. “Yes.Plano ko pong umuwi ngayong linggo.”
He raised a finger in my direction, telling me to wait a minute. He nodded into the phone, listening intently. “Okay, okay, I got you. Love you, Mom.Ingat ka.” He blew a kiss into the phone and ended his call. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. She’s your mom, Grayson.”
“They’re insisting I come home to eat with the family.”
“You do love food, so is it really that bad?”
He tilted his head from side to side. “Yes and no. They always send me back to the dorms with food, but then it sits in my mini fridge and goes bad. I can eat, but like that’s a lot of fucking food.”
I looked over at the elevators, reminding myself of where I needed to go. “Well, let me know when you get back and I’ll help you eat it all. As long as your mom makes those little chewy rice cakes she knows I’m obsessed with.”
Grayson chuckled. “Biko? She will most certainly be making that, and if not then I’ll suggest it.” He gave me a tiny smirk. “And yes I am aware of how obsessed you are and how much you can stuff in your mouth.”
I wrinkled my nose at him, but moved towards the elevator, smashing my finger on the down button.
“Where are you off to?” he asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
“Um, I just have to go talk to one of my teachers about something, that’s all.” The lie rolled off so easily.
“I’ll walk with you.”
“No, you don’t have to. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
Grayson waved me off, getting into the elevator after me. I watched as the doors closed, running my fingers along my ruby stone that hung around my neck. I didn’t believe in crystals orwhatever power they might hold, but something about this one made me calmer when I touched it.
I leaned back against the wall, staring at him. “Can I ask you a very awkward question?” While I had him, I might as well get something off my chest.
“The more awkward the better, I say.”
I immediately looked down at the floor, letting my eyes bulge out for a minute. “Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Were you asleep the entire time that night?”
Grayson licked his lips, placing one of his hands in his shorts pocket. “What night?”
The elevator stopped letting on a few people and I maneuvered myself to the other side. I moved so close to him that our arms were touching. I lowered my voice. “The night we all hung out. You fell asleep during the movie, so we left you downstairs.”
“And?” Grayson countered, looking down at me.
My voice was soft and tentative. “And…I think you might have seen some things.”
He placed a hand over his mouth, stifling a laugh. “Seen some things…come on, Riley. You’re going to have to be more specific than that.” He spoke in my direction, his voice as soft as my own. It was like we were in our own bubble of conversation.
