Page 56 of Dark Things
If we weren’t talking about something so serious, I’d have asked him to repeat it so I could record it and keep it always. Colter telling anyone they’re right is a rare thing.
“No, I don’t buy it. They’re too different. First off, Belle was a redhead and her face was rounder. Her nose was a little more pointy and she had the gap between her teeth. Then there’s the whole personality. Reb is…dark, and Belle is all light. Even if five years have passed, people don’t really change that much,” Staff says, shaking his head.
“Even when they were convicted of a crime they didn’t commit and were sent who-the-fuck-knows where? Even if they lost everything?”
I’m not sure if I’m wanting this to be true so much that I’m choosing to ignore all the things that don’t add up, but I can’t let it go.
“I don’t think they’re the same person, but too many things have been happening for it to be a coincidence. The nickname, the knife, the pizza, and now we know there’s a connection to NYC. On top of that, they’re a part of this fucked-up mafia world,” Colter says.
“I can’t believe the two of you are entertaining this idea. Yeah, Haunt and Reb are into some shady shit. They’re working for the guy who’s probably just as horrible as Mario, but the chances of them actually knowing something is pretty slim,” Staff says.
“But I think it’s worth it to find out. Maybe whenyou have that study session, you could bring it up again. We should try again,” I say.
Staff lets out a loud breath. “Yeah, I guess I can do that.”
We grab our helmets out of the lockers and make our way out to the field. I’m not looking forward to this practice. I have too much on my mind. All the things we have to do for Mario, Reb and Haunt, and now how the fuck I’m going to get Reb to talk about Belle.
“Templeton, get your ass over here,” Coach yells. I sigh and make my way over to him.
“What’s up, Coach?” I ask.
“I got a report from your pre-med advisor. Your grades aren’t what they need to be. Fix it or I’m benching you.”
Fuck. I didn’t think that my slipping in one damn subject was going to cause a fucking problem, but here we are. Not that I even want to be a doctor, but my parents are assholes. It was either go to Skyton for pre-med or go to some Ivy League where I could study what I want. I chose to suck it up for four years, hoping to get drafted.
“Yeah, okay, Coach. I’ll make sure to pull my grades up.”
He nods and walks away. Coach isn’t the chatty type, and I’m grateful for it now because I don’t really want to feel like a failure.
The guys are on the sideline when I get back. “What was that about?”Colt asks.
“Bio-chem is fucking up my life. I need to pass it in order to not get benched.” Sighing, I put on my helmet.
“I can tutor you. I took that class for fun last semester. I think I have my notes at home,” Staff says.
What a fucking nerd. For fun, he says.
“Thanks,” I say before taking off to stand on the ‘o’ line.
Practice was a bitch.After that talk with Coach, I just wanted to go home, stuff my face with tacos and call it a night, but of course there’s always something going on.
Colt’s phone rings as we’re walking in the door. “It’s the PI,” he says, before taking the call and putting it on speaker.
“Tell me you have good news, Blaze.”
Blaze grumbles before a rustling of papers comes down the line. “Yes and no. First, the DNA and prints came back from the knife, or lack thereof.”
“What does that mean?” I say, more annoyed than normal.
“There were none. It was so clean, it might have just come out of the box. No trace of anything.”
“And the other stuff we asked you about,” Colt asks.
“Reb Vischer and Haunt Graves have established backgrounds in Kentucky but it only goes back threeyears. Before that they didn't exist. And they’re clean. Too clean. Not even a parking ticket.”
Staff tenses up and Colt’s face turns murderous. I’m sure mine looks the same.
“Nothing to point us in any direction?” I ask, biting on my nail. This day just keeps getting fucking worse.
