Page 137 of Web of Lies
“It means whoever did it brought it to Alpha. It wasn’t ordered,” he sighs.
“But why would someone take me down if it wasn’t ordered?” I shake my head, not understanding what’s happening. My phone vibrates against my hip again and again.
“Think about it, Sweetheart. Who would set you up?” He swallows hard, my eyes following the lump.
“No,” I instantly say. I know who he’s thinking. I know exactly who he thinks did this, and it’s not them. Never them.
“Kaycee,” he growls my name, retaking my face. He squeezes my face between his palms, pulling our foreheads together again. “How close did you let those assholes get? Because that’s what they fucking are. They aren’t good. Not for you.”
I swallow hard. “But they are good,” I whisper. “They wouldn’t….” I trail off because no. I can’t go that route. You can’t fake what we’ve done. You can’t fake their compassion and friendship. I’ve seen it swimming in their eyes. The fire consumed them because it consumed me. Or was I too consumed to see the signs? No. No.
“You are a fucking genius,” he growls again, pulling my body into his. “Use your fucking brain and figure it out. Who else could get close enough to do this?”
“What exactly are they going to do at the assembly?” It’s not them. They wouldn’t do whatever was about to happen. They wouldn’t. But who would? “Is it Hadley? She fucking hates me for being with them.”
He scoffs. “Hadley is not fucking smart enough to pull off some elaborate scheme behind Alpha’s back. She’s a fucking sheep follower, falling in line. No. This is someone who doesn’t play by the rules but hates your fucking guts so much….”
“What’s going to happen, Carter?” I growl back, shoving my fingernails into the flesh of his arm. But he doesn’t flinch. He takes it, the pain I inflict until his blood pools around my fingertips.
“I don’t fucking know!” He yells, voice echoing off the walls. “I don’t fucking know, and that’s what’s driving me fucking insane. I can’t tell you if they’re going to string you up like a fucking piñata. I can’t tell you if they’re going to fucking egg you or hell—maybe they’ll fucking slaughter you and film it! I. Don’t. Fucking. Know. And it’s fucking eating me up on the inside.” Carter barely takes a breath, chest heaving against mine. Tiny drops of sweat pour down his forehead, over his nose, and land on the ground. “So don’t go, Kace. Just stay here… with me. Don’t get caught up in whatever is going to happen to you. Stay,” he whispers, bringing his lips to mine again in the softest kiss he could give. But it conveys everything I need to know. He’s not making this up. Carter is not a bullshitter. He wouldn’t mislead me, not when he had these feelings brewing inside of him. A protector. Someone I didn’t expect to be by my side. But he is.
“As much as I want to stay,” I whisper, touching his jaw once again. He falls into it, guiding his face into the touch of my fingers, letting me soothe him.
“Yeah, I kinda fucking figured you’d want to go, anyway.” He nods his head. “But wherever you go, I’m fucking following. I’m not letting you walk into a fucking slaughter. Not again.” I tilt my head, watching the sincerity in his face, and I want to ask him a million in one question about his decision. But I figure right now is not the time. I have someone waiting for me. Someone with ill intent.
“Then let’s go.” I take his hand and lead him out of the closet. Once we are back out into the hallway, I check my phone.
My cuties:
Seger:
Where the fuck are you? What happened? Babe?
Chase:
I can’t find you in the crowd! Please tell us you didn’t get kidnapped or something.
Zepp:
Kaycee. I’m about to run out of here to find you.
That was only a few minutes ago. They must have lined up in the auditorium across from the crowd by now. They warned me once they left the locker room, they wouldn’t have their phones on them. Carter’s words nag at the back of my head, and I try to push them away. There are tons of people in this school that would harm me without a second glance. But to do it without instruction? That’s a different story. Could they have fooled me this entire time with their protectiveness and loyalty? No, that’s something you can’t fake. It can’t be, it can’t be.
“You’re thinking it’s them, aren’t you?” Carter asks a few steps behind me, and I shrug.
“No,” I say. “They wouldn’t do that. It’s ridiculous.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Whatever you tell yourself, Sweetheart. But If I’ve come to understand anything about this school, it’s trust no one. It only gets you killed.” He shrugs so nonchalantly, I scoff.
The sound of the roaring crowd grabs my attention away from Carter’s absurd accusations. Echoing down the hallway like a stampede, the chanting crowd stomps the bleachers, roaring: go Panthers! The team’s names are read off over the loudspeaker, gaining more cheers for the football team. I hear my boys’ names, and even with their pariah status, the school goes wild for them. A sense of pride spears through me at all they’ve accomplished through this year. Not only have they kept up with their grades and continued with their practices and games, but they’ve also helped me too—a lot. By breaking into two places, we shouldn’t have been, and they’ve taken care of me, they’ve gone to their practices every night and sometimes in the mornings too. They’ve dedicated themselves to each cause, and hearing their names and accomplishments brings a smile to my face. My boys, they are good. They’d never set me up like Carter implied.
Headmaster Shaw stands in the middle of the auditorium on a raised platform with spotlights directly on him. He lowers his head, talking into the microphone, reading off a speech about how proud he is of the entire team heading to state to represent our school. Noting Chase has taken them to state for the second year in a row. Speak of the devil. My devil.
My eyes connect with Chase’s when I peek into the cracked open double doors. The mass of bodies slightly obscures my view of the entire auditorium, but I still manage to find the boys. Piper bounces on her toes, leading the cheer squad into a rhythmic routine, cheering on the boys. They chant and dance to the pop music booming over the speakers, finally coming to a stop in the middle of the floor. Piper stops mid-split on the ground, sporting a perfect smile, with her pom-poms rustling in the air. The crowd springs to their feet again, hollering and whistling.
Shaw returns to his speech, continuing on about how proud he is of this school and blah, blah, blah. But I tune him out, looking back over at Chase. I walk further into the pep rally, staying in the shadows of the bleachers rising above me on either side.
Chase’s shoulders slouch forward, nudging Seger beside him. He points me out, and Seger’s furious eyes meet mine. A worrying fire brews in their depths. Even from across the room, I can see how angry and scared he is. Giving them a slight wave to the three, I step forward to watch the rest of the assembly. They keep their eyes on me, and I point back at Carter’s furious stare, trying to show what happened. Seger rolls his eyes and says something to the other two. Earning me raised eyebrows and suggestive smirks. Like they knew exactly what happened, and they’re okay with it. Which is strange to me. We’ve promised ourselves to each other, and here I add another one.
