Price obliged Kylee without question, his lips pressing against her mouth, pushing hers open. One hand went around her head and the other crept around her waist, finding a spot at the small of her back.
Kylee’s whole body radiated heat now. She pulled away and put her hand on the doorknob. It vibrated beneath her hand, and she barely touched it before the door opened.
She felt Price’s eyes on her, trying to understand what she was doing.
“Thanks,” she said, stepping into the doorway. He followed, pulling the door closed behind her.
----------------------------------------
“Are you hungry?” Price asked. They stood in the sandwich line in the cafeteria. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.
“No.” She shook her head and tested the wall for tangibility before leaning against it. “I haven’t been hungry since I found out I’m—well, you know.”
Price groaned and rubbed his stomach. “But food, man. It’s the best part about life.” He paused and gave her a long look. “Well, second best.”
Her navel tightened at his suggestive expression. “I know, right? Best part about life. Not so important when you’re dead.”
“What about the other thing, then?”
“What other thing?”
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Kissing.”
Her face burned all the way to her hairline. “Yeah, that’s still nice.”
“Hmm. Good to know.”
She changed the subject. “Where does Jessica sit?” She peered across the room, trying to make out individual faces in the masses.
“I don’t know. I’ve never noticed her. You go look, I’ll find you.”
“Great idea.” Kylee stepped out of line just as a kid came up behind Price. He walked right into her space, his skin brushing against hers. He moved backward a tad and looked around.
She tried to keep her arms close to her body and pulled her shoulders forward to create a narrower frame. She pictured Jessica in her mind, with hair so dark it was almost black, her brown eyes and pale skin. Kylee surveyed the cliques of girls sitting around various tables. She didn’t recognize anyone at the first group.
She spun in a slow circle twice before deciding Jessica wasn’t in the cafeteria. Several kids ate out on the lawn. Kylee headed outside and walked amongst them.
And then she saw her. Jessica sat by herself, leaning up against the bricks of another wing. Some time ago she had dyed her hair. The orange-ish colored ends brushed her shoulders while the roots were her normal dark brown. She picked at a sandwich, pulling the crust off and stuffing it into the grass.
“Jessica?” Kylee said, hoping for one brief second that her old friend would hear her.
Jessica didn’t lift her head. She tore off a bite-sized piece of peanut-butter and jelly and stuck it in her mouth. Kylee sat down next to her and rested her arms on her knees, wishing she could talk to her. Instead, she watched the front door for Price to come out.
It took awhile, but finally he appeared, a hero sandwich in one hand and a can of soda in the other. His eyes narrowed as he searched the students. Kylee waved, and he nodded at her. Jessica looked up as he began making his way toward them.
“Outside, huh?” he said, his eyes flicking back and forth from Kylee to Jessica.
“Just talk to her,” Kylee said. “Be friendly.”
Jessica frowned at him but didn’t say anything.
“You’re Jessica?” He sat down cross-legged in front of her.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
She furrowed her brow. “Yeah, so? What do you want?”
“I’m Price.” He unwrapped his sandwich. “I moved in about a month ago.”
“Do we have a class together?” she asked, her tone a little uncertain.
“No.” He hesitated, his eyes slipping toward Kylee.
“You’ve got questions,” Kylee supplied. “People told you she knew me.”
“Why are you talking to me, then?” she asked.
Price gave a slight frown. “What do you mean? Aren’t people allowed to talk to you?”
Jessica quirked an eyebrow and made a show of looking around her. “Yeah, everyone’s hankering for the chance.”
“Don’t you have friends?”
She shrugged.
“Get on with it,” Kylee said, impatient. “Lunch will be over soon.”
He waved his hand at her, not lifting it above the tops of the grass. “You were friends with Kylee.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “That explains why you’re here. Best friends with the dead girl. That’s what I’m known for.”
Kylee studied Jessica. “Is that a problem for her? Why does she sound like she’s angry?”
“Do people tease you about her?” Price asked in a softer tone.
“No.” Her eyes flashed and she gritted her teeth. “When she was missing, everyone wanted to hang out with me.”
“That’s not so bad, right?” Price gave her a smile. “Maybe they felt bad for you.”
She grunted. “If only. No, it was so they could ask questions. It was juicy. Dramatic. Best friend disappears. Did I know where she went? Surely she said something to me.” Jessica’s chest heaved, and Kylee could tell she was gathering steam. “And I was wondering why, why didn’t she tell me something? I mean, yeah, we didn’t go to school together anymore, but she still called me, at least once a week. Then people forgot about her. I thought they’d forget me, too, but for some reason—for some reason I became the bad guy. The villain. When her body was found and her death ruled a suicide—”
“Wait,” Price interrupted as Kylee gasped. “They ruled it a suicide? When was that?”
“Like two nights ago.” She glared at him. “You should pay more attention.”
“That can’t be right.” Kylee shot to her feet. “They were supposed to suspect Bill!”
“Why do they think it was a suicide?” Price asked.
Jessica lowered her voice as well. “She slit her wrist before throwing herself into the pond. They found a jagged cut all the way down one arm.”
“No,” Kylee whispered. “No, that’s not what happened.” She felt her breathing quickening. The point of finding her body was to vindicate her, not condemn her.
“How do you know all of this?” Price asked.
She narrowed her eyes, giving him a probing look. “Who are you? Why are you asking me this?”
He shrugged and lowered his gaze. “Just wondering.”
“Why? You don’t know me.”
“No . . . but you were friends with Kylee.”
“Is that what this is about? Go watch the news or something.”
The bell rang and Jessica stood up, gathering what remained of her lunch and wadding it into a ball.
“Jessica,” Price said, holding out a hand to stop her. “I moved into the house next door to Kylee’s. She—” He paused, and Kylee held her breath. What would he say next? “I found some things she left behind. She mentioned you.”
Jessica’s white face paled even further. “What?” she breathed, her lips not moving. “What did you find?”
Price shot a desperate look toward Kylee. “I found . . .”
“A note,” Kylee supplied. “Jess and I wrote notes sometimes.”
“Notes,” Price finished. “Notes you wrote each other. Notes she wrote to you but never delivered.”
Jessica grabbed his arm, her fingers leaving white marks where they dug in. “What did she say? Can I see them? Did she blame me? Why? Why did she kill herself?”
“I didn’t kill myself!” Kylee cried. “And Jess was the only person who cared about me! Why would I blame her?”
Price winced and tried to pry Jessica’s fingers off his arm. “She said you were the only person she could trust. The only person ever there for her.”
“What else?” Jessica said. She took a deep breath and blinked, her eyes red and moist. “Did she leave a suicide note?”
Price succeeded in freeing his arm, and he rubbed the spot where she’d gripped it.
“No,” Kylee said. “Tell her I thought I was in danger.”
“Actually,” he said, so quietly that Jessica leaned toward him, “she said she thought she was in danger. That if something happened to her, you needed to go to the police.” A pained expression passed over Price’s features. “Too bad that note never made it to you.”
Jessica gasped and pressed her hand to her mouth. “OMG. I knew it.”
Price’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You knew what?” he whispered. “That someone was threatening her?”
She nodded, the tears spilling over.
Price glanced around. The lawn was devoid of students now, except a few who ran toward the building, anxious to get to class before the tardy bell. He licked his lips and focused on her. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I had no proof!” she exclaimed. “And now they’re saying it was a suicide.”
“But it wasn’t!” Price said, his voice rising.
“You’re the one with the evidence!” Jessica cried, pointing at him. “Turn those notes in to the authorities!”
Price pressed on. “Who was it, Jessica? Who threatened her?”
Kylee held her breath in rapt attention, watching the developments unfold before her eyes.
Jessica lowered her hand to her thigh and smoothed the skin-tight, light blue jeans. “I don’t know for sure. But—” she hesitated. “She was afraid of her stepfather.” The last sentence came out so hushed that Kylee had to read her lips.
The tardy bell rang out across the empty lawn, but none of them moved.
image [https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/story_images/big_45f3d247ef30dcc5f1acc5245bc94b4a.jpeg]
image [https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/story_images/big_45f3d247ef30dcc5f1acc5245bc94b4a.jpeg]