SKYLAR
Henry returned to school on Friday after missing two days. He walked by after second period with a hoodie pulled low on his face like he wanted to remain invisible.
“Hey,” I said, leaning against the locker next to his. “Where have you been?”
He shut his locker and looked at me.
I flinched. He had a green and black bruise below his right eye. His lip had scabbed down the center. “Oh, my gosh, Henry! What happened?”
“Car accident.” His answer sounded dull and rehearsed. “No airbag.”
I wanted to reach out and touch him, soothe the pain I saw in his eyes. “Does it still hurt?”
“A little, but the doc says I’m healing up nicely.” He pointed to his side. “Only one broken rib.”
“I guess you’re tougher than you look.”
An arm draped around my shoulders. “Henry, my man.” Blake put out a fist to Henry who bumped it with cautious eyes. “I heard you took out a very innocent tree.”
“Yeah. Good thing I had a seatbelt on. From what I understand, it could have been a lot worse.” Henry kept his eyes locked on Blake’s.
“Not anymore. I’m going to take care of it.”
Take care of it? My mind whirled with a million questions.
Henry shuffled back a step, his mouth open. “Really?”
Blake nodded and a genuine smile crossed Henry’s face. A smile that radiated relief, joy, and surprise all wrapped into one shiny package. There may have even been tears. “I won’t mess up again.”
Blake pulled me closer, although I was too absorbed in Henry for it to matter. “I know. We’re all good.”
Henry walked backwards two steps before turning. His posture was now straight. His shoulders no longer slumped.
Blake slid his hand down my back. “Everything’s all set for tomorrow night. We’ll meet you at Mass Theater 12 at seven. Play some pool. Watch a chick flick if you want.”
I was still staring after Henry, hardly listening to Blake’s words. “What was that all about?”
Blake tugged on my hair, and I turned. His mouth and eyes pulled down like he felt the same pity I did for Henry.
“There was a big cheating scandal last year. Caused an uproar throughout the school.”
“Henry cheated?”
“No. He was the narc. Got a lot of students in trouble. Kids who were just trying to stay above the tide. It’s not easy to maintain Madison standards.”
His words landed like a cement block on my chest. Right or wrong, Henry had broken the unspoken code among teenagers—never tell.
“Is that why nobody talks to him?”
“People take loyalty very seriously here. But I can’t condone violence.”
My mouth dropped. “Wait, Henry just said he was in a car accident.”
“Henry’s learned how to lie. Truth is, some guys jumped him for showing up at school during senior skip day. They wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to rat them out again.”
My head ached. Henry hadn’t exaggerated when he said he was an outcast. But to hurt him that badly? “How could they—”
“I’ll stop it.” Our eyes connected, and there was a fleck of something dark in his. Like he shared my outrage. “There are some perks to being the king of Madison. This is one of them.”
I felt a hint of something I couldn’t define. It wasn’t Blake’s fault that Henry was jumped; yet, something in me wanted to put distance between the two of us. Maybe it was the casual way he said “king,” like he was proud to hold puppet strings over the entire school. Or maybe I was just looking for any excuse to justify my growing fascination with his quiet friend.
*
Cody didn’t sit next to me in sixth period. He took a chair three rows up. The same one he sat in yesterday when he didn’t text me.
He’d kept his promise not to tell my secret, and that should have been enough. But it wasn’t. He said I might be his soul mate and then completely stopped talking to me. Who did that?
I reached down and slid my phone into my lap.
Me: Any advice on a movie choice for tomorrow?
His motions were so slow I barely caught them. But he reached back, pulled a phone from his pocket.
Cody: I’ve been scolded for texting you in class
Me: What? By who?
Cody: Doesn’t matter
Me: What if I want you to text me?
Cody: Then I’m flattered. Big plans tonight?
Me: Date night with my dad. It’s our Friday ritual.
Cody: Movie premier or rock concert?
I smothered a laugh. I guess my life was a little fairytale-like. Daddy made Fridays an event. One time, he’d left a trail of presents to the movie theater we had in our California home, the final one being a visit from Kelly Clarkson, who was just as cool in person as she was on stage.
Me: I think it’s just Monopoly tonight. :)
A dark-headed guy leaned over and whispered something to Cody before looking back at me. I didn’t recognize him, but his stare said he knew exactly who I was. I didn’t like it.
Cody: Gotta go. Don’t spend too much time in jail.
Me: You either.
I eased my phone back into my bag, a weird creepiness taking root in my gut. Who would tell Cody not to text? And why would he listen?