While I couldn’t see his face, I felt him approach, and I couldn’t move. Why couldn’t I just get out of here?
“I called your dad, because he was going to find out anyway. That goddamn, f**king video is out there, and I wanted him to hear it from me first. He’s coming home.”
My shoulders sunk. My dad would be home sometime tomorrow then. The thought both warmed and scared me. The fallout from this prank—I hated to even call it that, because it was so much more—would be embarrassing for my father.
But I needed him right now. No matter what, I knew he loved me.
“I love you more than myself, more than my own family, for Christ’s sake. I don’t want to take another step in this world without you next to me,” he said softly.
His sweet words washed over me, but they were like a hand that was just out of reach. I could see it. I wanted to take it. But I couldn’t.
“Tate.” The weight of his hand fell on my shoulder, and I whipped around, flinging him off. Constant tears, anger, and weariness burned my eyes as I scalded him with my stare.
He ran a hand through his hair again, and I could see the worry lines on his forehead. “You have every right not to trust me, Tate. I know that. My f**king heart is ripping open tight now. I can’t stand the way you’re looking at me. I could never hurt you again. Please…let’s try to fix this together.” His voice cracked, and his eyes were red.
I told myself a hundred times today that he couldn’t be trusted. He was a liar. A bully. But his words were getting to me. He looked upset. Either he was a really good actor, or…he was telling the truth.
“Fine. I’ll play along.” I took out my phone and turned it back on.
He blinked, probably confused about my sudden change of attitude. “What are you doing?”
“Calling your mom.” I didn’t elaborate and dialed Katherine.
“Why,” he drawled out, still confused.
“Because she installed a GPS tracking app on your Android when she bought it. You said you lost your phone? Let’s find it.”
Chapter 37
I let out a sigh and shook my head as soon as I hung up with her.
School. Not somewhere I wanted to go. Ever again.
“So?” Jared inched closer.
“School. It’s at school,” I muttered, studying the ground.
“Son of a bitch. She’s smarter than I thought.” Jared sounded almost impressed with his mother.
What did this mean? Maybe he left his phone at school and was trying to cover his ass. Maybe Madoc or one his pals had it, and they were covering for him. Or maybe it really was stolen.
I’d rather cut off my hair than face those people today. Or any day in the next hundred years. Eating squid or slamming my finger in a car door all sounded more appealing than braving those hallways. A few hours wasn’t nearly enough time for everyone to move on to new gossip. I’d be the talk of the town for a long time. How could I even be considering stepping foot back on school grounds today?
“I see that look in your eye.” Jared looked down at me and spoke gently. “It’s the look you get when you want to bolt. The look you get right before you decide to stay and fight.”
“What am I fighting for?” I challenged, my voice hoarse.
He frowned. “We did nothing wrong, Tate.”
He was right. I had nothing to be ashamed of. Granted, I hated that people had seen what they did, but I gave my heart and body to someone I loved. There was nothing dirty in that.
“Let’s go.” I walked to my truck and opened the door.
Jared had parked in front of me, and I cringed when I saw the damage I’d done to his car.
Shit.
If he was, in fact, guilty, then screw him and his dumb car. But if he was innocent, then I didn’t even want to think about how mad my dad was going to be when he saw the bill for repairs.
“Is…um…is your car safe to drive?” I asked timidly.
A tired smile tugged at his lips. “Don’t sweat it. It gives me an excuse to do more upgrades.”
I filled my lungs with a deep breath, feeling like I’d been suffocated all day. The cool wind danced across my face and gave me a little more energy.
“Stop at your mom’s firm and pick up her phone. I’ll meet you at school.” And I climbed in the truck and sped off.
***
Everyone was still in their final period, so Jared and I walked silently through the halls without interruption.
“Is it still flashing?” I glanced over to his mom’s phone in his hand.
“Yeah. I can’t believe my phone is still on after two days. GPSs use a lot of battery.” He was looking around, but I wasn’t sure what for.
“Well, the video was sent this morning. If what you say is true, then whoever used your phone has probably charged it since Saturday night.”
“If what I say is true…” He repeated what I said in a whisper like he was aggravated I didn’t trust him.
Part of me wanted to believe him. Desperately. But the other part of me was wondering why the hell I was here. Was I really entertaining the possibility that he didn’t have anything to do with this? Wasn’t it a little too farfetched that this was all put together without Jared’s help?
“Look,” I said, trying to change the subject, “this tracker’s only accurate within fifty meters. So…”
“So start dialing my phone. Maybe we’ll hear it.”
I slid my phone out of my back pocket and dialed his number, letting it ring and keeping our ears peeled for any noise. But our school was huge, and we had almost no time until last period ended, and the halls flooded with bodies.
Every time his voicemail picked up, I ended the call and redialed.
“Let’s split up,” I suggested. “I’ll keep dialing. Just listen for a sound. I think it’s in a locker.”
“Why? Someone could have it on them, too.”
“With me calling every ten seconds? No, they would’ve turned off the phone, in which case it would’ve gone straight to voicemail. It’s on, and it’s in a locker.” I nodded.
“Fine.” His voice was hesitant and a little biting. “But if you find it, call my mom’s phone immediately. I don’t want you in the halls alone, not today.”
I started to get my hopes up at his concern for me. This was the Jared from the past week. The one that held me and touched me gently. The one that cared.
In that moment, I wanted to grab him and hold him close.
But then I heard their laughter in my ears again. And I remembered that I didn’t trust him.
Hitting “redial”, I turned and leapt up the stairs, two at a time.
My boots hit the tiled floor with more of a thud than I would’ve liked. Trying to lighten my step, I crept along each side of the main hallway with my ear to the lockers. But each time I called Jared’s number I heard no rings or vibrating noises.