Twisted Secrets: A Dark High School Romance (Twisted Pine Academy Book 3) Read online

  "My dad. You said you didn't know where he was."

  "I don't. It's like I told you, he'll show up when he needs money. Until then, I doubt I'll hear from him."

  "You've lied about other stuff."

  "Like what?"

  "My mom," I say, my heart beating faster. I want to tell him I know he's my father. I've wanted to tell him since I found out. But I can't. I don't know why. I think part of me doesn't want the truth. If he really is my dad, it means my mom lied to me. My whole life, she lied to me.

  "What about her?" Brock asks as he drives down the narrow road that leads to school.

  "You had an affair," I blurt out.

  "An affair?" he says with a laugh. "With who?"

  "My mom." I stare straight ahead, watching as students filter into Twisted Pine.

  "I think you're confusing me with your father," Brock says in a humorous tone. "Although it wasn't an affair. He was single at the time." He stops in front of the school. "I'll see you this afternoon. Trystan will take you home."

  Taking off my seatbelt, I turn to Brock. "I talked to Devon. He told me the truth."

  "Rumor, go inside. You don't want to be late."

  "I can't hide this anymore. I've wanted to say something since I found out. I don't want it to be true but I have to know if it is."

  "If what's true?"

  "You and my mom. Were you more than just friends?"

  He huffs. "Of course not. Whatever Devon told you is nonsense. He was probably on drugs at the time. When did you talk to him?"

  "I don't know. Like a week ago. He wasn't on drugs. Or drunk. He sounded perfectly normal. And he said that...that he's not my dad."

  Brock laughs. "That's preposterous. Of course he's your dad. He was with your mother for months."

  "And you were with her for a night. Or longer. He didn't tell me how long it went on."

  Brock's face turns serious. "Rumor, stop this right now. You know Devon is your father. Your mother told you so."

  "And she lied." I pause. "I don't look anything like Devon. I never did. I kind of look like my mom, but I also look like—" My eyes go to his. "You."

  "Okay, that's enough. Go to school. You're late. Everyone else is inside."

  "You lied to me," I say, my eyes locked on his. "I'm not your niece. I'm your daughter. Devon isn't my father. You are."

  Chapter Eleven

  Before Brock can say anything, I get out of the car and race inside the school. I didn't want to hear him tell me what I said isn't true because I know it is. I could tell by the panic that crossed his face when I mentioned him and my mom.

  Devon wasn't lying. Brock is my dad. My mom lied.

  Why would she do that? My mom was my hero. She was good. Honest. The greatest mom ever. And my best friend. So how could she lie to me?

  Feeling sick to my stomach, I go in the bathroom and take some deep breaths. I run cold water over my hands and place them on the back of my neck. My mom used to say if you felt like you might throw up, you should put something cold on the back of your neck. Was that a lie too? What other lies did she tell me?

  The door to one of the bathroom stalls swings open and Peyton saunters out. I thought I was alone. The bell already went off. Everyone should be in class.

  "Hey, bestie," she says, coming up beside me. "Something wrong?"

  "I wasn't feeling well." I grab a paper towel and dry off my hands.

  She turns and leans against the sink and I notice a cross necklace hanging just above her cleavage. She always unbuttons her shirt to the lowest button she can get away with without getting in trouble, then tugs her shirt down so her cleavage shows. If a teacher walks by, she yanks her shirt up and distracts them with a fake smile and lame compliment. Like last week, she told Ms. Pruitt she loved her shoes. They were the same ugly shoes she wears every day.

  "Is that from your boyfriend?" I say, pointing to the necklace.

  "No, my parents." She runs her fingers over the cross. "They got home last night. When I told them what happened to Kristen they gave me the necklace." She frowns as she looks down at the cross. "Grandmother wore this to Grandfather's funeral. It's been in our family for generations."

  "It's pretty." I toss the paper towel in the trash. "We better to get class. We're late."

  She hurries over to me, holding my arm. "I don't know how I'm going to get through the day. It's just so tragic, you know?"

  "Yeah. I didn't realize you guys were just such good friends. Maybe you should talk to the school counselor."

  "It wouldn't help. She's useless. Didn't you stop seeing her?"

  "Only because Brock made me. I'm supposed to see some other counselor. One Brock knows. But I would've been okay staying with Ms. Adams. She's not that bad. You should try her, or go see someone else."

  Peyton leans against the door, twirling her hair. "They're having an assembly today. Principal Edwards is leading it."

  "He's here today?"

  She shrugs. "That's what I heard. He's going to talk about Kristen and Jen Kizer's going to see a song. It'll probably be really lame. Something Kristen would've hated."

  "Why are they doing this?"

  "Because people expect it. You can't just pretend it didn't happen."

  "Yeah, I guess. Can we talk later? I need to go."

  I open the door.

  "Aren't you coming?" I ask as she goes to the mirror.

  "You go ahead. I think I'll skip first period."

  When I walk into class, Mr. Piedmont stops mid-sentence. "Nice of you to join us, Ms. Halliway."

  I ignore him and continue to the back of the class, everyone staring at me. I'm sure by now they all know I'm dating Jackson. They already hated him, but finding out he was arrested for Kristen's murder will make them hate him even more. That hate will extend to me because I'm dating him.

  This is going to be a bad day.

  "As I was saying," Mr. Piedmont continues, "Ms. Adams will be available all this week during class to address any questions or concerns about how you're feeling." He pauses. "Does anyone need to speak with Ms. Adams right now?"

  Nobody answers or raises their hand.

  "If you do," Mr. Piedmont says, "please let me know and you'll be excused from class. For those of you who were late today," he says, looking at me, "we will be having an assembly this afternoon in the auditorium. It will replace your last class. This is a required assembly and your parents are welcome to attend. When it's over you can leave for the day. Any questions?"

  Nobody responds so he continues with class.

  As the morning goes on, not a single person talks to me. They just walk right past me and pretend I don't exist. Either Braden told them to act this way or they're doing it because they hate Jackson and hate me for dating him. I'm surprised Peyton would talk to me. If she really thinks Jackson killed Kristen, why would she still want to be friends with me?

  At lunch I'm standing in the hot food line when Dante comes up behind me.

  "Hey," he whispers.

  "Hi." I turn to face him.

  "Turn around," he whispers. "We're not supposed to be talking."

  I turn and face the line. "Did Braden tell you that?"

  "Who else?" he says, sounding annoyed.

  "Don't listen to him. You don't have to do what he says."

  "I do if I want to win on Friday. When he gets pissed off, he doesn't play well."

  "Did he tell the whole school not to talk to me?"

  "Yeah, but you knew that would happen. Even if Novak didn't kill her, you're still dating the enemy."

  "Jackson didn't kill her. And as for dating him, nobody had a problem with Kristen dating Jackson.”

  We move ahead in the line.

  "We had a problem with it," he says. "We just couldn't say anything."

  "Bun or no bun?" the lunch lady asks. It's hamburger day, which is normally one of my favorites but I'm not hungry today, especially after finding out the whole school isn't talking to me.

  "Bun," I say.
Taking the plate from her, I turn back to Dante. "See ya later."

  "Three," he says to the lunch lady. "With a bun."

  Looking around the cafeteria, every table is full. I spot Peyton at the cheerleader table and head over there. There's a seat open next to Peyton.

  "Hey," I say to her as I sit down.

  Peyton sips her sparkling water, ignoring me. The other girls give me the death stare, like I shouldn't be at school, and definitely not at their table. I glance back at the table behind me—Braden's table—and see Alyssa watching me. She quickly looks away. The guys at the table pretend not to notice me.

  Braden saunters over, shoving his chair back as he sets his tray on the table. I'm directly behind him and when he sits down, he makes sure to slam his chair into mine before scooting it forward.

  "Asshole," I mutter.

  "You hear Novak's out?" Braden says, loud enough for me to hear. "Guess Legion doesn't allow murderers on the team anymore."

  "Anymore," Kade says with a laugh. "Good one."

  "For how long?" Barron asks.

  "Until they drop the charges." Braden laughs. "So yeah, he's done. Looks like we'll be going to State this year." He jumps up and high fives the guys as they grunt like idiots. I was starting to get along with them. I even thought some of them could be friends. But now? I see they're all just milder versions of Braden.

  "What is SHE doing here?" one of the girls at my table says, bringing my attention back to them.

  Peyton turns to me. "You can leave now."

  "I can't eat here?"

  She huffs. "Seriously? You think we want to sit with the girl who killed our best friend?"

  The other girls look like they want to say something to me but are too afraid. They probably think I'll punch them like I punched Kristen.

  "I didn't kill her," I say. "And neither did Jackson." I grab my tray and shove up from my chair. I go to the side doors that lead outside and realize they're locked. "Shit," I say, noticing everyone staring at me.

  "They had to lock the doors," Braden yells at me. "To keep out the killers."

  He laughs, and then his friends do. It wasn't even funny. They're such followers.

  I walk over to him and slam my tray down on the table, spilling my drink everywhere. I look out at everyone in the cafeteria.

  "You know why he jokes about it?" I yell. "Because he wants to take the attention off himself!"

  "What the fuck?" Braden reaches for me but I step away, walking between the tables to the middle of the room.

  "How many people here think Braden killed Andrea?" I ask, loud enough for everyone to hear.

  The room is silent.

  "I know at least some of you think he killed her. And yet you treat him like a god. You do whatever he says." I point to Braden. "Why is he any different than Jackson? They've both been accused and yet one is a hero and one is a villain."

  Braden jumps up from his seat and storms over to me, shoving my arm. "Get the fuck out of here!"

  "You see what I mean?" I say, ignoring Braden. "He can't handle people talking bad about him so he doesn't let them. He silences them, just like he's done to all of you."

  "Get out!" Braden yells, shoving me so hard I slam into a table and fall to the ground.

  I hear some girls gasp.

  "Braden!" Dante says, appearing beside him. "Leave her alone."

  Braden laughs. "Give it up, man. She's never gonna sleep with you."

  "That's not why I'm doing this," he mutters. He looks at me. "You okay?"

  "Yeah," I say, getting up, my elbow and back throbbing in pain from hitting the table. I walk out of the cafeteria, my head held high, shoulders back, not looking at a single one of those fuckers. They can all go to hell. I'd rather be an outcast nobody talks to than be friends with those people.

  I go outside and around back to the gardens that are next to the bookstore. I haven't been to the bookstore since the day I went there with Maria. Kristen was there. And now she's dead.

  "Mind if I join you?" a voice says.

  I turn and see Principal Edwards sitting beside me. My gut clenches and my breaths become shallow. I always thought the guy was creepy but knowing what he was doing with Kristen makes him even creepier. And he named Jackson as Kristen's killer. I hate him for that.

  "I'd rather be alone," I say, staring at the stones that line the base of the fountain.

  "I witnessed your little performance just now in the dining hall."

  "Yeah? So?" I turn to look at him. As much as I hate him, I have to admit, he IS really good looking. And if you don't know what he's really like, he comes off as being charming and sophisticated. Is that why Kristen slept with him? Because she wanted to be with a sophisticated older man instead of a guy her own age?

  "I don't care if you kick me out of school," I say. "It needed to be said. Nobody stands up to him."

  "You don't feel any loyalty to your cousin?"

  "No," I say, my eyes returning to the fountain. "If I had evidence he killed Andrea, I'd be the first to turn him in. Unlike you, I don't send people to jail without having proof to support it."

  "How do you know I don't have proof?"

  I look at him. "What it is? What's the proof?"

  He smirks. "Unfortunately I'm not allowed to release that information. The police will do so when the time is right."

  Staring at his smug expression, I say, "You don't seem that upset that your stepdaughter just died."

  "Of course I'm upset. I'm just better than others at hiding my emotions."

  I stand up, putting my back to him. "Jackson didn't do it. You're ruining his life by doing this. Is that what you wanted? To ruin his life?"

  "I wanted justice. And so does Kristen's mother. We can't let our baby girl's killer run free."

  I whip around and see he's standing right next to me. "Jackson isn't the killer. I don't know why you're doing this but I'm not gonna let you lock him in prison for something he didn't do."

  Principal Edwards puts his hand firmly on my shoulder. "Let me give you some advice."

  "I don't want it," I spit out.

  "It's time you move on from the Novak boy. He no longer has a future. But you do. You can go to college. Live your life. Maybe have a family someday."

  "Jackson is my family. And I'm not letting you take him from me." I shove his hand off my shoulder and walk quickly back toward the school. I take a shortcut through the staff parking lot and go in the back door. I swing it open and run into Ms. Adams coming out of her office.

  "Rumor," she says. "Are you okay?"

  "Great," I say sarcastically. "Any way you could give me a ride home?"

  "Why? Are you sick?"

  "I'm sick of being here. I want to go home."

  "I'm sorry but I'm not allowed to take students home, or anywhere else, without their parents' permission. Could you call Brock to take you home?"

  "He'd tell me I have to stay. Never mind." I walk past her down the hall. The next class is about to start so people are hurrying to their lockers and racing to class.

  I sneak out the front door and call up Jackson.

  "Rumor, aren't you at school?" he asks.

  "Yeah, but I don't want to be here. Can you come pick me up?"

  "I can't. I'm meeting with the lawyer in five minutes. What's going on?"

  "Braden told everyone to stop talking to me. I blew up at lunch and told everyone in the cafeteria to stop following Braden's orders, which pissed him off and he shoved me into a table. Then I—"

  "He shoved you? Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, but my back's going to be sore for awhile."

  "I'll fucking kill him."

  "Jackson, no. You're in enough trouble. You don't need to add to it."

  "So what else happened?"

  "I went outside to calm down and Principal Edwards showed up. I was so pissed about all the shit he put you through that I went off on him."

  "What'd you say?"

  "I told him he made it all up. That h
e has no evidence to prove you did it."

  Jackson sighs. "Rumor, you can't be saying shit like that. He can use anything you say against me. Or us. Promise me you won't talk to him anymore."

  "I don't plan to talk to him ever again. I hate him."

  "What did he say after you told him he didn't have evidence?"

  "He said that he did. And then he told me to move on with my life because your life was over. I wanted to punch him so bad. I got out of there before I did. Oh, and now I have to sit through an assembly during last period and listen to him talk about Kristen."

  "They did something like that for Andrea. The principal talks and then the school counselor will go over the stages of grief and how to deal with loss."

  "How do you know? You weren't here after Andrea died."

  "Kristen told me about it. She said it was really sad."

  "And now they're having an assembly for HER. That's weird."

  "The lawyer's here. I have to go."

  I skip my next class and walk down the path to the football field so I can be alone and not be caught. I sit on the bleachers and look out at the field, thinking about how so much has changed since the first week of school. Back then, my only concern was how to get information from Braden and his friends that would help Jackson's team. I took it so seriously, like it really mattered. Now it seems stupid. Who cares if Twisted Pine goes to State? It seems so trivial compared to what's going on now.

  "Hey," I hear someone say.

  Turning back, I see Alyssa coming toward me.

  What's she doing here? She never skips class.

  Chapter Twelve

  "I thought I was alone," I say.

  Alyssa sits beside me, pulling the sleeves of her cardigan sweater over her hands and shivering. "It's cold out here."

  "Not really," I say, feeling warm, and I'm not even wearing the cardigan. I took it off before lunch and left it in my locker.

  "Maybe I'm getting sick." She shivers, gazing out at the field.

  "What are you doing out here?"

  "I didn't feel like being in class. Whenever I'm in that building I keep expecting to see Kristen. I can't believe she's gone."

  "How long were you two friends?"