Page 48 of Tell No Lies

The guilt of having so many worrying about me was beginning to weigh me down. I felt bad that I’d become a distraction for Gage and Mike, and that Bear and Donny had probably gotten in trouble for being late to their classes, since they wouldn’t let me go to mine alone.

The cycle didn’t end, though. Talia walked with me out to the hall, where Sean was waiting. They made the tradeoff, and I had to give Sean credit for attempting to make this seem like it was completely natural.

“Did you finish the paper?” He actually made eye contact, which I attributed to him not being included on the threat of torturous practices. He was being protective without making me feel like I was a prisoner.

“Yeah. Hopefully Mr. Copland appreciates the Prohibition Era. It was the only amendment that seemed interesting to me. What did you write your paper on?”

“Oh, mine was equally unique. The life of a freed slave following the Thirteenth Amendment.”

“Ah, so creative.” I truly enjoyed AP US History, but I was already running out of new ideas, and it was less than halfway into the semester.

“We’ll be fine. I know he secretly likes us, since we’re the only ones who participate in the discussion.”

“That’s because he threatened our grades at the beginning of the semester. I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when they see their grades and realize he was being serious.”

I survived the rest of my classes and almost got used to my bodyguards. Almost. Some serious thought had gone into planning who was going to watch me and when. The guys were synchronized and treated their duty as if it was their lives on the line … which, in a way, I guess they were. If anything happened to me, Mike would destroy them. Not that anyone had a chance to come near me with the constant guard of two football players.

Gage was the only one able to find delight out of my situation. He made a game out of talking to me and trying to separate me from whoever was on duty. Needless to say, they did not find it amusing. Although, I did.

When my last class was finally over, I was greeted by Mike, by himself this time. I looked around to see who else was watching us, but it seemed he thought that he alone was enough.

“Hey, Mike. Are you walking me to my car?”

He fell into step with me and led me through the hallway. “Nope. You’re coming with me to practice.”

I stopped and grabbed his arm. “What are you talking about? I have to go to the studio.”

“You can miss today. I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He made a move to continue walking, but I stood firm.

“Actually, I can’t miss today. It’s a team practice. I only have three days until the competition.”

“Don’t you get how much danger you’re in? I’m not letting you go anywhere without me.”

My heart started to race, and I glared up at him. “You don’t get to decide where and when I go somewhere, Mike. I have to get to the studio. Mckayla is driving me there, and Cassie is giving me a ride home. I won’t be alone.”

“I don’t feel good about you going. I want you in my sight until we figure out who’s doing this.”

“I can take care of myself. You can’t put a leash on me and expect me to follow you around.

My frustration was growing quickly, but luckily Mckayla walked up. “Hey, guys.” She looked between us and put her hand on my arm. “We have to go, Aubrey. You’re going to be late.”

I shot Mike one last look and turned to follow Mckayla. He looked ready to tackle me and force me to go with him, but I couldn’t let him treat me like he owned me. He had no right to try to force me to miss dance. If he was so concerned, he could have skipped his practice and taken me to the studio himself.

“I don’t know if I can take this for another day, Mac.”

She looped her arm through mine. “He does it because he cares about you. Just remember that.”

“There’s a difference between caring about someone and keeping them locked up. How can he expect me to sacrifice the things that are important to me when he can’t?”

“He’s a boy, and boys are dumb. Especially teenage boys. Cut him some slack.”

We reached the car and drove in silence. I knew she was right. Mike had good intentions. He just failed at executing them.

Hopefully, Brandon and Carter could find something soon that would put a stop to this.

Seventeen

I secured my hair in a high ponytail with enough hairspray to help it survive a nuclear blast. I was finishing applying my lipstick when I caught the reflection of Brandon staring at me in the mirror.