Page 5 of Tell No Lies

I had my phone out before she’d finished the sentence. I sent a quick message asking Cassie if I was missing something. We continued to class, and as we sat down my phone buzzed.

I read the message and laughed. I really needed to stop stressing so much. Maybe then I could remember things and not walk around in la-la land.

I held my phone out discreetly, so Mckayla could see it as Mrs. Gonzalez read through the roll, marking those of us who’d bothered to show up for this joke of a class.

“So, you don’t have practice? Why didn’t you know that?”

“Probably because I’ve been spacey lately. We have a double practice on Thursday to make up for it. That’s going to kill me, but at least I can go this weekend!”

“You definitely need a vacation. Let’s go grab a camera and get out of here.”

Maybe I needed to take up yoga to calm down. As if I had time for that.

I followed Mckayla out of class, and we meandered pointlessly around campus, chatting about the trip.

We were walking past the gym when an obnoxious catcall came from behind us. I didn’t want to turn around, but Mckayla was already walking back. I rolled my eyes and turned to see Tucker standing with one of his teammates.

“Hello, ladies. You’re both looking fine today.” He winked as my stomach turned. I couldn’t believe I’d thought he was attractive at the airport.

Mckayla laughed it off. She was used to his teasing and had once promised me he was harmless. “Hi, Tucker. Andy, what are you doing hanging out with this loser? You’re better than this.”

The guys laughed. They probably enjoyed getting any attention from a girl as gorgeous as she. Mckayla reached out and pulled on my arm, bringing me closer to the group.

“Andy, have you met my cousin? Aubrey, this is Andy. Don’t judge him based on his choice in friends.”

I met his gaze and smiled. He was taller than Tucker and had short brown hair. He was cute in the typical athlete-way. Height would do that to any guy.

“Hi, Andy.”

“Nice to finally meet the infamous Aubrey. I’ve heard a lot about you. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.” He looked down at me with a friendly smile.

Tucker stepped forward, interrupting. “We’ve been pretty busy prepping to win another championship, but now we have more time to play.” He winked at me again.

Gross.

Andy shook his head as if similarly disappointed in his friend. “We’re coming this weekend, so maybe we can hang out there.” He didn’t direct the comment specifically to me, so I just smiled.

Luckily, Mckayla responded. “Yeah, of course. This is Aubrey’s chance to meet everyone. We’ll see you guys later.”

We turned and walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to make commitments to people I didn’t know. I wanted to hang out with my friends this weekend, not worry about making introductions.

This was what I needed to work on though. I needed to be able to stand on my own, even if it made me uncomfortable. Dang, the cost of meeting new people.

We walked back into class moments before the bell rang. Once again, Mrs. Gonzalez barely acknowledged us or asked where we’d been.

I was dreading chemistry. Just a few weeks ago, it had been my favorite class of the day, but that was before Luke dumped me. Now it was an hour of trying not to look at him and pretending there wasn’t an awkward tension between us.

It wasn’t fair to assume, especially since he’d been the one to end things, but I felt like he hated me. One of the girls in my dance class had told me he had gone out with her friend the week after formal, so it wasn’t like he was hung up on me. Apparently, it had been my fault that someone had broken into my apartment and reminded me of my past stalker. Yep, I would totally plan that. The attention I got that night had definitely been worth the lack of sleep and shattered sense of security I’d had since then.

I looked down at my notebook and frowned. We might have only gone out a few times, but I always had fun with him. Things had felt so natural between us. I would never tell the girls, but I missed him.

And his smile.

That beautiful smile.

I didn’t need to ask to know that he wasn’t invited. Things between him and Mike had grown worse for a little while, but now they didn’t even bother glaring each other down like they used to. They simply didn’t exist to each other.

I tried to pay attention to Mr. Steen, but a few minutes into his lecture, I let my mind wander. I thought about the note and tried for the billionth time to figure who could have put it in my room and why. Just like every other time, I came up with nothing.