Page 55 of Brutal Prince

Indi

Briar doesn’t show up to our Psych class, and he’s not in the cafeteria at lunch either. Addison and I sit in our usual seat by the window, and take turns keeping an eye on Briar’s table. Addy toys with a French fry, dipping it repeatedly in her little plastic tub of ketchup as she idly glances over to Briar’s table.

For someone who told me to avoid him like the plague, she can’t seem to stop thinking about him.

“This is ridiculous,” I mutter, shoving away my plate. “I can’t just stick my head in the sand and wish this all goes away.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Briar.” I point in the direction of his table with my chin. “If he’s guilty, then there must be something we can do to prove it.”

Addy drops her eyes. “Like what? The police closed the case, Indi.” She shrugs and drops her fry back onto her plate as if her appetite disappeared.

“We gotta dig up some dirt on him. Maybe someone saw something. Maybe one of his friends—”

“That’s the point. They’re his friends. They won’t rat him out.”

“Unless they don’t realize they’re doing it.”

She frowns at me. “What?”

“All we need to do is catch one of them out in a lie.”

Addy lets out an expressive sigh. “You have a plan?”

I drag my plate back and shrug as I pop a fry into my mouth and wash it down with some soda. “Who was there that night when you left?”

Addy starts counting on her fingers, the glitter on her nails catching the fluorescents.

“Briar, Marcus, Dylan, Zak, Jess. I think one of the cheerleaders too…” Addy squints, and scans the cafeteria. “Don’t look now, but there’s a girl with a blond bob a few benches away. Tiffany. She was there.”

I chew on another fry before glancing around. I spot Tiffany a few seconds later. “You friends with her?”

Addison snorts. “I’m not friends with anyone after what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

Addison’s eyes darken a little. “They all think I’m full of shit. I tried to speak to everyone about that party, if they’d seen anything.” She grins and tips her head. “Why do you think I hang out with you now?”

I laugh. “Because I’m the only one who’s willing to spend time with a lunatic like you?”

She points at me with a ketchup-dipped fry. “Eg-fucking-xactly.” The fry disappears into her mouth. “But see, you’re new. You haven’t besmirched your name for the sake of justice. You can speak to Tiffany.”

I nod, discretely studying Tiffany’s table. “They all cheerleaders?”

“Yup,” Addison says glumly.

“Were you one?”

She lets out a most unladylike snort. “Please. I have better things to do with my time.”

“Well,” I say, grabbing my tray. “It’s been nice knowing you, Addy.”

She gives me a lopsided smile. “Good luck.”

“Yeah…” I glance over to the bedazzled, glittering, fake-eyelashed crowd on that bench and my stomach tries to turn inside out. “I don’t need luck. I think I need a fucking exorcist.”

Addy chuckles as I leave our table. I could have made a scene, made it look like we were fighting, but honestly I couldn’t give a shit.

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