Page 228 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

“That’s how he made it look,” she says. She tosses her hair over her shoulder and gives herself a hard hug. “But Jess would never…I know her. She would never do that.” Addy’s lips tremble and she shoves a knuckle into her mouth. “He pushed her. He must have.” Addy turns around, still chewing at her finger.

“When did all of this happen?” It could explain the way the students acted around Briar. I’d have imagined the girls around here throwing themselves at him. Instead everyone gives him a wide berth.

I’d thought it was respect…But now I’m starting to think it’s fear.

“Ten months ago.”

“And the police?”

Addy rips her hand away from her mouth and lets out a bitter chuckle. “Yeah, Indi, the police did a real good job of locking him up.”

“I mean,” I say quietly, trying my best to keep my cool, “did they know about the party? Did you?—?”

“Of course I told them,” Addy says, frowning at me like she thinks I hit my head. “But they never found anything. There were no witnesses that night. The last people to leave saw Jess having a fucking blast with Briar and Marcus.”

I sigh as I run my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know what to say, Addy.”

She starts pacing, her long legs barely taking three strides before she’s done the length of the bathroom basins. “I don’t want you to say anything.” Her green eyes narrow, focusing her anger on me like a laser. “I want you to stay away from him. Stop antagonizing him.”

“Antagon—” I splutter before cutting off with a wretched laugh. “Fuck, Addy, you don’t think I want him to leave me alone?”

“What do you mean?” She stops pacing.

“He…”

Fuck. I should have told her yesterday, but I was a chicken shit little bitch.

I shift my weight from foot to foot, holding up a hand when Addy opens her mouth, mentally willing her just to give me a few seconds to get my mind sorted out.

What’ll happen if I tell her about the woods? She’d say I have to file a report with the police.

In a case where a teenage girl ‘killed herself’, they did nothing.

Here, it’s my word against Briar’s. Plus, I didn’t tell anyone, and they’d probably flag that as suspicious.

Why now, Indi? Why didn’t you tell your grandmother, your new friend, your fucking guidance counselor?

Yeah, I tried telling a teacher, and a whole bunch of kids—Addison included—saw how well that shit went down.

Telling Addy will change nothing. She already suspects Briar of having killed Jessica—saying he mauled me in the woods before letting me run away isn’t going to help.

But it might incense her to the point of random violence.

“You’ve seen how he is with me,” I say weakly. “He’s had it in for me since he saw me.”

“Yeah…” Addy plants her hands on her hips, and studies me from the corner of her eye. “What was that about? You made it sound like he’d done something.”

Her eyes widen, and it’s like watching dawn rise over a fog-shrouded hill.

“We’ve met before,” I say, hoping my brain will catch up in time and provide me with enough ammunition to lay down some covering fire.

“You and Briar?” Her knuckle goes back into her mouth. “When?” she asks, the word muffled around her finger.

Yes, when, Indi?

“Sunday night,” I say slowly, my brain still scrambling.

She tilts her head expectantly. “What did he do?”

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