Page 261 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

It’s the weed talking, of course. I would never have brought up the subject if I hadn’t been robbed of my inhibitions by a few solid hits of Kush.

“Serial killers are like that,” Addy says dryly. “Handsome, charming psychos.”

I laugh. “Serial killer? Damn, that escalated quickly.”

Addy rolls her eyes. “He’ll turn into one if he isn’t stopped.”

I shrug. “I just mean, if you hadn’t told me about what had happened to Jess, I would never have suspected he was…capable of doing something like that.”

I don’t mention Sunday, obviously. In my mind, it turned out to be an anomaly. I can’t explain Briar’s behavior that night—maybe he was high or something. I don’t do drugs—to me, weed doesn’t count—so I may have missed the clues.

“I need to get him alone again,” I murmur, nodding my head as I take another sip of my milkshake.

“You wound up getting detention last time,” Addy says, pursing her lips.

“You know, for someone who’s determined to find out who killed her best friend, you’re making this very difficult.” I narrow my eyes at her.

She shrugs a little. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t.”

Our food arrives. I hurriedly sit back, swallowing drool as the server sets our plates down. I don’t even bother with dousing my fries in ketchup—I go straight for the money shot. Grabbing my cheeseburger in both hands, I tear out a chunk with my teeth.

Fucking delicious.

I chase it down with a slurp of milkshake and then dab a napkin to my lips as if that will somehow make up for being a pig.

“But you’re right,” I say, wagging a finger at Addy without releasing my burger. “School’s not the place.”

“You planning on rocking up at his house and hoping he’ll let you in? Because he will.” Addy grabs a fry and stabs it in my direction. “But who knows if you’ll ever leave?”

I laugh, and she glares at me. “Stop being so dramatic.”

Her glare intensifies. “Stop being so stoned.”

“Would if I could, but your shit’s gooood.”

We grin at each other over our food, and tuck in for real. She gets a message on her phone a few minutes later and types out a reply without looking up. Then she flips her phone over and gives me another grin.

“What?”

“Don’t you have detention with him tomorrow?”

I pause with my third-last fry by my lips. “Fuck. I forgot about that.”

“That’s a whole hour with him.”

“Yeah, but we won’t be alone.”

Addy drops her eyes. “True. But you could pass messages or shit.”

“We’re not five, Addy. And plus, you know he wouldn’t dare put anything incriminating on a piece of paper. The last thing he wants is to give us proof.”

Our eyes lock. Addy stops chewing. She nods a little, and then looks away to take a last sip of her milkshake. Her phone vibrates again, but this time she ignores it.

“Then I don’t know,” she says after a bit. “It’s not like we move in the same circles anymore.”

“Well, maybe we can change that.”

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