Page 8 of The Ruse

Man, weren’t we quite the pair. So awkward and bashful. Did we even have a chance at acting normal on our date tomorrow?

Maybe I should be thankful we’d have two other couples with us. If I got tongue-tied, I could just turn to Ava or Cambrielle and they could help me out.

Nash looked like he wanted to say something else, but then his mom asked him to grab the butter that they’d forgotten to bring to the table, and so he scooted away from the table.

I was just grabbingmy jacket from the entryway closet to ride four-wheelers with everyone after dinner when Asher walked up behind me.

Before I could decide if I needed to act like I hadn’t been told anything about what happened last year with his girlfriend, or to bolt, he was grabbing his black jacket from the closet and saying, “So, I’m guessing from the way you avoided looking in my direction all throughout dinner, it means you’re afraid of me now.”

“What?” I startled, not expecting him to be standing so close behind me. Close enough that he could stab me in the back with a knife and no one would see.

Okay…maybe I should hold off on the serial killer TV shows for a while.

But since it was better to keep an eye on a threat, I took a step back and turned to face him more fully.

“You think I did it then, don’t you?” he asked, his dark eyes searching my face in a way that was both vulnerable and intimidating at the same time.

I hadn’t expected to address the subject outright. Hadn’t planned to ask him for his side of the story, since it wasn’t exactly the type of friendly conversation you had with a stranger.

But he was the one who brought it up, so I asked bluntly, “Well, did you?”

“Kill my girlfriend?” he asked, his tone indignant. “No. Of course I didn’t kill her.”

“Well, th-that’s good,” I said, my voice shaking slightly.

He must have sensed my fear because he narrowed his gaze again and leaned closer. Then he whispered, “But that’s what all the bad guys say, don’t they? Claim to be innocent before they find their next victim.”

What the heck?

Chills raced down my spine and a sense of dread gripped me.

“Sorry, bad joke,” he said with a chuckle when he saw that I was on the verge of screaming.

“Yeah…” I brushed some hair away from my face, wondering why he’d even said it in the first place.

Did he want to seem guilty?

He pulled his jacket over his shoulders. “I think I’ve gotten so used to everyone in Eden Falls believing I did it that I figured I might as well play into it.”

“Do you think she’s dead?” I asked before I could stop myself.

He went still momentarily, as if I’d shocked him with my bluntness. “Maybe.” He zipped up his jacket. “Or maybe she just doesn’t want to be found.”

“Do you think she ran away?” I asked, not having considered that as an option from what Cambrielle had told me.

A look that I couldn’t interpret crossed his face, but before he could respond, his brother stepped into the entryway, already wearing a jacket like he was on his way out.

“Ready to get back to the school?” Mr. Park asked Asher. “We have about an hour before the Dragons’ game starts, and I’d like to get you settled before then.”

“Sure,” Asher said, lazily pulling his gaze away from me to look at his older brother. “Might as well get settled in my new prison cell.”

Mr. Park shook his head and chuckled at Asher’s dramatic statement before turning to me. “Have a great rest of your day, Elyse.”

“I will,” I said. Now that I saw my AP Chemistry teacher next to his brother, I could definitely see the family resemblance.

“Make sure you fit in some time to study for the test on Monday,” Mr. Park added. “I know you’ve been top of the class all year, but I think you’re going to have a little more competition now that Asher is rejoining us.” He shot Asher a smirk.

Asher rolled his eyes. “What my brother means is that you really have nothing to worry about, since I’ve never been the science nerd he is.”

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