Page 119 of The Broken Note

I lift my head and whip around. Is Jinx here in the hallway now. Is she watching me?

Uneasy, I reach into my locker, unzip the pencil case and find a small, black pin nestled between my pens, pencils and erasers.

My fingers dig into the metal door. How did Jinx get into my locker?

“Hey, Cadence.”

“Ah!” I yelp and slam the locker shut.

Sol gives me a weird look. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Great.” I release a slow breath. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“Okay.” I chuckle at his intensely concentrated face. “You’re seeing me.”

He just keeps looking at me with this tortured expression.

I hear more whispers as the hallway becomes crowded. Class will start soon.

“Do you know why everyone is staring more than usual?” I ask Sol.

He lifts his shoulder in a shrug, his lips tight. “Jinx wrote a post about you and Dutch.”

I jerk forward. “What did it say?”

“I don’t know. Something about him shutting down an amusement park for you.” He runs a hand through his hair, looking agitated. “I try not to read those things.”

The reminder of the amusement park makes me cringe. Dutch knew I would be soft on him after he made Vi’s day. He intentionally used my sister to get me to open up to him.

Sol presses forward. “Cadence.”

“What?” My voice is irritated.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to say.”

I blink, waiting.

“I don’t feel right keeping the truth from you and—”

My phone buzzes again.

It’s not Jinx this time.

It’s Jarod Cross.

I stiffen. “Just a minute, Sol.”

He bites down on his bottom lip, a shadow crossing through his brown eyes.

I step away from him and lower my voice. “Hello?”

“You found something?” The rockstar’s smooth voice fills my ears.

“You were right. About thatthing. I have evidence.”

His chuckle sounds pleased. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Cadence. I’ll send Lucien to pick it up.”

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