Page 88 of Harmony

Turns out, Rocky decided instead of killing Mr. Kendall, he would be better off rotting in jail. My eyes meet Tiffany’s down the hall. She looks frightened, as do the rest of the squad. When her eyes meet mine, she doesn’t even react to seeing Nate standing behind me.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” I whisper to him after the cops vacate the hall.

“Okay. I’ll be right here.” He leans down, kissing my temple.

Pulling away, I make my way to them. Once in front of the squad, I address Tiffany. “Can we talk a minute?”

Her eyes narrow, but there is still concern. “So you’re dropping us for Nate? I thought you hated him.”

I glance over my shoulder, finding his eyes on mine. I give him a small smile.

“There’s a thin line between love and hate,” I murmur.

“Well, whatever it is, you’re really fucking us over. Katie’s missing too so now we are down two girls.”

I can’t tell her, but Katie won’t be coming back. Turns out, she was admitted to an insane asylum. She keeps talking about this mysterious “daddy” character who she claims loves her and is going to whisk her away. Since no one can confirm her story, she came off as mentally unstable.

She betrayed me, but I still didn’t want to see her dead, so I’m glad Rocky thought ahead for it. I don’t know if the rest of the men that night made it out alive, but Nate assured me the Mitchell threat has been dealt with and that there would be no more issues.

“I’m not quitting the team,” I tell her. “Give me two minutes of your time.”

She sighs but waves the girls off. Once they are gone, I start.

“They are going to call you in to give a statement. I know you don’t trust easily, but I promise if you cooperate, there will be no blowback on you. It’s all over now. The squad is free from having to deal drugs or do other crazy things to appease some unknown threat. All they need from you is to tell them everything you know to keep Mr. Kendall behind bars. Can you do that?”

She bites her lip, looking nervous. “I think so.”

“Good, because we need our leader if we are going to win at State. Also, Rocky agreed to sponsor us. From now on, he is going to be sponsoring any school sports that have interest. He cares about his community and doesn’t want anyone else to feel like they have to stoop to shady levels to pursue their dreams.”

Her eyes tear up. “Really?”

I nod. “This has nothing to do with me being with Nate. I told him about what happened and why you were doing what you were doing. He understands. Now don’t go fucking up again, but you’re in the clear.”

She lets out a watery laugh. “So I’m not going to jail?”

“Nope. We are going to State. Now the only issue we have is to replace Katie.”

“She’s really not coming back?”

I shrug. “I heard she had a mental break. I wouldn’t plan on it.”

She nods. “We can hold tryouts this week.” After a moment, she looks back down the hall. I follow her eye line and see Nate still watching me closely. “So you and Nate are really a thing?”

“Yep, and Willow is my best friend. Is that going to be an issue?”

She shakes her head, grabbing my arm to walk toward Nate. “Not at all. Hey, maybe Willow can join the team.”

I snort, “Not likely. Rocky would never let her wear what we wear.”

As we reach Nate, Tiffany says, “Nate doesn’t seem to mind you wearing the uniform.”

He pulls me from her grip, his hand curling around my waist. “I have some fond memories of that uniform.”

His voice is husky as he kisses my cheek.

“I did not need to know that. Alright, we will take today off from practice while I set up tryouts. We can do them tomorrow at lunch. Then it’s going to be double practices until we can catch the new girl up. You up for it?” Tiffany asks.

“We got this.”

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