Page 135 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
You did your part, but I will need you one more time. Friday, we’ll be at Expresso’s after school. Come in wearing Jefferson gear, and then I’ll delete everything
Unknown
Can’t you just tell her you heard I was the Bulldogs quarterback?
Nope. She’s a visual learner
And then, that Friday—the fateful day in Expresso’s.
We’re here. Where are you?
Seriously.
You were brutal today. I approve
UNKNOWN
Lose this number
I scrolled down, and the next conversation was from almost two week later.
I need your services again
Just come to Allen’s Alley at seven. We’ll be there. Flirt with her, okay? I need to see how she reacts.
We’re here. We’re lane 10
Then the next, the next day, before our away game. The screen was starting to grow fuzzy.
Go to Wallflower’s tonight after your game. Please and thanks!
Okay?
I’ll take that as a yes.
Each new text felt like a punch, my stomach cinching tighter with every word I read. The letters blurred, my mind trying to reject them, to shove them away before they could sink in. But they wormed in anyway, digging under my skin, settling like poison in my bloodstream. I didn’t want to believe it—didn’t want to put the pieces together—but deep down, I already knew where this trail was leading.
All those times I caught Jade texting a number she didn’t have saved to her contacts—she’d been texting Logan.
And then it led to the final two messages, both from tonight.
I’ve got enough to work with.
Thanks again!
Jade’s phone began buzzing in my hand. The vibration rattled through my palm as the screen lit up with the same number she’d been texting. My chest hollowed.
“Woah,” Jade murmured after she caught a glimpse of the screen, smirking. “What a weird coincidence.”
She reached forward, tapping the answer button—and then the speakerphone.
“Can you just—” The voice was a rush in the air, tone tight with tension. “Can you justnotbe a horrible person for once in your life? I get it, you’re miserable, butyou don’t have to take it out on everyone else. Just—just let me tell her. You can give me that much.”
It was strange to hear Logan’s voice, knowing I was holding Jade’s phone. Weird to think that Logan knew her well enough to call her, and I’d had no idea.
“I can’t imagine what you want to tell her would be so different than what I’d have to say,” Jade said sweetly, setting him up with a smile. “I’m sure we’d say the same things.”
“Right.” Logan’s voice dripped with sarcasm. I’d never heard him so venomous. “The exact same things.”
