Page 101 of Enemies to Prom Dates
Maybe I wasn’t the only target in this. Maybe there had been a reason other than setting me up to go after Wick. But my dad was right.
“No,” I said. “This is beyond high school bullshit. Wick could have been seriously hurt. I say we sit tight and let the investigator figure it out. We know the video has been altered. We know Locke figured out how. If he can do it, someone else who goes looking for evidence of tampering will be able to figure it out, too.”
My mom, who was sitting next to Beth on the couch, frowned.
“Yes, but not before the police come to arrest you. They have everything they need. Your car. An eyewitness, video corroboration and apparent motive. The only reason they’re holding off is because of who you are, but if the DA thinks it’s open and shut, he’s going to let the cops loose. It would be a very a high-profile case for him. Lots of media attention. He’ll play the rich-privileged-kid-isn’t-above-the-law card. A perfect opportunity for a district attorney who has political aspirations. Which ours does.”
“You mean black kid,” my dad interjected. “We don’t know what would have happened if he was white.”
“Dad!” I snapped. “Seriously. Let it go. I can handle being arrested. The people who matter to me know I didn’t do it. That’s all I care about. We figure out who did what to the video, I’m found not-guilty, and I can put this behind me.”
What I didn’t like was something Locke had told me when we met by the bleachers. He was convinced there was something even more sinister happening beyond the List. And he wouldn’t tell Beth how he knew about the video because he didn’t want the person who did it to know.
Was it possible I was part of a bigger game? That Locke was right and this went well beyond Wick and a bunch of upperclassmen betting on freshman girls? It made me feel like a pawn. I didn’t like it. The idea that someone was moving me around a board.
To what end? Striking back because I wanted to squash the list was one thing. Potentially killing Wick felt way more sinister.
Going so far as to alter a video to frame me?Me?
It was probably obnoxious to think it, but who hated me that much? The only potential candidate was Wick and he obviously wasn’t behind it.
“What if I talked to Wick?” I suggested.
“He thinks you hit him with your car,” Gi said. “Not a good idea. Look, we all know he’s not going to say anything to anyone who isn’t me. Let me go with Beth. We’ll be in a freaking hospital. It’s not like anything bad could happen. Beth and I won’t feel like a threat to him.”
“Let us do this, Fitz,” Beth said. “It can’t hurt anything, and it could only help. Before they arrest you.”
I looked at my dad and he frowned. Then he looked at me and nodded. “I became the world’s greatest athlete so my son would never have to go to jail. This shit ends now. Beth and Gi, I’m driving you to the hospital and then I’m driving you back here.”
Both Beth and Gi nodded.
“I’m going, too,” I insisted.
“You can’t,” Mom said. “You can’t be anywhere near Wick. No exceptions.”
“I’ll wait in the car.”
“No,” she said firmly. “Even being in the hospital parking lot is too close. I’m not sending you to school on Monday, either. You stay here. Safe. Until we figure this out.”
“Well, this might be the most humiliating moment of my life. My little sister and my girlfriend are going to try to save me, while I just sit here on my hands.”
My mom smiled. “I raised you to be a strong man who knows when to let women be strong, too. They can do this. Gi,” she said, turning to my sister, “don’t let me down.”
“Come on, Beth,” Gi said, taking Beth by the hand. “Let’s go save my big brother.”
Beth smiled at me evilly. “Guess who’s in control now?”
“Seven, eight, nine,” I growled, knowing only she would know what it meant. Her mouth opened into a perfect O.
“The fuck?”
“Inside joke, Dad. Just…be careful with them, please.”
“World’s greatest athlete,” he said. “I think I can handle a trip to the hospital and back without incident.”
* * *
Beth
