Page 40 of His Pretty Little Lies
It was my coach who had brought it to my attention. He’d said Trent wasn’t feeling good and wouldn't be at the game. He’s one of the team's best receivers. Not a big deal until he let it drop that Trent was in the hospital.
That's when Coach straight-up asked me if any of the others on the team had been doing drugs. Not that I was aware of. I was taken aback by his question. If they’re doing anything, it’s steroids, but I hadn’t even heard or seen that.
I guess Trent’s parents are pushing Coach to find out who sold the drugs to their kid. Which, whatever. Get fucked. No one is going to roll and give up information on some cocaine or some shit, but that’s the thing. It’s not cocaine or a drug the hospitalcan clock it to. All of his symptoms made it clear to the doctors that it was an OD; they just don’t have a fucking clue what drug. All of the tests are coming back negative. Which means it’s some new cocktail that has made its way to those who can afford it. Golden Prep is the perfect place to launch it. Students with tons of money and absent parents.
That made it clearer why the parents are pushing to know what the drug is. It can help with recovery because Trent is still in the hospital.
All my and Damon’s red flag alerts are going off. Drugs are on the streets of every city. They can’t be stopped, but you can try to slow them down and manage them to a degree. I understand that. It’s part of what the Marino family has had to deal with from the start.
We don’t deal in drugs. Not the hard shit, but with all our warehouses on the docks, lots of shit comes in and out. We do our best to keep it clean, but oftentimes you have to let things be and just not let them get out of hand.
This, however, has me thinking we got a whole new drug out there. I can only stack this right on top of the other stuff. I don’t know if it’s connected, but when different shit starts to bleed together in time, you have to question it. Murder and drugs go hand in hand, which tells me none of what’s happening is a coincidence.
If there is one place we can try to figure out if there is a new drug out there, it’s at a party. A party between two very big prep schools in this city. A breeding ground for kids with stacks of cash and zero self-control would be a bankroll to anyone selling drugs.
“Blair told me to fuck off,” Damon says from beside me.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I turn to fully face my brother. “She’s your inside man?” He told me he had someone watching out for Kinsley when I hadn’t been able to afew times. I didn’t push for who because I didn’t want Damon to think I was doubting him.
“What’s wrong with Blair?”
“What’s wrong is my girl likes her, and you have her faking a friendship with her?”
“Let’s pump the brakes. She’s not faking it. Blair likes her. Which is good. Blair doesn’t like anyone.”
“But you?” I don’t think I have seen them talking before.
“We have a mutual respect and understanding is all.” I don’t have a clue what the fuck that means. I don’t believe he’s into this chick, at least not really into her. He wouldn’t be so sane if he were.
“She told you to fuck off.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t tell me to go die in a fiery hell. So we’re good.”
“Damon,” I growl.
“They’re going to the party.” He gives as my phone goes off with a text from my mom. She clues me in more on what might be up with Kinsley.
“Nix let it be known I was going to a party.” My little sister must have been next to Dad when I sent him a message about Trent.
I didn’t give him all the details but said I was going to check things out at the party. If there is a new drug out there, the family needs to know that. Drugs can get out of hand real quick, and if this is new and local, we could shut it down sooner rather than later.
It’s these situations we keep an eye on that keep the police off our backs when it comes to the other things we do. We don’t have to play by the rules, and they let us play.
I fire off a text to Mac to get her to check Kinsley’s location. I tried, but it’s not working. She responds almost instantly, lettingme know the phone is off and has lost its signal in the back school parking lot.
Mac follows that up by sending me a video. It’s from one of the cameras back there. I watch as Blair takes the phone from Kinsley, powering it off. Kinsley doesn’t protest. In fact, she appears pissed and hurt, but a look of determination takes over her beautiful face.
The determination she has is one of the many things that drew me to her. Now it might kick me in the damn ass.
“Are you sure Blair is on your side?”
“If I know one thing about girls, ones like Blair, Kinsley, or our families, it’s that having another girl’s back comes before anything else.”
“Come on.” I grab the rest of my shit before jogging out toward the parking lot.
I’ve learned my lesson. You can’t only have a tracker on a person's phone. You need more than one. I’ll make sure that’s handled before I let Kinsley out of my sight again.
“Hold up!” my brother shouts from outside the car as I fire it up. I give a half-second pause to let him jump in. “Fucking hell. I was two seconds behind you.”
