Page 67 of Trusting Easton

I walk over to her. “You know I play hockey, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” she says, like I’m stupid for asking. Everyone knows I’m the star of the team.

“Who do you think people will believe? Me? A senior, and one of the most popular people at school? Or a lowly freshman who everyone knows lies just to get attention?”

Talia looks over at Jenna, who’s sitting on her bed.

“Easton, what do you want?” Jenna spits out.

“I want both of you to keep your mouths shut about Nova. You don’t know her and shouldn’t be talking about her. She doesn’t even go to our school.”

“I know her,” Jenna insists. “I just spent the whole morning with her.”

“Yeah, to get dirt on her to tell your little friend so you guys can spread stories about her at school on Monday.”

“It’s a free country. We can say what we want.”

“In that case.” I go sit on the end of Jenna’s bed, facing Talia. “Let me give you some dirt on Jenna.”

“Wait—what?” Jenna scrambles to the end of her bed, trying to push me off. “Get out!”

“Did you know about Jenna and Kyler?”

“Kyler Morrison?” Talia’s brows rise.

“Don’t listen to him!” Jenna jumps off the bed and gets in front of me. “Easton, get out or I’m telling Mom!”

“Go ahead. I don’t care. So anyway, apparently on their date, Jenna—”

Talia gasps. “You dated Kyler? He’s so disgusting! And he has a lisp. He can’t even talk right!”

“He’s lying!” Jenna says, running over to Talia. “I never even talked to Kyler.”

“That’s not what I heard,” I say.

“What do you mean?” Jenna’s gaze shoots back to me. “Someone told you I was with Kyler?”

“I heard some girls at school talking about it. They said you and Kyler were making out in his car. I think they saw you guys parked at the soccer stadium, but it might’ve been somewhere else. I can’t remember.”

Jenna’s jaw drops, then snaps shut as she storms over to me. “Who told you that? Was it Christina? Allison?”

“I bet it was Allison,” Talia says. “She hates you for getting that sweater she wanted. Remember she went online and it was sold out?”

“Was it her?” Jenna asks me.

“I really don’t remember. I’m not even sure I’m remembering it right.”

“Then why’d you say it?” Jenna yells.

“I was just trying to come up with something interesting to tell your friend.”

“By lying about me? That story isn’t even true! I never went out with Kyler.”

“But if I spread that around school, people would believe it. That’s how gossip works. It doesn’t have to be true.”

“Why would you spread lies about me?”

“Would it be better if it was the truth?”

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