Lighting a Match in the Rain

Chapter Thirteen

"You need to do something about Reed," a determined voice spoke over my shoulder as I pushed some unwanted books in my locker. "Talk to Laken," Malorie basically ordered me. "He listens to you better than anyone."

Sighing, I closed my locker door shut, creating a song with everyone else's closing locker doors. "You know I can't do that." I turned around to face her. Her fiery red hair was up in a slick ponytail today and her usually red-tinted lips were a darker shade than normal.

"Why not?" She grabbed the black purse strap on her shoulder, looking fed up with the situation. "After yesterday, I don't want him stepping another foot in student council. Freddy did nothing to him and Reed was threatening his life."

I rolled my eyes and started walking down the hallway, knowing she would follow me. "We don't even know what they were talking about," I reminded her. "Freddy probably provoked him whether it was accidental or not."

Glancing at her briefly, I found her looking at me as if she couldn't believe my words right now. "Ella, why in the world are you defending him?"

Was I defending him? He literally threatened to make Freddy disappear if he were to make one more wrong move. "I'll talk to Laken," I assured her. And that was the end of it.

#

I folded my hands under my chin, trying to read through our finished paper. My nerves were extra high and aggravated today and the sound of Kinsley typing away on her laptop was driving me crazy. Her fingers were moving a mile a minute. I couldn't comprehend how it was possible to type that fast. She told Mrs. Lemon she was working on the project as the rest of the class, but after the wink she sent me afterward, I knew she was working on a blog article.

"So, Reed told me you needed a ride home today?" Julian's voice interrupted my already interrupted reading.

I exhaled a little too loudly. "Uh, no, actually, I'm getting a ride from Freddy." I had asked him first thing this morning, hoping the opportunity would show him that I'm still on his side, though I wondered if he'd change his mind after the meeting today.

"Are you sure?" His blue eyes flashed and he pushed a stray brown hair behind his ear, trying to act casual and hide the panic brewing. I saw right past it. That was one thing I was great at. "Do you know him well enough?"

I scrunched my brows. Who was he, my dad? Well, actually my dad wouldn't even ask that question. But most would. "He's not going to kidnap me if that's what you are asking. And I've known him a lot longer than I've known you." He nodded and I realized that came out harsher than I had intended. "I'm sorry," I added, making him nod again with a very small smile.

"Why did Reed know you needed a ride home?" Kinsley jumped in. Of course, she was eavesdropping.

Dante's seat was empty.

"He drove me home yesterday."

The whites of her eyes extended more into view and her brown eyes stared deep into my soul. "Why in the world would you let Reed drive you home?" she whisper yelled. "He could have killed you!"

I rolled my eyes. "He was my only option."

"You read the new Hollow Hills Hotspot article last night, didn't you?" she asked urgently.

Of course, I had. In this article, she didn't just throw out the idea of Ricky and Reed having an involvement in the crimes going on around town. She basically called them out for it all. A part of me was getting mad at her for it. Her blog had always kept the peace and though would throw out ideas of people every once and a while, she never once accused anyone of anything. Until now.