Part 23 (1/2)

”You tell me. What keeps you up at night?” The prospect of finally getting the truth emboldened me.

”Is this some kind of game?” He shook his head. ”You're loonier than I thought.”

”I know all about Kayla,” I blurted. ”How she cheated on Donovan with you.”

Kane's eyes narrowed. ”It wasn't cheating,” he snapped, not even bothering to deny it. ”It was the start of a new relations.h.i.+p. She finally realized that I was the guy for her.”

”Then why was it a secret?”

He held my gaze for a moment. ”Because she wasn't heartless. She had to find a way to break it off with Donovan.”

”Here's a way.” I heightened my voice an octave and said, ”'Hey, Donovan, I'm seeing someone else. We're done.'” I returned to my own tone. ”How hard was that?”

Kane's eye twitched. ”Maybe she did it that day and that's why she's dead. Did you ever think of that? She dumped Donovan for me and he killed her.”

”That would be a great theory, except Faye told Donovan about you guys. And Donovan broke up with Kayla that day. Not the other way around.”

”I'm sure that's what he told you,” Kane said defensively.

”Actually Faye told me. Last night. But that's not all I learned overnight. I found out the real reason Kayla finally gave in to you.”

”Oh yeah? And what's that?”

I paused to add a moment of drama before I dropped the hammer. I arched one eyebrow and said, ”Pity.”

He flinched as if I'd slapped him. ”Excuse me?”

”She was taking away your future, your dreams. And - like you said - she wasn't completely heartless. So she gave you something in return. Something else you've always wanted. Her.”

”What are you talking about, my future?” His defensive tone turned confused.

”I know about the money.”

He shrugged, then crossed his arms over his chest. ”Clue me in, then.”

I swallowed hard. This was the moment. I was ready to drop the bomb and see the guilt on his face. ”The a.s.sumption was always that you'd get the Bodiford Scholars.h.i.+p. You were the one who fit the requirements: all-state athlete with the highest cla.s.s rank. But Kayla would have gotten it if her parents' wealth didn't disqualify her.”

”Yeah, and ...”

I thought back to the entry in Kayla's diary when she found out her parents' secret. Her father had lost his job. But appearances mattered more than anything to the Sloanes so the spending continued, the lifestyle went on. Until they couldn't hide it from Kayla anymore. They were in debt. Their money was gone.

Suddenly, she had to worry about how she was going to pay for college - something that had never crossed her mind before. But then she realized, with her parents' wealth gone, she qualified for the Bodiford Scholars.h.i.+p. Kane's scholars.h.i.+p. She and Kane were both all-state, but her cla.s.s rank was higher. It was hers now.

”She found out the money wasn't there,” I said. ”Her parents were broke.”

”That's not true.” Kane shook his head. ”Her parents still have money.”

”Have you been to their new address?”

”No, but -”

”It's an act. They pretend everything's the same, they cling to it because it's all they have left. But the money's gone. Kayla suddenly fit the requirements for the scholars.h.i.+p. And she was going to take it. That's why she finally showed you some affection, after all those years, even though she loved Donovan. Because she felt bad for what she was about to do to you. That was how she dealt with her guilt.”

His eyes watered as he continued to shake his head. ”It's not true. It can't be true. How would you even know this?”

He seemed genuinely surprised, but I wasn't going to fall for the act. ”I found what you broke into my house looking for. Kayla's diary. Kayla's own words show your motive.”

His face reddened. ”You think I killed her?” he asked incredulously.

”That's why I'm here, yeah.”

He was absolutely still for a moment and something in his stunned eyes made my stomach tighten.

”Jade, I was playing in a lacrosse game the afternoon Kayla was killed.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but my nerve faltered.

He let out a long pained sigh. ”I scored three goals. You can look it up.”

I stumbled back a step. He had an alibi. A solid one, too. I'd been so sure after I read the diary. It had all clicked into place. It all made sense. But now ...

A concerned female voice behind him called out, ”Kane? Who is it? What's going on?”

I started walking backward, my throat dry and my face in flame. ”I, um, have to go.”

Defeated and hopeless, I came home and went up to my room. The school's website confirmed Kane's alibi. I scrolled down to last season's schedule and, yep, he'd been playing a game that day. His goals were listed right there in the public record. He hadn't killed Kayla. I was back to square one. I knew nothing.

My heart heaved, equal parts anguish and fear burning in my chest.

The diary lay open on the bed beside me, almost mocking me. I thought it would have the answers but it only gave me more questions.

Almost everyone in Kayla's life had a reason to kill her. She'd bullied Alexa. Used a giant lie to ruin Faye and Kane's chance at a relations.h.i.+p. Cheated on Donovan. Plus countless other pranks and random hazings. It was like a manual for mean girls. No wonder she didn't want anyone reading it.

I turned onto my side and curled up, closing my eyes. I'd been tired plenty of times in my life. But this was an exhaustion I'd never felt before. Full body depletion. Gauge on empty. I had nothing left. I didn't even dream.

Something woke me, hours later. I gazed around the room through half-lidded eyes. My shade was up but the sky was already turning gray. I'd slept through most of the day. I pushed myself up into a sitting position, wondering what had woken me from a hard sleep. As my senses came to life, I realized what it was.

A chill slowly crept into the room. I felt Kayla's now familiar energy sweeping around me. I didn't have to see her to know she was angry and impatient. I could feel it in the air. She wanted me to talk.

I closed my eyes and pressed the palms of my hands into them, hoping she'd just go away. That if I ignored her, she'd disappear. But a rush of energy blasted at my face and swirled all around me like concentrated wind. With it came an instantaneous deep freeze that I felt through my skin and into my bones.

My eyes snapped open at the sounds of shuffling paper. The diary was still on the bed next to me, but its pages were being flipped back and forth by an angry unseen hand.

I knew what she wanted to ask. What did you find out? Where did you go? Who did this to me?

”I don't know!” I shouted. ”I thought it was Kane. He had the biggest motive, but I was wrong. It wasn't him. And I'm no closer to finding the truth than I was at the beginning.”

The pages stopped flipping.

I inched back on the bed, away from the diary, the silence scaring me more than anything. My back hit the headboard and I pulled my knees up to my chest. My whole body trembled.