Элизабет Чандлер - Don't Tell

“I was sure jealous of her,” I said.

“Were you?” he asked, his eyes shining. “You don’t mind if I enjoy that, do you?”

“I feel responsible,” I told him, “as if all of Holly’s life I’ve gotten the attention she wanted.”

“Everyone wants attention, Lauren, and everyone gets jealous. But you didn’t try to get rid of her, did you?”

“No.”

He let me go, then put an arm over my shoulder and started to walk with me.

“The day after the prom you told me about the note that had been left in your car. I could explain it as an anonymous prank, but as I did, I remembered that Holly had left school for a few minutes right after you. It would have been easy for her to put the note in your car while you were in the cemetery.

“And the brick that was thrown at your car, I could explain that, too, but again Holly had gone out during the time it happened. She said she had been at Frank’s picking up some party things. Afterward, Frank pressed me for details about how you were getting along with Holly, Jule, and Nora.

He must have realized then that someone wanted to get you.”

“I–I just don’t understand Frank,” I said. “I knew he loved money and thought you should love it, too. I knew he enjoyed using his clout as a lawyer and businessman, but I didn’t think he’d hurt people. I didn’t think he’d hurt me.”

“Me neither. Maybe Aunt Margaret’s family was right about him. It’s scary to think how easy it is to be fooled.”

“I feel so bad for you and your parents, Nick. Frank is family for you; for me, Holly is. And I don’t know how anyone writes off family.”

“Yeah,” he said, “I think Nora will have a lot of company in the next few months. You and I, Jule and my parents, we’ll all be sitting in Dr. Parker’s office, trying to understand what happened.”

I stopped walking and wrapped my arms tightly around him. “You know, I can hear your heart.”

“Could you hear it breaking when I accused you of getting my cartoon pulled?” he asked.

I held my head back so I could look him directly in the eye.

“I didn’t pull it.”

“You couldn’t have,” he replied, “because I did.”

“You?”

“I was worried about your safety,” he explained, “but I thought if I accused Holly, she would deny everything. The only way I knew to protect you was to stick close to Holly and try to anticipate her next move. After the prom, I had to convince her in a dramatic way that I had turned on you. The cartoon was the only excuse I could think of.”

I dropped my head, resting my forehead against his chest.

“I’m sorry, Lauren. When I accused you, I saw how badly I was hurting you. At the party I noticed Holly talking to jason.

Not long after that he and his friends started harassing you. I couldn’t break it up, not without making Holly suspicious, so I sent Rocky into the water. It was the best I could do.”

I smiled up at him. “It worked.”

“I saw Holly enter the greenhouse twice during the party and wondered what she was doing. After I left that night, I parked in Frank’s driveway and waited a while before sneaking back to investigate. I arrived just as you smashed the window.”

“So there were no phone calls to your house?”

“No. You remember my stupid excuse about why I’d come to the greenhouse — the flashlight, which, as you pointed out, wasn’t on.”

“When you lied like that, I was afraid that you were part of it.”

“You looked so betrayed — it was awful,” he said. “When I left the second time that night, I was terrified at what might happen to you and went directly to the police. I talked to McManus’s deputy. He drove by the house, but everything was quiet. He promised that someone would talk to you the next day, but he wasn’t as worried as I. You hadn’t asked for their help, and there had been a big party. Pranks happen.

“Anyway, this morning, when I learned about the knots and the fact that Nora was missing, I knew the situation was critical. I blamed you in front of Holly to make sure I was in solid with her. After we arrived at school, I made up a sudden errand. I called the police, talked to McManus, and rushed back here to talk to you. He, another officer, and I arrived at the same time. Rocky was barking and we smelled smoke. The woman officer and I ran to the boathouse, and McManus called for backup and fire equipment. You know the rest.”

“I thought you had turned against me,” I said, “and all the time you were trying to protect me.”

We had reached the end of Aunt Jule’s property and turned back.

Rocky emerged from the river and came galloping toward us. Stopping in front of us, he shook water all over. I backed into Nick.

“Good dog,” Nick said. “That’s one of the tricks I’ve taught him, shaking water on girls so they back into my arms.”

“Really! How smart of Rocky — and you, of course.”

“That’s another thing I’ve been wanting to tell you,” he said, turning me to face him. “I’m tired of getting jealous of my dog. I mean, he has nice eyes, but so do I.”

I looked from Rocky’s golden eyes to Nick’s laughing green ones.

“I didn’t enjoy the way Rocky got to stick close to you while I played Holly’s boyfriend. He’s going to have some competition from now on.”

“Oh, yeah? Are you good at retrieving sticks?”

“I’m good at stealing kisses,” Nick said, then proved it.