Still Jaded (31 page)

"What?"

"Come on." She took off.

I was shaken; confused by everything that had happened. Without thinking, I reached for Bryce's hand. He held onto it with a tight hold.

Then we followed behind as Sheila showed us through a door. When we went into a back room, I saw that they had set up a temporary office. It looked like a staff break room that was attached to another smaller room.

Sheila informed me, "She approached us here. We wanted to get the confession on tape so we set up base in this back room. When the interrogation is done, we'll relocate to the police
station. Until then," she gestured to a video camera. My eyes widened when I saw Grace at a table with Officer Milon across from her. Sheila gave me a set of headphones, and I plugged in to hear Grace saying, "…didn't want to be included with this. The house thing wasn't planned, but like I said before—I feel terrible. I would never want anyone to hurt Sheldon. I don't want anything more to happen."

He leaned forward. "Can you state again what you've already said?"

She looked surprised and confused, but leaned into a small microphone and spoke slowly, "Like I said, I'm the one who pushed Sheldon into the glass table. I was supposed to push her into the pool, but everything got mixed up. I pushed her the wrong way."

"Why did you do that?"

She took a deep breath, hesitating, but answered, "It was a hazing thing. The girls from Zeta Gamma Phi approached me earlier in the night. They said I had to do this, but nothing was going to happen to Sheldon. They wanted me to push her into the pool. It was supposed to be a stupid prank, nothing else."

"And what did they say when you shoved her into the table?"

She spoke in a monotone voice, like she'd already said it a million times. "They told me that I couldn't say anything. Sheldon would press charges against us. Then they said that I had no proof that they told me to do it. They'd lie and say I did it on my own, that I was jealous of Sheldon and wanted to hurt her."

"And did you?"

"No. I cared about Sheldon. She'd been a good friend to me."

"Why didn't you come forward when it first happened?"

"Because I was scared. And then when Sheldon was in the hospital, they had me come back to the house. They said the Alpha Mu guys had left Sheldon's home. No one was there and it was the perfect time for another prank." She stopped abruptly and swallowed tightly, glancing downwards.

Officer Milon looked towards the camera, but didn't comment. His eyes switched back to Grace, whose hands had started to tremble on the table. She tucked them between her legs.

Officer Milon cleared his throat and indicated the recording device. "Can you please tell us what happened next?"

Her voice started to shake as well. "Sheldon doesn't know this, but I know the codes for her gate or I did. I think she's had them changed, but I knew them then. Cadence wanted me to let them inside so I…I did. I opened the gate, and then Cadence had a key. I don't know where she got it from, but it opened the door. Sheldon's security system didn't go off because the codes at the gate turned them off. I knew they did that, but… It doesn't matter anymore." She swallowed again and kept going, "The girls destroyed Sheldon's home. I didn't do anything. I refused to, but it didn't matter. They knew I wouldn't stop them. I'd already hurt Sheldon…I couldn't… Cadence said they wanted to get in Sheldon's head. They wanted to make her scared, but it didn't work. They don't know Sheldon how I do. I knew she wouldn't even really care, but Cadence wouldn't listen to me."

"You didn't try to stop them?"

She shook her head, and a tear fell down the side of her face. Grace seemed distant, like she didn't realize that she started crying. Another few tears followed, but she didn't wipe them away. She closed her eyes and kept going, "No, but I wish I had now."

"Why are you coming forward now?"

"Because I messed up. I thought I could fix things, but I realized that I can't take back what I did. I just want to make things right even if it means…"

Sheila spoke in my ear, "That sorority house is going to turn against her now. You know that, right?"

I nodded. Watching Grace, I barely recognized her. She was scared, but she was something else. She looked like she'd already lost what she wanted. I refused to believe that was me. She lost me a long time ago. I had humiliated her in front of her house.

That's when I wondered, "I think they already turned against her. I said some things last night. I ripped into her. I bet they already turned on her, and this is her card against them. She's going after them."

Sheila seemed surprised. "Sometimes, Sheldon, you scare me. If you ever turned to the criminal side, I would not want to go against you. That's for sure."

"That's high praise coming from you." Flashing a smile, I turned and saw Bryce in the background. He still held my hand, but had stepped back a little. My smile left, and I murmured, "Do you need me for anything?"

She looked over her shoulder and moved back. "I wanted you to know this. You don't seem that surprised."

"Grace acted weird after that incident. I wondered if she had done something or seen something. It makes sense that she was covering for the girls. Making friends can be a powerful reason for why people do things."

People liked to be accepted.

"She has an alibi for the night that someone tried to break in. She's told us that she came forth because she didn't want to be involved with that. She's adamant that the house has had nothing to do with your car brakes. How long has your car been at the hotel?"

I shrugged. "It's been awhile. I went to the hotel after leaving the hospital. I was there for two days and then I was at Denton Steele's house for awhile. It's been a couple months."

"Denton Steele?" Her voice sounded hard.

"Yeah. He was a neighbor growing up. He offered his home, and I had been staying there until a month ago. One of the first nights I got back was the attempted break-in. You don't think it's related to him?"

Sheila rolled her eyes and grunted. "Who knows with you? You've got so many men surrounding you, it's not healthy. Any girl could be obsessed with them and decided to go after you. Hell, now we have to look into Denton Steele and see if he's got any stalkers. One celebrity isn't enough? I hope Corrigan doesn't become a national name. You will have even bigger problems with him. Girls will go nuts for that one." She stormed off, muttering under her breath.

The room was full of police, but none of them mattered. It was me and him, always me and him. Then Bryce sighed as he stepped close and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You've changed. He's changed you."

I rested my hand on his arm. It was so rigid, but I couldn't think of that. "I want to see Corrigan first and then…" My heart was pounding. "You and I need to talk."

He nodded.

We were shown to Corrigan's room, but he was still sleeping. When Katrice and Corrigan's father saw us, they stood. She whispered in my ear, embracing me at the same time, "He loves the both of you." Then she squeezed my hand, kissed my forehead, and left us alone.

It was awkward.

Our roles were always defined before, but now everything was different. Bryce felt it and perched on the windowsill. I knew he was uncomfortable, but so was I. I sat in the chair Katrice had abandoned. I didn't know what to say. He didn't either. And neither of us wanted to say something that Corrigan could overhear, although it didn't matter. Corrigan always knew anyway.

It didn't seem long, but it could've been hours when I heard a slight cough beside me. Corrigan turned his head, and his eyes opened. It was a slight squint.

"Hey." I reached for his hand. "Hey."

He frowned and then closed his eyes.

Bryce jumped off the windowsill and jerked forward, but froze. Frowning, he slid his hands in his pockets and turned away.

"Sheldon?" Corrigan asked.

His voice was raspy, and I winced. I couldn't imagine his pain right now. "How are you feeling?"

He gave me a thin smile before grimacing in pain.

Bryce turned back and rounded to stand on the other side of the bed. "Hey…"

Corrigan's eyes opened a little wider and looked from Bryce to me. In that moment, I wondered if he contemplated closing his eyes and going back to sleep. I would've done it. He didn't. Instead, he swallowed painfully. "Sheldon."

"Yes?" I leaned close. "What do you need?"

He patted my hand. "Go and get yourself some coffee."

"What?"

"Go. Get coffee. Don't come back for awhile."

"You want me to leave? Are you serious?"

Bryce cleared his throat, looking away.

"What? You want me to leave because of…" I gestured to the three of us and then stopped talking. I didn't know what to say.

Corrigan closed his eyes and cringed again.

Bryce broke out, "Of course he wants you to leave because of this. You think this is fun, Sheldon? You think I enjoy seeing you two—you think—"

"You started this! You left!" I shot to my feet and cried out.

Bryce squared off with me. "I did not. I did not ask to see my two best friends have…" He choked off and then turned towards the windows. His shoulders were tense and shaking.

I closed my mouth as I watched him. I had no idea how to sort out my feelings, much less figure out what he was thinking. He was right about one thing, though. The trio wasn't the same. I looked at Corrigan and saw him watching me. His eyes seemed concerned, but there was something else there. I couldn't figure it out. I didn't want to so I murmured, "I'm going to go get coffee. I'll be back."

When I got into the hallway, I didn't go any further. I rested my back against the wall and stayed put. It was going to break my heart, but I knew I needed to hear whatever they were going to say. Then I heard Corrigan ask, his voice still strained, "I want to deal with this. I don't want it hanging out over my head. She admitted her feelings—she knows. It's what you wanted, right?"

Bryce laughed, and it sounded horrible to my ears. Ugly. "Yeah, right. You think I enjoy this? Are you crazy? You know this is killing me and you love it."

"Yeah." Corrigan groaned. "I enjoy being in the hospital too. Being in car accidents. Being in surgery. It's all part of the plan."

"Oh hell. I'm sorry. You okay? We don't have to talk about this now. You can, you know, heal."

"I'm in fucking pain, but I'll deal. I don't want to put this off."

"I'm sorry. Hell." I heard Bryce slump into a chair. "I'm sorry. We need to figure out who's after her."

Hearing movement in the bed, I strained my ears, but Corrigan didn't say anything for a little while. When he did, he sounded out of breath. "Yeah—you get to it, buddy."

"Like hell," Bryce barked back with a laugh in his voice.

Corrigan laughed too, before he started coughing. When the coughing continued, I balled my hands into fists and tried to keep myself in place. It'd all be for nothing if I didn't.

After a few moments more of coughing, Bryce spoke up, "In every other way, you and I should be at each other's throats. But with this, with her, she has to know what she feels. She has to figure it out and then—"

"And then we're all fucked." Corrigan's voice sounded a little stronger, clearer.

"…yeah…"

"You wanted this. You said everything would be better. We'd know. She'd know. You didn't think it all through, did you? You're an asshole, Bryce. You were thinking about yourself, and you didn't think about the consequence where you don't get the girl and I do. Then what? Then you and I are fucked? What if she goes back to you? What do I do? I can't be the sidekick anymore. Or did you do this for that reason? You want me gone? You're a dick. You want us to go at it?"

"I didn't want any of this, but I couldn't handle seeing you two anymore. You don't know what it's like."

"Yes. I do." Corrigan's voice sounded rough.

I closed my eyes. He'd always been there. He'd always been on the sidelines, watching…God. My mouth went dry at the thought—he'd always been there. I felt ashamed. I should've known, I should've…

"Sheldon?"

Carolina stood in front of me. She looked like she wasn't sure what to say next so she pressed her lips together.

The anger kicked in, a small ball.

They had talked about me. They had planned about me. They made decisions for me that I should've made. The ball was now a flame.

They'd gone behind my back.

The flame burst into a fire.

They set me up.

I smiled, but I knew the sight was painful. "Have you ever been betrayed?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned but looked thoughtful. "Yes. Who betrayed you?"

"My family," I bit out.

The tears were there. I just needed to keep them at bay for a little longer.

"Did they mean well by it?"

"Does it matter?" I shot back. "A betrayal is a betrayal."

"Not always." She still frowned.