Chapter 3 Wren Almost Knows Everything

• “Say that again,” I whispered, grabbing Damon’s sleeve. “There was a man right there by the fence, watching us.”
• Damon’s whole body went still, the easy grin gone in half a second flat. “Where?”
• “Right there,” I said, pointing at the empty spot by the tree. “He’s gone now, but he was staring straight at us, Damon, I’m not imagining things.”
• Damon walked toward the fence fast, scanning the tree line, the parking lot, the road beyond it. Nothing. No car pulling away, no footprints, nothing except wind moving through the grass like it always did.
• “What did he look like?” Damon asked, coming back, jaw tight.
• “Older. Gray jacket. He was just, standing there, watching us like he was waiting for something.”
• “Could’ve been a parent,” Damon said, but he didn’t sound like he believed it.
• “He wasn’t a parent.”
• “Aria…”
• “I know what I saw,” I snapped, and then immediately felt bad, because none of this was Damon’s fault, or maybe all of it was, I honestly couldn’t tell anymore.
• “Okay,” Damon said, holding both hands up. “Okay. I believe you. Just, keep your eyes open, alright? If you see him again, tell me.”
• “Why would I tell you anything?”
• “Because we’re dating now, remember?” Damon said, and just like that the smirk was back, like the last five minutes hadn’t happened. “Fake dating comes with fake concern for your safety.”
• “You’re impossible,” I said, and walked away before he could see me almost smile.~~~
• Wren was waiting by my locker when I finally made it back inside, arms crossed, foot tapping like she’d been standing there rehearsing what she was about to say.
• “Okay,” she said. “Start talking.”
• “About what?”
• “About the fact that you tackled Tyler Simmons like you were auditioning for the Olympics, and then disappeared for twenty minutes with Damon Cross, and now you’re walking around looking like you saw a ghost. Pick one and explain it.”
• I opened my locker and pretended to look for a book I didn’t need. “It’s nothing.”
• “Aria Bennett, I have known you since the third grade. I know your nothing face. This is not your nothing face.”
• I shut the locker harder than I meant to. “Fine. Damon asked me out.”
• Wren’s mouth fell open so fast I thought her jaw might actually detach. “He what?”
• “You heard me.”
• “Damon Cross. The Damon Cross. Captain of everything, dated that girl from the private school last year, the one whose family owns half the town, that Damon Cross asked you out?”
• “Yes.”
• “And you said?”
• “I said yes,” I said, and the lie came out easier than I expected, which honestly scared me a little.
• Wren grabbed both my arms, practically vibrating. “Aria. This is huge. This is the biggest thing that has ever happened at this school, possibly in the history of this school. Why do you look like someone just told you your dog died?”
• “I don’t look like that.”
• “You do. You look terrified.”
• “It’s a lot,” I said, which wasn’t even a lie. “It’s fast. We barely know each other.”
• “That’s kind of the fun part,” Wren said, looping her arm through mine as we started walking toward the exit. “Okay, tell me everything. What did he say? Where’s he taking you? Did he try to kiss you?”
• “No,” I said quickly.
• Wren raised an eyebrow. “Okay, weird reaction, but continuing. What’s the deal? Is this a real thing or is this a “let’s see where it goes” thing?”
• “Real thing,” I said, because that’s what we’d agreed the story would be. “Boyfriend, girlfriend, the whole thing.”
• “I need details, Aria. This is not optional information, this is required.”
• I gave her the version we’d planned, more or less, that he’d been noticing me for a while, that he finally worked up the nerve to say something after the parking lot incident, that we were starting slow. Wren ate every word up like it was the best thing she’d ever heard, and I hated how easy it was to lie to her, because Wren had never once lied to me, not in nine years of friendship.
• “There’s something you’re not telling me,” Wren said suddenly, stopping in the middle of the hallway.
• My stomach dropped. “What?”
• “I don’t know. Something. You’ve got that look.”
• “I don’t have a look.”
• “You have a look,” Wren said, studying my face like she could read the truth right off it if she looked hard enough. “You get quiet when you’re scared. You’ve been quiet since the parking lot.”
• “I got a boyfriend I didn’t expect to get,” I said. “That’s scary enough on its own.”
• Wren considered that, then nodded slowly, letting it go, at least for now. “Fair. Damon Cross would scare anyone. That boy’s got main character energy and I don’t trust people with that much main character energy.”
• “Tell me about it,” I muttered.
• “Just,” Wren said, softer now, squeezing my arm, “be careful, okay? I don’t know him. I don’t know his deal. Guys like that, they’re used to getting whatever they want, and I don’t want you getting hurt because some rich boy decided you’d look good on his arm for a semester.”
• If only she knew how close to the truth that actually was.
• “I can handle myself,” I said.
• “I know you can,” Wren said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna worry.”
• We reached the parking lot, most of the cars already gone, the sun sitting low and orange over the trees. I scanned the tree line out of habit now, checking the spot by the fence where the man had been standing, half expecting to see him again.
• Nothing. Just grass and wind and the ordinary quiet of an empty lot.
• “You’re doing it again,” Wren said.
• “Doing what?”
• “That thing. Looking around like you’re expecting something bad to happen.”
• “I’m fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “Just tired, had a big day.”
• Wren didn’t look convinced, but she let it drop, hugging me quick before heading toward her car. “Call me tonight. I want the full story, every detail, don’t you dare leave anything out.”
• “I promise,” I said, another lie stacking neatly on top of all the others.
• I watched her drive off, then stood there a minute longer, alone in the lot, the quiet suddenly feeling less peaceful and more like the kind of silence right before something loud happens.
• My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from a number I didn’t recognize.
• I know what you are, Aria. And I know you’re not the only one.
• My hands went cold around the phone.
• I typed back fast, fingers shaking. Who is this?
• Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
• Then one more message came through, and my whole body went numb reading it.
• Ask Damon who his father really works for.