The Thrashers(49)

She said nothing to him about it.

When she got home, the dishes were washed, the bottles recycled, and her dad smiled at her through his headache and asked if she wanted pancakes.





Chapter Fourteen


NOVEMBER

Ignoring Julian Hollister was like a competitive sport to her. Fortunately, he was a gold medalist in ignoring Jodi Dillon. They still shared anatomy class together, but other than that, they didn’t see each other. That didn’t mean out-of-sight-out-of-mind for her though.

She didn’t like that he knew a piece of her that only Zack was supposed to know. She didn’t like that he slithered into that cheery, charismatic guy at the exact right moment—only to disappear and never be seen again. She didn’t like that she knew something about his dad and he knew something about hers. She didn’t want him thinking about her like she was thinking about him.

He’s only hit me a few times though.

Jodi shook herself out of her trance and focused on the sway of the school bus, keeping an eye out for her stop.

On the right side of the aisle, four rows up, Hannah Mills sat rigid in her seat, staring forward.

Another thing Jodi was ignoring.

Rubbing her thumb over her tingling left hand, Jodi stared out the window, watching the trees blur.

When the bus stopped for her, she squeezed her way down the aisle, waiting for two other kids in her neighborhood to step out first.

Just as she was passing her, Hannah Mills stood up and Jodi almost jumped backward two rows.

Hannah’s eyes were deep blue with dark circles under them. She stared at Jodi with an expressionless face as she held out an envelope. “My mom wanted me to give you this.”

Jodi stared, heart pounding. She snapped her attention to the doors at the front of the bus. She felt every eye on them.

“Thank you.” Jodi slipped the envelope in her jeans back pocket and stumbled down the stairs. On the curb, she turned to look at the bus windows. Blue eyes followed her as the bus turned the corner.

Jodi’s legs felt like jelly as she finished the walk home. The mail was splayed out over the floor when she opened the door, and her eyes landed on a letter from the courthouse.

Her heart sank. This was it. She was being charged. Indicted or whatever. They’d taken so much longer to send the arraignment letter to her, and she didn’t know what that meant.

She dropped her bag and stared at the offending envelope, letting the Millses’ letter drift from her mind. Her dad was in Oregon. He’d be back later that night. But she couldn’t just stare at this mail marked IMPORTANT for the rest of the evening.

Jodi searched her contacts for Miranda’s number. She picked up on the second ring.

“I think I have my arraignment papers.”

Miranda sighed and told Jodi to come by. Jodi picked up her book bag, stuffed the envelope in the front flap, and headed to the bus stop again.

She’d been to Miranda’s office once before when she and her dad had the consultation and set up the retainer. She sat on the edge of the oversized armchair Miranda had for visitors, and tugged open the envelope. Passing it over the desk, she sat on her hands and waited.

Miranda’s brows knitted together as she read, and Jodi’s heart sank. Was there another charge being added? Was there another interview scheduled? Her mind spun through stupid scenarios, like if they found out that page of notes was missing from the school counselor’s box.

“So … Good news first, I guess,” Miranda said, and Jodi sat up straighter. “This doesn’t seem like you’re being charged.”

Jodi felt like she was underwater. “What? Have they dropped charges against the others, too? Zack and Paige—?”

“This only pertains to you.” She passed the letter over the table to her as she said, “You’re being subpoenaed as a witness to the prosecution of Zackary Thrasher, Lucy Reed, Paige Montgomery, and Julian Hollister.”

Jodi stared at her, not daring to look down at the letter, not daring it to exist.

“What does that mean?”

“It means they think your friends are guilty, and maybe they think you’ll be the one to break.”

She wasn’t just underwater. She was sinking.

Jodi, have you ever worried that you were going to be “Thrashed?” Detective Harding had been setting her up for this moment, picking at her, opening scabs and digging her fingers into the wound.

“Do I have to?” Jodi asked in a small voice.

Miranda nodded. “If they go to court, you may be called to testify. Even if they don’t go to court, you will be interviewed again. Possibly often.”

Jodi tried to imagine it—a courtroom of her classmates and friends, a lawyer asking her questions.

“Your friend Zack is the big fish, most likely. He’s eighteen, it’s his name on the group. It’s possible if they don’t have enough on the others, they can accept plea deals. I don’t know.”

Jodi clenched her hand into a fist. She wouldn’t let that happen. She could fight to prove her friends’ innocence.

“Now,” Miranda began slowly, “since you are no longer a person of interest, you could decide you no longer need a lawyer. That’s fine with me. I’ll need to talk to your guardian, but we could end our contract and refund your dad the rest of the retainer. If you do feel you’d still like some counsel, I can stay on.”