Chapter 7 - What Brianna Heard
Monday morning, Émilie found a folded note inside her locker.
DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOUR DAD SAYS.
There was no signature.
She looked across the hallway.
Brianna stood near the water fountain, pretending not to watch.
Émilie walked straight toward her.
“Did you put this in my locker?”
Brianna glanced at the paper.
“No.”
“Then why are you staring?”
“Because you’re making a scene.”
Two girls slowed beside them.
Émilie could feel the familiar heat climbing her neck. Usually, that was when she went quiet.
Not today.
“You laughed because my dad wasn’t there.”
Brianna folded her arms.
“I didn’t know.”
“You knew I was standing alone.”
That stopped her.
A teacher approached, and the little crowd scattered.
Émilie spent math class staring at the same problem.
By lunch, a different version of the story had spread.
Her father wanted money.
Her father blamed Mark because he was embarrassed about the accident.
Her father had threatened to ruin the school’s biggest donor.
Émilie ate three bites of her sandwich and wrapped the rest.
When the final bell rang, Brianna was waiting outside the classroom.
“I didn’t write the note.”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious.”
Émilie kept walking.
Brianna followed.
“My dad was mad after the dance.”
Émilie stopped.
“How mad?”
“He shut his office door. But I heard him.”
The hallway emptied around them.
“What did he say?”
Brianna tugged at the strap of her backpack.
“He said your dad wasn’t supposed to have the letter anymore.”
Émilie felt the floor tilt.
“Did he say who he was talking to?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
Brianna shook her head too quickly.
Émilie looked at her.
“Brianna.”
“He said somebody had been paid to handle it.”
Neither girl spoke.
Then Brianna added, “That doesn’t mean what you think.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know.”
For the first time, Brianna sounded like a kid.
At home, Émilie told June before taking off her coat.
June called Elena.
Elena asked them not to question Brianna further or ask her to search her father’s things.
“She’s a child,” she said. “The adults need to handle this.”
Outside, an engine idled.
Émilie looked through the curtains.
Mark’s black SUV sat across the street.
He was watching the house.
Then her phone buzzed.
May you like
A message from Brianna.
MY DAD KNOWS I TALKED TO YOU.
