The Inmate (24)

“Because she was dead?” Chelsea supplies.

Everyone else is firing questions at Tim, but I am completely speechless. I never could have imagined this in a million years. And how did Shane know about it? He must’ve known, because when he said it, he was looking right at Tim. I glance at Shane now, and he’s watching everything unfold, a look of amusement in his eyes.

“Did the police question you?” Kayla asks.

“No.”

“Did they know you went out with her?” she presses him.

“I have no idea.” He squirms on the sofa. “Whether or not they did, it wasn’t a big deal. I mean, two dates, and it was like a month before she died.”

“You mean,” Chelsea says, “before she was killed.”

Tim shoots me a pained look, but I have to look away. I thought I knew him better than anyone else in the world, but I didn’t know about this. I’m reeling from the shock. I can’t wrap my head around it.

“You should go to the police,” Kayla says. “Tell them what you know.”

Tim grimaces. “I don’t know anything. I have nothing to tell them.”

With those words, he jumps off the sofa and stalks in the direction of the kitchen. He shoves the door open and disappears inside.

“Wow,” Kayla breathes. “It just shows, you never know…”

I can’t sit here another second while they speculate about what Tim might have done. I get up off the loveseat and follow Tim back to the kitchen. I can feel Shane’s eyes on my back, but I don’t turn around.

Inside the dark kitchen, Tim is leaning against the counter, his head bowed over the rusty sink. He looks like he’s trying to get control of himself. I’ve seen him like this before. He had the same expression on his face when his dog of twelve years, Rusty, developed tumors all over his body and they had to put him down.

“Hey,” I say.

Tim turns to look at me just as a crack of lightning illuminates his face. “Hey.”

“You okay?”

The thunder that shakes the room is almost deafening. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I went out with Tracy.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He rubs his hands over his face. “I was freaked out. We went out at the beginning of the summer, and then a month later, they found her dead. I thought I might have been the last guy she went out with. And I… I figured it wouldn’t look good for me. Plus, it wasn’t like I knew anything that would help.”

It makes sense, but at the same time, it leaves me feeling a little uneasy. If he’s completely innocent, why wouldn’t he want to tell the police what he knows? Why would he hide it?

“I felt awful when I found out.” He drops his eyes. “It didn’t work out between me and Tracy, but she didn’t deserve to die. She was a nice person. It tore me up.”

“Yeah,” I breathe. “I’m sure…”

“I don’t know how Shane knew about it.” His face darkens. “I can’t believe he’s been sitting on that, waiting for the perfect moment to make me look bad.”

I frown. “I don’t think that was his intention.”

“Oh, don’t you?” Tim sneers. “Brooke, maybe I went on a couple of dates with some girl, but he really beat that kid up. For no reason. Put him in the freaking hospital. Is that really someone you want to be with?”

I flinch at his words. “He said he regretted it.”

“Bullshit!” Tim’s voice is loud enough that I’m worried the others will hear it through the door. “Shane Nelson is a bully, and he’s a piece of shit. He only regrets that you found out about it because he wants to sleep with you.”

My face burns. Tim hates Shane, but I can’t believe he would say that to me. “That is so not true. And you have no right to say that.”

We stare at each other for a moment. A muscle twitches under my eye. Tim breaks first.

“I’m sorry.” He lets out a breath. “I’m sorry, Brooke. You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Damn straight.”

“I’m just worried about you.” The fear in his eyes is real. I know him well enough to know it. “I’m worried about you being with Shane. I don’t think it’s safe.”

“Not safe?” I thought he was only worried that Shane was going to break my heart. “What are you talking about?”

“Listen to me, Brooke.” He lowers his voice a notch. “Shane is…”

Before Tim can get out what he wants to say, the door to the kitchen swings open. Shane is standing there, looking even more crazy sexy than he usually does, with his dark hair slightly mussed, and a lopsided smile on his face. “Hey, Brooke,” he says. “You coming back out?”

It’s hard not to notice he doesn’t bother to ask Tim if he’s coming out.

“Yes,” I say. I look over at Tim. “You coming?”

Tim screws up his face. He looked like he had something important to tell me before Shane burst into the kitchen, but he can’t very well do it now. And the truth is, I don’t want to hear it. Tim and Shane have some stupid little rivalry, but it’s not my problem. Tim needs to get the hell over it.