The Weight of Blood (75)

From the corner of the room, Charlotte eyed the placement of Kenny’s hand on Maddy’s back, the look in his eyes bordering on infatuation.

He’s never looked at Wendy like that.

It wasn’t a bitter thought, more of an observation. Served Wendy right after parading him around, acting like she was better than everybody by letting him take Maddy to prom. She loved her friend but also found her self-deprecation annoying and hated the way the last few weeks had torn their once-tight clique apart. She missed what they used to be. How could Wendy turn her back on Jules? Yes, she shouldn’t have done what she did. But Jules didn’t kill anyone, and based on all the true-crime shows she watched with her sisters, even mothers still loved their murdering sons.

Charlotte took another picture. She needed more evidence for Wendy.

“Hi!” Kayleigh bumped Charlotte with her hip.

“OMG! What are you doing here?” she shrieked happily.

They hugged as if they hadn’t seen each other in forever.

Kayleigh wore an iridescent plum spaghetti-strap dress with bubble-gum-pink shoes, her brown hair in soft waves.

“Prom’s kinda lame without you guys,” she said with a shrug. “Jason’s already pissy drunk, and Jules is hooking up with Brady in the limo. Figured I’d walk on over and help out for a bit. They’re about to announce the king and queen soon, right?”

“Yeah. Was just about to grab the ballot box and start counting.”

“Oh, I’ll do it!”

Charlotte froze, frowning. “Really?”

Kayleigh grinned. “You know I love this type of stuff! Go dance with Chris.”

“You sure?”

She waved her off. “I totally got this!”

“Um, alright.”

Kayleigh smirked and took off. She snatched the box from the table and made her way backstage.

What Charlotte didn’t see, as Chris led her onto the dance floor, was that Kayleigh’s dress—much like most of her dresses—had pockets. And inside one of those pockets was a small stack of blue paper.

The day they’d been decorating, neither Wendy nor Charlotte had seen her unlock the backstage door or steal a single ballot from one of the tables.

It made photocopying that much easier. And all it took was one episode of her favorite reality show to mark each ballot for the ill-fated winners of that night.





Twenty


May 31, 2014

JULES AND BRADY parked Kayleigh’s truck in the shadows of the overflow lot. Jules’s car would’ve been too noticeable, sending immediate red flags to the All-Together prom. She stepped out of the truck, her glittery heels sinking into the muddy grass, and glanced around, making sure the coast was clear.

Brady rounded the car and roped her into a hug, pressing his whiskey-drenched lips to hers.

“Ow! Brady! Watch it,” Jules shrieked, leaning away. “My makeup.”

“Shhh, babe. Keep your voice down.”

Jules had on an icy-blue A-line floor-length dress with a halter neckline. The moment she’d tried it on in the store, she’d known it was the one. It pushed her cleavage up to just the right height to not look purposeful and gaudy. Her red hair was curled and pinned into an updo with a rhinestone tiara. She could imagine wearing it that way on her wedding day.

They had just served dessert at the country club, so no one had thought twice about her and Brady stepping out for some air. She absolutely planned to dance the rest of the night away with her friends. She’d been dreaming of the perfect prom for years.

But there was just one matter she had to tend to first.

“You sure this is gonna work?” Jules asked as Brady popped the trunk, pulling out a small black duffel.

“Relax, babe. I got it covered.”

How could she relax when Brady was dumb as rocks and the whole night was riding on him not fucking up?

“Okay, let’s go, then. And remember, we have to hide behind the curtains. We cannot be seen.”

“Right,” he agreed. “But that means the moment it goes, we have to get out of there fast. You won’t get to see your work of art.”

“Oh, I will,” she grinned. “Everyone will be posting pictures. They’ll be laughing so hard, folks downtown will hear them. Now, hurry it up, will ya? They’re starting!”

They crept toward the Barn, staying out of sight, and slipped in the back door.

“Hey, y’all!” Jackie Torrence’s voice blaring through the speaker brought the room to attention. Everyone clapped and cheered.

Brady and Jules tiptoed into position, the thick black stage curtains keeping them hidden.

“Thank you all so much for coming tonight. This is the start of a new tradition in Springville. Something that should’ve happened a long, long time ago. So let’s toast to us! The game-changers!”

Jules peeked from behind the curtain, Jackie’s back to her with the mic, the crowd swarming the dance floor with bright happy faces. It brought her immense pleasure knowing that they wouldn’t be smiling for long. Their night was about to end.

Right of the stage, she spotted Charlotte standing with Chris, clapping along with everyone else. Traitors!

On top of a stage prop, Brady unzipped his bag, the crowd’s cheers masking the sound.

“Special thanks to the prom committee and all who volunteered to make this amazing night happen!”