Co-Ed(55)

“Drop the act, Jessica,” Slater spat. “I know who gave my sister her first hit. I know it was you. Twins, remember? She told me everything. I also knew she was getting clean. We all did! That’s why it made no sense!”

Jessica’s eyes darted between all of us. “Have fun proving it.”

Slater held up his phone. “Oh, I plan on it.”

The pictures were side by side, so familiar that a court was going to have a fun time with all the evidence we had, including a testimony from whatever she’d said to Shawn.

The police officers chose that time to make their way down the hall.

“Is this her?” the first one in asked, pointing at Jessica.

“Yes.” Slater crossed his arms. “That’s the girl who killed my sister three years ago and almost killed my roommate just now.”

“You can’t prove shit!” she yelled as they cuffed her, read Jessica her rights, and drug her out of the room.

“How’d you… find me?” Shawn sniffed against my chest.

I gave her the only answer that made sense as I locked eyes with Slater. “Sophie showed us.”





Chapter Thirty-Nine


Shawn

I couldn’t stop shaking.

The drugs had worn off enough for me to talk to the police officers about what had happened. I gave them my statement after the paramedics checked me out to make sure I wasn’t dying.

And all the while, Knox held one of my hands while Slater held the other.

Leo and Finn looked as if they were wishing I had more hands to hold, and at one point, I could have sworn each of them looked at a foot and contemplated it. I wasn’t sure who needed comforting more.

Me.

Or them.

Because I knew what was going through their heads; it was the same thing going through mine. History repeating itself. Their faults.

Their business.

The death of Slater’s sister.

And all the things in between because of one girl’s hate.

But sadly, that was the world we lived in. Hate for someone’s religion, someone’s skin color, someone’s sexual orientation. Everywhere I looked, I saw hate.

And it was damn time for it to stop.

I was done.

So done.

I glanced across the street to see Jessica sitting in a cop car, tears streaming down her face as if she was just now realizing what she had done and what she had been about to do.

I would be one less human full of hate.

Tonight, I would be one less.

I let go of Knox’s hand and jumped off the back of the ambulance, a bit unsteady on my feet. Slater tried to hold on, but I let go. I walked by Leo and Finn, felt them all follow me as I made my way to the cop car with the flashing lights and the hateful person inside.

The window was down.

“What!” she yelled through her tears. “You know my lawyer is going to—”

“I’m sorry.” I put my hand on the windowsill. “I’m sorry you’re hurting. I’m sorry that you felt you had to hurt others in order to feel better. And I just want you to know… I forgive you.”

She looked away. “I don’t need your forgiveness.”

“I know. But you get it anyway.”

“Ma’am…” The police officer I’d talked to, the one with the easy smile and bushy eyebrows approached. “…would you like to press charges?”

I wanted to.

I wanted to strangle her.

I felt so many things for the girl who’d tried to take my life away from me.

Who had succeeded in taking it away from Slater’s sister, Sophie.

But hate plus hate did not equal love.

“No,” I finally said. “I don’t want to press charges. I want her to get help.”

“A restraining order,” Knox piped up. “Is that up for discussion?”

“Doesn’t matter,” the officer sighed. “We found evidence of drug possession in her room, along with multiple accounts of usage and selling for personal gain, not to mention the damning evidence in Sophie Jackson’s case. I don’t imagine she’s going to be getting community service. She’s going to be tried for first-degree murder.”

I wasn’t sure if Jessica had heard all of that.

But I knew the laws.

If you sell someone something, and they overdose on it…

You get tried for first-degree murder.

And I wasn’t sorry that she was dealing with the consequences. I just knew it wasn’t my job to add more sentences on top of what she was already dealing with.

Besides, if I didn’t put a stop to the hate, who would?

It was each of us…

Individually making a choice to forgive, rather than condemn.

So, I held my head high the entire way home in Knox’s car, and when I felt like puking out of fear, I gripped his hand tighter and remembered that I wasn’t alone.

And would never be again.





Chapter Forty


Knox

She’d wanted to shower.

And I’d refused to let her go.

The guys must have felt the same because when she announced what she was doing, we all waited for her to grab her shower caddy. Leo took it from her, Finn grabbed a towel, Slater started making her food, and I carried her to the first shower stall and started the hot water.