Six Little Secrets(35)

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Teddy said.

‘It does,’ Q said, leaning in.

Teddy glanced around at the others. Now he had their attention, whether it was wanted or not.

‘You aren’t going to let this go, are you?’ Teddy asked.

‘Not as long as it’s relevant to this situation,’ Q said.

‘Any information you have might help us find out who’s doing this,’ Jackie said.

‘Fine,’ Teddy said. ‘But it doesn’t leave this room.’

‘Okay,’ they chorused.

‘It’s not like anyone would believe you anyway,’ Teddy said, then took a breath. ‘I sell for my cousin.’

‘Sell what?’ Zoe asked.

‘What do you think?’ Teddy said.

Zoe’s forehead wrinkled, and the others shared blank stares among each other.

Teddy sighed. ‘Drugs.’

Teddy sold drugs? He was right. She didn’t believe him. His serious expression gave her pause her questioning.

‘Wow,’ Q said, sitting back in his chair. ‘I’m impressed.’

‘You shouldn’t be,’ Teddy said. ‘It’s not what I wanted for myself.’

‘But you do it anyway,’ Holly said.

‘So you must meet some shady people?’ Zoe asked, still reeling over the fact that Teddy was a drug dealer. She had not seen that coming.

Teddy shrugged. ‘I suppose.’

‘Are any of your customers named Jacob?’ Cece asked.

‘Not that I know of,’ he said. ‘Most of the time there isn’t much small talk during an exchange.’

Zoe hated how nonchalant he sounded about dealing drugs. Maybe he wasn’t the Teddy she’d put on a pedestal in her mind.

No one spoke for several moments. Zoe tried to think of another scenario where Teddy’s drug dealing would have any connection to her.

‘We can move on now,’ Teddy said. The tips of his ears were red, something that Zoe had found cute when they were younger. ‘Now you know my secret. Let’s move on to Cece. The klepto.’

‘I am not!’ Cece said.

‘Then what are you?’ Jackie asked. ‘You steal stuff that doesn’t belong to you. That’s the definition of a kleptomaniac.’

‘I’m surprised you even knew the definition,’ Cece shot back.

Jackie rolled her eyes. ‘Did you steal from someone named Jacob? Maybe it’s Marc Jacobs.’

Cece turned in her chair to face Jackie. ‘What about you? Yours was about your looks. Do you do Botox or something?’

Jackie worked her jaw. ‘There’s no secret to my looks. I’m blessed with good genes.’

‘Jacob knows something about you,’ Cece said. ‘Teddy and I shared, and now it’s your turn.’

‘This is stupid,’ Jackie said. ‘I’m an open book.’

‘Everyone here is hiding something,’ Q said to Jackie. ‘We wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with if we weren’t.’

She scowled at him and then let out a long and dramatic sigh. ‘The only thing I’ve ever lied about doesn’t have anything to do with my looks.’

‘What did the note say about your peers?’ Zoe said, unable to recall the exact wording.

‘How you present yourself to them,’ Teddy said. ‘Maybe it doesn’t mean looks, but how you make yourself appear to people.’

Jackie’s breathing intensified, shooting out sharp puffs of air through her nose. ‘I don’t see how this is relevant.’

‘Of course it is!’ Cece said. ‘Teddy and I have had our lives ruined, while you and Q were physically hurt. Everything is relevant. Don’t you want this to be over?’

‘It’s already over,’ Jackie said and then glanced over at Holly and Zoe. ‘For me at least.’

Zoe’s heart sank. They were finally getting along in their search for Jacob, and now their temporary alliance crumbled in front of them. That couldn’t happen! Not before her turn.

‘This is a safe space,’ Zoe said.

‘What are you? My therapist?’ Jackie asked.

‘You see a therapist?’ Q asked her.

‘No,’ she said. ‘That was sarcasm. Zoe, why don’t you share something with us?’

‘We should go in order,’ Holly said. ‘Zoe and I haven’t been chosen yet.’

‘Who put you in charge?’ Jackie asked.

‘Will you stop stalling?’ Cece said.

‘Just tell us,’ Holly said.

‘Fine!’ Jackie huffed. ‘I’m a virgin, okay?’

‘You are?’ Q asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

‘Yes,’ Jackie said.

‘I thought you and Logan…’ Cece said, clearly as shocked as the rest of them.

‘Ew, no,’ Jackie said. ‘That relationship was for convenience. He needed a boost in popularity, and I needed someone to keep the other losers away from me.’

‘And you give me crap for being with guys?’ Holly asked.

‘At least I’m lying. I’d rather be a fake slut than a real one.’

‘Why?’ Zoe asked.

Jackie rolled her eyes. ‘Because it gives me a lot of attention.’