Six Little Secrets(42)

‘He’s not cooperating as I hoped,’ Megan said. ‘All he had to do was confess to running over Jacob. He could have pleaded for a lower sentence saying he was scared, or maybe he thought he ran over a deer or something. He’s protecting himself. As he always does.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Zoe asked.

‘You aren’t the first student he’s been with.’

‘Wh-What?’ Zoe asked.

‘Oh, you didn’t know?’ Megan asked. She unzipped her jacket and pulled out her phone. She entered her password and showed the screen to Zoe. ‘This was his last girlfriend, Gina Price, from his previous school.’

Zoe leaned forward, getting a better look at the girl. She was pretty. She had short blonde hair and bright green eyes. The hairstyle reminded Zoe of her own. In the photo, Gina stood next to Mr. Curtis, holding a certificate. Zoe could care less what the award was for. She could only see the glimmer in his eyes and the way his hand casually draped over the girl’s shoulder. She could feel his touch on her own shoulder, and she shuddered.

‘She was with him the night Jacob died,’ Megan said, putting her phone away. ‘That’s why he’s not confessing. Not only would he be in trouble for killing a boy, but he would also have to admit he sleeps with his students.’

Zoe clamped a hand over her mouth and heat moved behind her eyes. ‘You’re lying,’ she said through her fingers. ‘You’re trying to make him look bad. He would have told me about her. He loves me.’

Megan sighed and shook her head. ‘Poor Zoe. I thought you were smarter than this.’

‘That could be him with any of his former students,’ Zoe said, pointing at the phone.

‘Zoe, this is sad, even for you. You’re an intelligent girl. You’ve seen the signs. Don’t be blinded by his empty promises of love.’

Zoe looked around the park, her breaths coming hard and fast. What would happen to her if she ran home? Would Megan follow her and demand she go through with her task or expose her and Mr. Curtis’s relationship to everyone?

‘Have you ever gone anywhere other than the school with him?’ Megan asked. ‘He sought you out after finding you in the library one Saturday when you were hiding from your mom? He told you things that you wanted to hear?’

‘Stop it!’ Zoe said through clenched teeth.

‘That’s what he did to Gina,’ Megan said. ‘She told me. He finds a target and becomes whatever they need. He’s a manipulator and a murderer. He’s a sick man and needs to be punished.’

‘I can’t,’ Zoe said. Mr. Curtis had been the light when there was only darkness in her life. She couldn’t let that go so easily.

‘Do you want to know what his task was?’ Megan asked.

Zoe only nodded, her need to know more about the game was overwhelming.

‘He was supposed to give himself up. He had to tell the police what he did. And he refused. Even after I explicitly stated in his consequence that his involvement with students wouldn’t be revealed. After his refusal, I changed my tactics. I told him I’d come after you next. I told him I would expose a secret about you. And do you know what he said?’

Zoe shook her head.

‘Exactly. Nothing. He refused to cooperate when you were protected and then continued to resist after you were in trouble. That should show you how invested he is in this relationship. You don’t mean anything to him. Why should you protect him?’

Zoe’s legs almost gave out from under her. She trudged over to the bench before they gave out.

Megan sat on the other end of the bench but said nothing, leaving Zoe alone with her thoughts.

How could she have been so stupid? After Dad had died, her home became a toxic place. Mom couldn’t handle losing the love of her life and completely forgot she had a daughter who still needed her. Eventually, Zoe found ways to linger at the school much longer than necessary. She would hide in the library until Victor had to close the school for the night. Eventually, Mr. Curtis noticed and would stay with her, both of them completing their own work. It was casual at first, but Zoe connected with him. Detention each week was his idea. There was no chance of getting caught like there was during the week. On the weeks they were alone, they would hook up in the librarian office. It was the perfect setup.

For him.

‘If he loved you, then he would have done anything for you, Zoe. That’s what love is. You would do anything for that person in your life, no matter what the consequences. I would have done anything for Jacob. And I did.’

‘What do you want me to do?’ Zoe asked, her voice trembling. Her chest heaved, feeling as if her ribs were crumbling in her chest followed by a hollow feeling. One that she only felt once before the moment her mom told her that Dad was gone.

‘If he’s not going to admit to the crime, you’re going to report him,’ Megan said.

‘What if I can’t?’

‘Remember when Cece failed? That video?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Let’s just say I have a pretty graphic one of the two of you taken several weeks ago.’

Zoe swallowed. ‘Why don’t you just show it then? If I report him, people will find out about us anyway.’

‘Seeing this video will implicate both of you. And with the Internet, it’s hard to unsee these things. If you report him on your own, this doesn’t ruin your entire life. Sex tapes are forever.’