Chapter One
Ella
"There's no way this is real," Briggs says as he stares at his phone. "It's probably just Finn being stupid."
"If it is, it's not funny."
"Finn would think it is. He has a dark sense of humor."
"Call the number. See if he picks up."
"It's not a phone number." Briggs turns his phone to show me the five-digit number. "There has to be a way to find out where it came from. Are you friends with any tech nerds?"
"No, but we go to school with some. There's gotta be someone there who could figure it out." I pause to think. "Maybe I could ask Calvin."
"Who's that?"
"The guy who's always in the computer lab. Skinny, black hair, glasses."
"The freak you gave a ride to?"
"He's not a freak. He’s actually really nice."
"He hides in the lab all day and doesn't talk to anyone."
"That doesn't make him a freak. He's just quiet, and he hides in the lab so people like you don't bully him. This is why you should be nice to people. They could end up helping you."
"If you want to talk to him, go ahead, but there's a good chance you'll be leading him on, and then he'll start stalking you."
"I'm not leading him on just by asking him a question."
"To a guy like that, a girl showing him any attention at all means she likes him."
"That's not true."
He shrugs. "Go ahead. Test my theory."
I roll my eyes. "He's not going to think I like him. He hasn't even talked to me since I drove him home that day. Giving him a ride is a bigger deal than talking to him."
"Exactly. He probably already thinks you're his girlfriend."
"Can we just go back to the text? It has to be some kind of prank. Finn or Parker or both of them did it to freak us out."
As I say it, Briggs' phone rings.
"It's Parker," he says to me before answering the call. "Hey, Parker, got your text. Did you really think that was funny?"
"Put it on speaker," I say.
"Hold on," Briggs says to Parker. "Ella's here. I'm putting you on speaker."
Briggs holds his phone out between us.
"Why are you with Ella?" Parker asks.
"She came over to tell me the guy woke up."
"No shit? How do you know?"
"My dad's new girlfriend told me," I say. "She's a cop. She's training to be a detective and this is her first case."
"Yeah, right," Parker says, like he doesn't believe me.
"She's not kidding," Briggs says. "Ella's dad is dating the investigator assigned to the hit-and-run."
"And you're just telling me this now?" Parker asks.
"I just found out," I say. "My dad told me he's dating someone and when the woman came over tonight, she told me she's training to be a detective and that she's investigating the hit-and-run."
"We're fucked," Parker says.
"We're not fucked," Briggs says. "This could be good. We'll find out what the cops know and if they have any leads."
"Did she tell you anything?" Parker asks.
"She said the guy woke up a few hours ago," Briggs says, "which means he's going to start talking."
"She also said they're looking for someone who owns a white pickup." I glance at Briggs. "They found traces of white paint on the guy's clothes. They told all the body shops in town to report anyone who brought in a white truck."
"They said truck, not SUV?" Parker asks.
"She told Ella they're looking for a truck," Briggs answers, "but I'm guessing they're looking for either."
"So we're fucked," Parker says. "Finn's dad brought the Range Rover to the shop right after it happened."
"That doesn't prove anything," Briggs says. "Even if the paint matched, it doesn't mean we hit the guy. We already have a story to explain the damages, and even if they didn't believe us, they still can't prove we hit the guy. The only people who know the truth are the four of us, and as long as we all keep our mouths shut, nothing's going to happen."
"Unless the guy we hit remembers seeing the Range Rover coming at him."
"I doubt it," Briggs says. "It was dark, and he was probably blinded by the headlights." Briggs' phone buzzes. "Finn's calling. Any idea what he wants?"
"Yeah, to yell at you for that text. He's fucking pissed, man. We both are. Why the hell would you send us that?"
"Wait—what text?" Briggs asks, looking at me. "What did it say?"
"Don't play stupid. I know you sent it. Finn got it too, so he didn't do it, which leaves you and Ella. You guys in on this together? Is that why she's over there?"
"We didn't send it," I say. "Briggs got one too."
"What did the text say?" Briggs asks Parker. "Read it to me."
"I'm not reading it. This is stupid. Just admit you did it. I have no fucking clue why you think that's funny but—"
"Just fucking read it!" Briggs yells, pacing back and forth.
Parker sighs. "I know you did it. I saw you. All of you. And now it's time to pay for what you've done. You always think you're in charge but I'm in charge now and you're going to do what I say or kiss your precious futures goodbye. Instructions are coming. Follow them, you go free. Ignore them, and your lives are over."
"I got the same text." Briggs stops pacing, his eyes going to mine. "Finn got one too?"
"Yeah," Parker says. "It said the same thing. We thought you sent it as some kind of joke."
"Why would I joke about this?"
"Who the fuck knows, but there's nobody else who could've done it. Ella got it too, right?"
"No," I say, scrolling through my phone. "Or if I did, I can't find it."
"Guess we know who sent it," Parker says, getting angry. "What's next? You tell your cop friend about us?"
"She didn't do it," Briggs says. "Someone either saw us that night or they're just fucking with us and have no idea that what they're saying is actually true."
"Are you fucking serious right now?" Parker yells. "Nobody saw us. It was Ella. Ella sent the text to try to make us turn ourselves in. I knew we couldn't trust her."
"I didn't send it," I say. "I swear to you, I didn't."
"Yeah, right," Parker says. "You really think we're going to believe that? You're the only one who didn't get the text. Why would the three of us get it, but not you?"
"Maybe whoever sent it doesn't have my number."
"Anyone can get a phone number. It's not fucking hard."
"If I really sent it, I would've sent it to myself too so it wouldn't look like I was the one who did it. I wouldn't be that stupid to only send it to the three of you and not me."