“So dramatic.”
I turned to find Haley leaning against the brick wall in the alcove behind me, a dark smudge in the shadows wearing all black as usual. Like me, the hood of her jacket was tugged up in an attempt to contain her mass of curls.
“Have you just been standing there watching me freeze my butt off?”
“Relax. I just got here.”
She came up next to me to peer in the direction of Mr. Hall’s mobile. “Anything yet?”
“No. What did the notes say about the timing of the...tryst?”
She pulled a face. Whether she was repulsed by the idea of Mrs. Martin and Mr. Hall together or the very precise way I described it, I didn’t know. “Just that it would be Monday afternoon between three o’clock and three thirty.”
I checked the time on my phone. It was just after three o’clock now.
“Do you have any ideas on how you want to do this?” I asked.
“Pictures of Martin going in and doing something incriminating.”
Whatever that meant, it wasn’t good.
Since Haley’s text Saturday night, I’d devoted every waking moment to thinking of ways to get out of this. The best I could come up with was inventing an emergency for Gigi that required her mom to help. If Mrs. Martin was called away, I could buy her another week. A week was an eternity. I could do anything in a week.
I’d waited outside the only class I knew Gigi was in, but she was off-site with the majority of the other freshmen for a civics project. Without Gigi physically nearby, I couldn’t craft an emergency that wouldn’t trace back to me. Untraceable was the number one requirement. I’d been sloppy with Matthew and I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Gathering my resolve, I made one last plea to Haley. “Do we have to do this? It doesn’t feel right.”
For a moment I thought Haley might agree with me. There was real conflict evident on her features. This was too far, even for us.
“It doesn’t matter what we think. We do our job.” She paused. “It’s just a job, Ember.”
“Not to me, it isn’t.” The unsteadiness in my voice betrayed how much this meant to me. “This is bigger than us. It’s her life.”
“And is she innocent?” Haley moved to press against the edge of the alcove, positioning herself for a clear view of the mobiles.
“What?”
She turned slightly so her face was in profile, harsh and unforgiving. Pity wasn’t Haley’s strong suit. “How is what we’re doing right now any different than someone else finding out and telling another person who tells another person and so on? We didn’t force her to have an affair. She did that all by herself.”
She had a point. She always had a point. Anyone could bust them, but there was a difference between someone else stumbling upon something like this and us lying in wait for it to happen. Maybe Mrs. Martin would do herself a massive favor and stay away.
Twenty minutes later, she came out of the school, walking briskly toward the mobiles.
Haley drew her phone out of her pocket like an assassin readying her weapon. Character assassinations required different tools.
“Haley, I’m asking you not to do this.”
“I know this is hard, but you’ll understand someday. Everyone has secrets. Just hope you’re lucky enough to keep yours hidden.”
If only you knew the secrets I kept.
The door to Mr. Hall’s mobile opened and he ushered Mrs. Martin in. I held my breath waiting for the door to shut, willing it to slam behind her without revealing anything to us.
As the door was closing, out of view of everyone but us, Mrs. Martin wrapped her arms around Mr. Hall and kissed him. The click of the camera on Haley’s phone echoed in my ears like a shot.
My shoulders slumped. It was done. I wanted to kick down the door to Mr. Hall’s classroom and rage at them both. They were the reason I had to be a party to this disaster, the reason that someone I cared about was going to be devastated. How could Mrs. Martin do this to Gigi?
I wouldn’t pretend to know why either of them had decided that an illicit affair between colleagues on school property was a good idea. People made stupid decisions all the time, but they had made this easy and had left themselves so exposed. They couldn’t sneak around off school property where no one would have ever seen them?
Haley was tapping on her phone, doubtless sending our proof off to wherever it needed to go. I reached out and grasped her wrist. She froze and stared at the point of contact and then looked up at me with her brows raised. I’d crossed a line in touching her.
“Sorry,” I said and let go.
She continued to stare. “Don’t give me your puppy eyes. We’ve been over this. I’m only glad I didn’t try to have you take care of this on your own. You’re clearly not ready for this level of shit.”
Ouch.
“No, it’s not that. I told you that I know Gigi, Mrs. Martin’s daughter. She’s on the debate team with me and beyond talented and driven. It wouldn’t surprise me if she went on to be the freaking president of the United States.”
How could Haley not see how this was going to wreck Gigi? She was fourteen years old. A major disaster at home could change everything for her, the whole course of her future. My stomach was turning over at the implications. How would the echoes of what was about to happen haunt her?
“Then she’ll get over this.” Haley was steady and calm, and it made my emotions feel hysterical. I hated feeling hysterical.
“The school isn’t so big that I haven’t had to pull jobs on people I know, too. The first one is hard—seeing people you know from your regular life suffering isn’t pleasant. But neither is life. No one I’ve seen has ever been too far gone to recover.”
If I was in control of the Red Court, this wouldn’t be happening. I could protect the people I cared about. But I wasn’t. Not yet, anyway. The whole school was about to find out about Mrs. Martin’s affair, but maybe I could find a way to soften the blow for Gigi. There had to be something I could do to help at least in a small way.
I cleared my throat, trying to conquer the frustration and sadness warring within me. “I know there’s no stopping this train. But could you give me tonight to think of something to say to Gigi that might help her? Just tonight. Then tomorrow, after school starts, you can do what you have to. Please.”
Haley regarded me, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes like she was trying to find the loophole that must be hiding somewhere. I’d all but destroyed her trust in me with my stunt with Matthew.
“No tricks up my sleeves.” I held my hands up and gave her a tight smile. “I’m asking you for a favor.”