Furious, livid, pissed. Nope. None of those words come close to Mason’s father’s controlled fury before this morning’s hockey practice. Reg flinched as Coach Hayes told him to remove everything from his team locker as the rest of the team stood by and watched in awed fear—fear that Coach Hayes would bench the Riviere Rockets’ top defender for regionals.
Nope. Mason knew better.
He also should have known better that his father wasn’t upset about the embarrassing antisemitic content of Reg’s letter to the Lake Towns Journal editor, only that Reg had defied his order. “You’re going to act outside the rules of this team,” Coach Hayes said in Reg’s face, “then you don’t belong here. Go get dressed in the public locker room. On the ice, I expect you’ll remember you’re a part of a team.”
A small slap on the wrist and a free pass to use words of hate.
Disgusted, Mason parks his SUV and heads into school. The letter to the editor made things a little clearer, and Kerrianne had a part in it. At least, that’s Mason’s theory. He strolls into the office, surprising her. “I need to talk with you.”
This is it. He’s breaking up with me. She’s sensed it coming for weeks. The signs have been there. Not returning her Snapchats, turning her down when she invited him to her bedroom, forgetting to pick her up after her choir practice. He’s never done any of those things before. She sets a hand on the stack of papers she’s going through. “I can’t. I have to finish entering attendance before Miss Wather gets back.”
Mason leans over the counter. “This can’t wait.”
She grips the arms of her chair, bracing herself. “Then say it.”
He drops his voice to a whisper. “You gave Reg the master locker combination list.”
Kerrianne almost wishes Mason were breaking up with her. This is a hundred times worse. “H-he told you?”
“No. You just did.”
She can’t move. The expression of betrayal on Mason’s face destroys her. What did Reg do this time? After Cade’s and Logan’s lockers were vandalized and Principal McNeil had everyone sign the school’s Hate Speech and Anti-Bullying Policy, Reg promised he was done.
Mason watches Kerrianne carefully and reads the guilt on her face, tearing him apart. He doesn’t know what to do about this. He stalks to the door, then stalks back, coming around to Kerrianne’s side. He crouches in front of her. His voice is low and angry. “Why? Just tell me why you would do that?”
She lifts her palms in a plea, begging him to calm down, as she glances toward Principal McNeil’s office.
“You’re that jealous of Logan?”
“No! I’ll explain. I promise! But not here, okay?”
Mason has no patience for this. “Here and now or we’re done.”
“Everything all right, dear?” Miss Wather shuts the office door and steps over to the counter. Kerrianne nods, tries to smile, pretty certain she looks like a demonic clown. She motions toward the hallway. “Could I—would it be okay if we—I need to speak with Mason.”
Miss Wather transforms from protective granny to a ferocious mother bear. She wags her finger at Mason. Mason would be amused if he wasn’t so pissed. “Whatever’s going on that has you all revved up, dial it down ten notches or you can go have a seat right over there.” She points to the chair next to Principal McNeil’s office. “Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hands on hips, she doesn’t let him off the hook so quickly, and Mason admires her scrutiny. She nods. “One moment, please.” She grabs her pen and the pad of late passes, rips off two, and writes Mason’s name on one and Kerrianne’s on the other. “You have a half hour.”
Kerrianne reaches out for her pass, but Miss Wather jerks it away, narrows her eyes like a cat set to jump on its prey. “Before you head into class, I expect you’ll stop in for a piece of chocolate fudge. I ordered them online and I’ll need to know if I should buy them again. That’s nonnegotiable.” She looks at Mason. “That goes for both of you.”
Mason nods. Message received.
Mason drives out of the school parking lot with no destination in mind. He can’t look at Kerrianne, and he refuses to be the first one to speak. He wants an explanation, and no amount of sniffling will soften his now stone-cold heart.
Where should she begin? One of the reasons Kerrianne fell in love with Mason years ago was how well he listened. He’d surprise her months later with a playlist of various songs they’d talked about. He was patient and fair, and even though she knew he didn’t love her, she could count on his loyalty. Could she count on it now? She hoped so.
Two miles pass before Kerrianne finally speaks. “I gave the combinations to Reg freshman year when I was helping out during orientation.”
“When the two of you hooked up?”
“It was the worst three weeks of my life.” Kerrianne trembles, stares out the passenger window, the past haunting her again.
“I still don’t understand. Why would you give him the list?” When she doesn’t answer, his eyes flicker from the road to Kerrianne. She’s doing some serious landscape gazing. Mason knows Reg is clever, a manipulator, a gambler. He plays to win. He tests, pushes the limits, just like he did with that letter to the editor. Something clicks in Mason’s mind. “What does he have on you?”
Mason turns into the Riviere Marquee parking lot, chooses a semi-secluded spot next to a fir tree, and shifts into Park. He unzips his jacket, then faces her. She still won’t face him.
Impatient, Mason pushes Kerrianne over the edge. “Maybe we need to talk with Principal McNeil?”
The floodgates open. Sobbing, her words come out in fragments. In between, she gulps in air. “A few photos. Of me in my bra. And underwear. That I texted him.”
Mason reaches into his glove box and hands Kerrianne a stack of fast-food napkins.
He has never seen Kerrianne this vulnerable and filled with despair. For a half second, he wonders if it’s an act, but in the same half second he dismisses it. Kerrianne definitely knows how to pour on the drama, but this would be an Academy Award–winning performance and she’s not that good of an actress. She wipes her eyes, smearing her already drippy makeup.
Mason understands what it’s like to be powerless with his dad, the asshole of assholes, and he’s done tolerating it from anyone else.
He reaches over and gently sets his hand on Kerrianne’s shoulder. Through the thick layer of her coat, it’s barely a touch, but it’s enough. She unbuckles her seat belt and buries her head in his chest. Grasping the lapels of his letter jacket, she sobs as he holds her.
Now what? Mason wonders. There are other questions, but he’s not sure this is the time to ask. Their half hour is ticking away, and he has no doubt Miss Wather is also watching the clock. He loosens his grip and finally Kerrianne loosens hers.
Mason finds it hard to calibrate his mind to this Kerrianne. She must notice because she says, “You believe me, right?”
“Yeah, I believe you.”
“But?”
“But I also don’t understand how you could stay friends with Reg.”
She snorts in disgust. “Have you ever heard of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?”
He gets it. “Sure.” How many times has he given his teammates a pass because they’re supposed to be friends? He’s walked that tightrope so many times and he’s still on it. Can’t blame Kerrianne for doing the same. He’s stood on the fringe with these guys for a long time. Too long. What a mess, he thinks. He’s determined to fix it.
His gaze slides over to her. “I understand Reg has the pictures, but if you explain this to Principal McNeil—”
Kerrianne lets out a derisive laugh. “You don’t get it.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“I gave Reg the list. When he vandalized Daniel’s locker, he told me he did it. He’s stolen from people’s lockers and gotten away with it. It’s a game for him. He promised that if I turn him in or if he gets caught, he’ll make sure I go down in flames with him. He said he’ll tell Principal McNeil that I’ve been in on it from the beginning. It’s his word against mine.”
“I’ll back you. We’ll tell him that he’s threatened you. Reg can’t get away with this.”
She shakes her head. “Please, Mason.” The tears return. “Reg has the power to destroy my reputation, my life. You’ve kept me safe. There’s only three more months until graduation and this nightmare will be over.”
Mason doesn’t have a clue how to respond. Rage seeps into him like black smoke from a smoldering fire. As much as he feels sorry for Kerrianne, it’s not enough. He shakes his head. “No. There has to be some way I can make Reg pay for everything he’s done.”
“Please, please, Mason. I’ll get expelled. I won’t be able to go to college. My life will be over.”
Mason starts the engine and doesn’t respond to Kerrianne. On way too many occasions, Reg and Jesse and Spencer have gone too far. How many times for the sake of the team did Mason do nothing?
He’s done with doing nothing.
With unshakable resolve, Mason says, “I’ll handle it and I’ll keep you out of it. I’ll keep you safe.”
“How?”
“When I know, you’ll know.”