School, Sex and Secrets II (School, Sex and Secrets #2) Read online

  Mrs. Whitman walked into class. “Okay, class, we’ll be listening to the first five short stories today. Since John volunteered to go first, you can come on up here, John. I want everything off everyone’s desks, and that includes phones so turn them off and put them away.”

  Everyone grinned and groaned as they did what she said as John stood up at the front of the class as he continued to stare coldly at me; I looked down at my desk.

  John looked at his tablet computer and then looked up and around the room. “My story is called, So I Thought They Were My Friends,” he informed us.

  Everyone nodded as there was already a wide range of interest. I stared at him as he got ready to speak.

  John cleared his throat. “It was a beautiful day on an unusually warm fall Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining bright, and the sky was as blue as a flawless blue topaz gem. I was meeting my friends for a day in the woods where we were just gonna talk and chill, but little did I know, that was the last thing they had in mind. Russ and Casey were already there waiting for me as they sat on a blanket talking to each other, and now I had to believe that this talk was about me . . . and it wasn’t good. But nevertheless, they got up with a big smile and greeted me — but something didn’t seem right about it because it wasn’t their usual happy demeanor. I could see right through those fake smiles, so I took this as a sign of trouble. I was about to leave but they convinced me to stay, so I wondered what it was that they had in store for me that day . . . .”

  I tried not to gasp in shock as I stared at him as he was reading this. I knew instantly that he was telling the story about what happened to him out in the woods that day with Brad, Marie, and me! I looked around at everyone as John undoubtedly had everyone’s undivided attention.

  He continued. “They began to talk to me about abusing my girlfriend, Nellie, and that they believed that she was missing and presumed dead because of me. I told them that I would never hurt Nellie, but they didn’t believe me. I said that if someone hurt her then it wasn’t me, but they didn’t believe me — not one single bit. They continued to argue and argue with me and I argued back because I didn’t like the fact that they were accusing me of doing something that I know I didn’t do. But they were convinced that I knew where Nellie was and that she was no longer alive. I didn’t wanna hear this anymore so I turned around to leave . . . and then got surprised by Zoe, Nellie’s best friend.”

  The class gasped as they were all into the story.

  “Zoe had a gun! And she raised it up at me!” he said with a lot of emotion.

  The class gasped as they all looked at each other as some were even covering their mouths! I couldn’t believe I was hearing this!

  “I was totally defenseless! Russ and Casey went over to Zoe and stood behind her since she was the one with the gun, and now I knew it was three against one. I pleaded with Zoe that I had no idea where Nellie was but she wasn’t trying to hear me; she didn’t wanna hear anything that I had to say. She said that she knew that I killed Nellie, and then fired two shots into my chest!”

  The class gasped in horror!

  I looked around as I could see that people were acting as if it was real . . . and it was!

  He grabbed on to the right side of his chest. “I collapsed in excruciating pain, knowing that I had my whole life ahead of me. So much potential, so much to gain . . . and now my life was gonna be over with because of something that they couldn’t prove. I felt myself going unconscious as Russ, Casey, and Zoe stood over my practically lifeless body. ‘He’s dead,’ Russ said, even though he didn’t exactly make sure that I was. Casey and Zoe cried. ‘It had to be done . . . it had to be!’ Zoe cried, ‘He killed Nellie! This was for Nellie!’ I was in so much pain that I couldn’t say anything, and I knew that I was gonna be dead in a few minutes. I started to slip into unconsciousness when I heard Russ say, ‘Let’s leave.’ Casey then took a red rose and dropped it by my face. ‘Rest in peace, killer!’ she said.”

  I gasped in disgust as well as everyone else! But my reaction was a hell of a lot different from everyone else’s, but they didn’t know that!

  John shook his head. “And that’s just what they did . . . they all just left me . . . all alone . . . my friends . . . so I thought they were my friends. No proof at all that I was responsible for Nellie’s disappearance and possible murder — they just assumed that I was and for that reason, I deserved to die for what I did . . . but I didn’t die . . . I was still alive!”

  The class gasped in an uproar as they all looked at each other!

  “I struggled to get up as I held on to the right side of my bloody chest and staggered out of the woods to my car, trying to see if there were others in sight that I could flag down because I needed help — help that my friends had no intentions on giving me because after all, they set me up to kill me, but they didn’t realize that their plan failed. There was no one around so I got into my car and drove to the hospital as I asked God to give me the strength to get there. I did . . . and I survived, but my soul died because there is nothing worse than being set up to be murdered by your own friends over something that you had nothing to do with. So I thought they were my friends.”

  The whole class went into an uproar of cheers! John nodded but wasn’t smiling at all. He gave me a very daunting, ice-cold stare the whole time as he walked back to his seat; this gave me chills.

  “AWESOME STORY!!” someone in the class shouted out as everyone still clapped for John.

  “I know, huh?! That sounded so freakin’ real! Oh, my God, John! You put so much emotion into that story! You can be a great crime writer!” someone else said to him.

  John nodded as he still looked as cold as he ever could. “Thanks,” he said as he continued to look over at me.

  I quickly looked away from him as I got out my phone for a quick second. I had a text . . . and it was from John. Names were changed to protect the guilty! But of course you already know that, CASEY!!!!!!! I looked up at him after reading the text as he was still looking at me very coldly. I texted him back. John, why did you tell that story?! Don’t say that we’re guilty! We’re not guilty of anything unlike you so stop it! He looked at the text. The fuck you’re not! he texted back. I looked at the text and sighed as I put my phone away. I knew that it was no use in going back and forth with him about this. I looked over at him as he continued to stare at me with that ever-present ice-cold gaze. He then cracked a wicked grin as the next person got ready to present their story.

  “I can’t believe the nerve of that fuckin’ asshole! He told the whole fuckin’ story about what happened out in the woods that day to the whole fuckin’ class!” I said, as Brad held me by his SUV in the parking lot after school.

  Marc shook his head. “I still can’t believe he did that shit! That motherfucker has got some balls on him for real!”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “So he didn’t use our names? Or did he?” Marie asked.

  “No, he didn’t. He called Brad, Russ; me, Casey; and you, Zoe,” I told Marie. “And Natalie, Nellie.”

  “What an asshole!” Ava said. “How come he didn’t tell the story about how he killed Natalie and why he did it?”

  “Yeah, really!” Brad said.

  Everyone else nodded in agreement.

  “Well, you know he’s never gonna do that. He would rather tell about something bad that happened to him instead of telling everyone what bad thing he did to someone and as a result, it lead to something bad happening to him. And the only parts that were fiction was the fact that he said that he didn’t have a gun, claiming in the story that he was totally defenseless. He didn’t have one but two guns since he stole Brad’s out of his car! He also said that I dropped a red rose by his face and told him to ‘Rest in peace, killer.’ And about the fact that ‘Nellie’ was his girlfriend — we all know that Natalie was never his girlfriend,” I said.

  “Exactly!” Brad and Marie said.

  “Well said, V.!” Ava said.
r />   “Even though Natalie wanted to be,” Marie said, and then lowered her head.

  Once again, everyone nodded in agreement.

  Brad kissed me on the top of my head. “Well, it sounds like John wanted to tell his story, no doubt. But, of course, wanted it to sound like it was fiction — we all know that it was the truth. Vanessa, maybe you should tell the story of him killing Natalie, you know, as a way to show him that if he wants to start this shit then we have something on him that’s far worse.”

  I nodded — but wasn’t sure. “Well, I don’t know, Brad. I don’t want him to hurt any of us. I’m tired of his threats and if I do that he’ll probably just threaten all of us some more.”

  “Well, that’s true. It’s bad enough that we have to deal with his shit. But I’m not giving into it, though, and by now he can see that,” Brad said.

  “I just don’t know how much more of him I can take,” Marie said, being honest.

  We all looked at her.

  “Marie, it’s gonna be okay. He’s not gonna hurt you or any of us, or anyone else anymore. There is no way that anyone would disagree that what he did to Natalie is far worse than what you did to him, and you only did what you did to him because of what he did to Natalie,” I said.

  Marie nodded as she tried to choke back tears. “I know, Vanessa. Thanks.”

  “We’re all here for you, Marie. You know we’re all in this secret together. If he’s gonna try to take one of us down because he thinks we’re gonna snitch on him then he’s gonna have to take all of us down,” Brad said.

  “That’s right!” Marc said as him and Brad high-fived each other.

  Ava, Marie, and I smiled at them.

  Suddenly, John pulled up to us in his car. “HEY, FRIENDS! Did you like the story I told today in class, Vanessa?”

  “FUCK OFF, JOHN!” Brad shouted.

  John pretended to look offended. “OUCH, JOHNSTON! Watch it, man, I mean it! See you first period tomorrow in the room, Marie!” he said, and then sped off.

  We all looked at Marie.

  “You see what I mean?!” Marie said, and then started to cry.

  Ava and I embraced her.

  “Something has got to be done about that fuckin’ asshole!” Marc said.

  “But what? The case against him is useless without his DNA,” Brad said.

  “We’re gonna have to try more harder than ever to get it, then,” I said, as I still held Marie. “This is unnerving me, too. I don’t know how much more of his shit I can take, either. At least none of you have a class with him like the way I have — I have to see him every day.”

  “I know, baby,” Brad said.

  I tried to fight back tears as Marc looked at me, and I could tell that he was really concerned about me.

  Ava and Marie left, and Ava agreed to follow her home just in case John was waiting for her to leave.

  Brad, Marc, and I continued to stand outside of his SUV as he held me as he tried to comfort me because he could tell that the stress of having to deal with John was getting to me. He walked me over to my car as we held hands. Marc’s car was parked right next to mine so he walked with us.

  “It’s gonna be okay, baby,” Brad said, and then kissed me on the lips.

  “Sometimes I just don’t know if that’s true, Brad. I just thought that by now we would’ve been able to get his DNA. I’m getting so frustrated with this — I can’t lie. I’m so stressed always looking over my shoulder and at my phone thinking that when I see a message that it’s gonna be John. I just want all of this to be over, Brad.”

  Brad looked down at me and nodded as he still held on to my hand. “I know, baby, so do I.”

  Marc stood by his car as he looked down at the ground and nodded.

  “Well, I better get going. My parents are expecting me home since my dad is having a business associate and his family over for dinner; they’re probably wondering where I’m at,” Brad said.

  “Okay, you can get going, then; I don’t wanna hold you up,” I said.

  “Do you want me to follow you home?” Brad asked.

  “No, Brad, you don’t have to, honey. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay,” Brad said with a smile, and then leaned down and kissed me on the lips once again. He slapped hands with Marc and then walked back to his SUV, got into it, and left.

  I watched him as he drove down the road.

  “Vanessa,” Marc said, as he walked over to me.

  “Yes?” I said, as I stood by my car with the door open since I was ready to get in it.

  “I just wanna say that you can talk to me anytime you feel that you need to. I can see how all of this shit with John is really getting to you, and I hate to see you so stressed and down about it. Brad even tells me that you’re really having a hard time dealing with it so if you wanna talk I’ll listen, okay?” he said, and then extended his hand out for a shake.

  “Okay,” I said with a smile as we shook hands.

  We smiled at each other . . . as we continued to hold hands. We slowly let go.

  “Well, I better get going. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said with a smile.

  “Okay,” I replied with a smile.

  As I drove home, I now knew that I had someone that I could talk to besides Brad and Ava. And Marc did seem like a really good person to talk to even though he was wild at times. But my mind also ran wild about how long we were holding hands, which I found very unusual.

  CHAPTER 19

  I thought about what Marc had said to me yesterday about wanting to talk, and I really needed to. I did remember how Brad told me that he was a good listener and even though he acted wild at times, he really cared about people and was sensitive to their feelings, and if someone told him something that they didn’t want anyone else to know, he was the one that would keep it a secret.

  I grabbed my phone and got ready to call him, but then decided not to. Instead, I just decided to take my chances and show up at his house. I didn’t want him calling all of his other friends and telling them that I was coming over to his house alone, but then again, he probably wouldn’t do that.

  Several minutes later, I was standing at the front door of Marc’s house. It was a Friday night so I was surprised to see that he was here since his car was the only one in the driveway.

  The front door opened a minute later to Marc standing in it; he looked very surprised to see me. “Hey, Vanessa! C’mon in!”

  “Hey, Marc,” I said. I walked inside his house. “Is there anyone here?”

  “No, my parents are out gambling. What’s up? Are you and Brad getting along okay?”

  “Yeah, we’re getting along just fine. I just feel like I need to talk to someone about everything that’s been going on besides talking to Brad, Ava, and Marie. And since you told me earlier in the week that I could talk to you whenever I felt that I needed to, I decided to take you up on that.”

  He nodded with a smile. “Let’s go into the family room.”

  “Okay,” I said, and followed him in there.

  “Do you want something to drink?”

  “No thanks, I’m good.”

  “Okay,” he said with a smile, and then sat on the couch next to me — but not that close. “So, what’s on your mind?”

  “Well, I just wanna say first that I really fuckin’ hate John — I really do. I just wish he would turn himself in for what he did to Natalie. He’s acting like he hasn’t done anything wrong and that it was so wrong for Marie to have shot him. We really thought he was dead that day, Marc.”

  He shook his head. “I still can’t believe it when you guys told me that happened. He had me convinced that he had pneumonia; I had no reason not to believe it. But yeah, he should be in prison for what he did to Natalie. I know it’s gonna be hard as hell to get his DNA because he knows that you two are trying to get it from him, and now I believe that he thinks that I’m trying to get it from him, too. Even though I don’t show it, I’m still mad as hell at him for trying to set me up for killing h
er by putting her phone in my drawer that day. The minute Brad showed me that picture and I saw it sitting in there I knew that someone had planted it in there, and knew that they did it because I’m her ex. It just fuckin’ freaked me out, Vanessa. I’m sorry again for going off like that and scaring the shit out of all of you ladies; I could see the fear in all of you when I was acting like that.”

  I smiled. “I know you’re sorry, Marc. But you had every reason to act like that. We all thought that you did do it because of her phone being in your drawer. And yes, that was so wrong of John for trying to frame you for doing it.”

  “Yeah, it was. I’ll never forgive him for it, either. Thank God for DNA, because that is the only reason why I was eliminated. And I thank you and Brad both for taking the phone and sending it back to Natalie’s family.”

  “Well, we haven’t done that yet.”

  He looked shocked. “Why not?”

  “Well, because we’re thinking about doing something else with it instead.”

  “And what will that be?”

  “We’re still not sure. We’re trying to figure it out but it’ll have something to do with John.”

  “Well, let me know when you two figure something out because I want his ass to go to prison for what he did, too.”

  I smiled. “So do I.”

  We sat in an awkward silence.

  “Do you wanna see where the phone was at?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I replied with a smile.

  We walked upstairs to his bedroom.

  Once we walked into his room, I saw what Brad meant by it because it was in fact very messy.

  “Sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting my best friend’s girlfriend to be stopping by,” he said with a grin.

  “It’s okay, Marc,” I replied with a grin, but knew that his room looked like this all of the time from what Brad had told me.