Dear Diary

34. COMING OUT

J E R O M E

"Pablo?" Kelly says through heavy breaths. "What the heck?"

"H-Hey, guys," Pablo says with a grimace. "How ya doin' tonight?"

"Cut the shit," I snarl. "Why are you screwing with us?"

"Let me up and I'll explain," Pablo says.

I force my knee deeper into his spine and he howls in pain. "You killed Sidney. It's been you the whole time. Leaving notes, calling us."

"Rome, we can't draw attention to ourselves," Samara says. There's no one on the street, but it'd be easy for somebody to look outside their window and call the police based on the look of things.

"I didn't kill her!" Pablo exclaims. "Someone made me do this, I swear."

"Made you?"

"Look, some weirdo called me with this dumb voice changing thing. Whoever it is, they threatened to implicate me in Sidney's murder. They had pictures of me and her at Marcos' party."

"What were you doing?"

"We just talked, I swear."

"I'm supposed to believe that?"

"The bitch rejected me, nothing happened. But still, you think I wanna be part of a narrative that paints me as the jealous side piece that killed her because I couldn't have her all to myself?" he asks, struggling against me as I keep him pinned down. "The allegation alone could ruin me. We saw what it did to Brandan. We saw what it did to you. I have too much to lose for something like that to be out there. I've been flying under the cop radar and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Let him up," Samara says.

I do so, but very reluctantly.

"The box was sent to my house," Pablo explains once he's facing us. "There was a note attached telling me to bring it here. But man, whoever this is has some serious beef with you guys, because they keep wanting me to do shit."

I eye him. "What else have you done?"

"I locked Giovanni and that girl, Cassie or whatever, in a freezer."

"That was you?" I ask, my jaw slacking.

"I was told to scare them. They happened to be in a good spot where I could pull it off. But, bro, is it really the person who killed Sidney telling me to do this dumb shit? Like forreal?"

"Afraid so."

"I didn't know," Pablo says. For some reason I believe him. "I thought it was someone you guys pissed off and wanted to get back at you with petty stuff, but if it's a killer I'm out. That's fuckin' loco."

"Disobeying probably isn't a good idea," Samara says.

"You don't know what I'm capable of."

"I know you're incapable of being stealthy."

"And I know you're incapable of being an undercover slut."

Samara's mouth goes agape, but I speak up for her before she can recover from the blow. "Watch your mouth."

"Your clique is fucked up," Pablo says. "Sidney was a slut, Samara's a slut, Tori was a—"

I ball my fists into Pablo's sweatshirt. "I dare you to finish that sentence."

"Sorry for your loss, but even you have to admit it. Tori was seeing your dad. A fuckin' teacher. And Sidney? She went around seducing whatever guys she wanted." He looks at Samara. "And damn, girl. You moved in on your best friend's man."