Unexpected Rendezvous

Chapter 33

Leigh's POV

I've only been here once before, last week, when I gave Andre a ride home from school while his car was in the shop. "You want to come in and see my new charcoal pencils?" he asked with a flirty smile when I pulled into his driveway. I thought that was a euphemism maybe for taking the next step in our relationship, but I was wrong. All we did was sketch until he had to leave for a date with Coach Purcell.

After weeks of anticipation, I'm glad now that he never did anything except string me along. It makes all of this easier to deal with.

There's no sign of his car in the driveway, but he has a garage, so that doesn't mean he isn't home. I go to the front door and ring the bell, first lightly, and then I press hard on the buzzer. "Hello?" I yell. "Andre?" I'm not worried about the neighbours; Andre doesn't have much in the way of those. "I need to talk to you." There's no response, so I grab the doorknob and twist. First left, then right, but no luck.

I stand on the front step, considering. The last time I was here, Andre complained about a back door lock that didn't work properly. "I should get it fixed, but why bother?" he'd said. "I'm going to move soon anyway." I didn't want to talk about that; about the house he kept saying he was going to buy with Coach Purcell. I couldn't believe he'd actually go through with marrying her. He was avoiding a lot of stuff the whole time we were hanging out, and I hope that still includes some repairs.

I jog to the back of the house, which is ringed by trees that form the edge of dense woods. It's getting darker now, and cooler, and crickets are out in full force. Their chirping is all I can hear as I follow an overgrown stone path to Andre's back door. I grab the scratched brass handle and tug, first lightly, then harder as I can feel the flimsiness of the lock. I jiggle the handle every which way, tugging with ever-increasing force until the door finally pops open.

I slip inside and shut the door behind me. I've never been back here, it's like an indoor porch, with a bright green rug and wicker furniture everywhere, but Andre's house isn't big. I follow the only exit, a narrow hallway, until I see the familiar green paint of Andre's living room. And then I see...

Andre's shriek is so deafening that I let out a yell too, and back into the wall with my hands up. "I'm sorry!" I call as he starts to calm down. "I didn't mean...I just...the door was open. I'm sorry!"

"Oh my God," Andre says as recognition finally sparks in his eyes. His breathing is heavy, one hand over his heart. "Oh my God, Leigh. You scared the shit out of me. I thought for sure that you were..." He inhales a deep breath. "Oh my God. Okay."

I drop my hands as my heart rate starts to slow, and then I notice the oversized suitcase beside him. "Are you...where are you going?"

Andre looks down at the suitcase like he forgot it was there, then back at me. "Leaving town," he says. 

It shouldn't surprise me I guess, but it still does. I reach into my bra and pull out the bag of Ecstasy. "Because of this?"

"What is..." Andre peers at the bag, his expression hardening. "Where did you get that?"

"Your desk drawer, at school. The one you keep locked. This was one of like, twenty plastic bags stuffed in there."

I'm not sure what kind of reaction I was expecting, but a bitter laugh wasn't it. "Of course," Andre says. "Of course it was."

"Of course?" Anger starts to prick at my already overstimulated nerves. "Sure. Right. Just like you of course put Nelson's name on your kill list, and now she's dead."

"I did what?" His brow creases with what looks like genuine confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"The Charlton High class roster, with Nelson's name circled? Perrie found it in your day planner. Which she took by the way. While we were in the café."

"Perrie took..." Andre's black backpack is on the couch, and he grabs it by one of the straps and hauls it towards him. He roots through it for a few seconds, his expression darkening at what he doesn't find. "Ugh, that sneaky little bitch! I'm glad I sent those Charlton Speaks videos to the media. She deserves every bit of shit she's getting."

"You sent...so you..." I trail off, frowning. Something isn't adding up. "Why were you trying to get Perrie in trouble if you didn't know she'd taken this? What do you have against her?"

"Nothing. I just needed a distraction." Andre hoists the bag on his shoulder. "I need time to get a few things together so I can make, shall we say, a fresh start. Because once I leave here, I'm never coming back." 

I should be scared of him, since I'm standing between him and whatever escape plan he's hatched. But for some reason, I'm not. All I can think about is how badly I need answers, and how easy it would be for him to slip away before he gives them.

"So you killed Jesy?" I say. "Or had her killed? Which is it?"

Andre lets out another short, humourless laugh. "That's what you think? Really? And here I thought you knew me, Leigh." I stare at him, wordless. "Whatever your sneaky little friend found in my planner, it wasn't mine." He gestures towards the plastic bag still dangling from my fingertips. "And those aren't mine. But you bought into it, didn't you? You thought they were. Which is exactly what they wanted you to think."

"Who?" I ask. "Jordan Stephens?"

I take a step back and wait for his reaction, almost eager to see how stunned he is that we figured it out. And he does look shocked, but not in the way I expected. "Jordan?" Andre asks, almost choking on the name before his mouth settles into an incredulous half smirk. "You think Jordan Stephens is some kind of drug lord? How do you even...no."

"No?" I hate the uncertainty in my tone, but I'm not ready to give up on Jordan Stephens. Partly because he fits so well, but also because...who the hell else is there?

"No." His lip curls. "So you've been playing detective, huh? I'm disappointed, Leigh. I would've expected a better guess."

"Why?" I ask, frustrated.

Andre zips the top of his bag and fixes me with a disdainful look. "Because the answer is right in front of your face."