Letterman Jacket

41.5 / one day before

Sutton pulled out the chair across from me and dropped her head on the table. "I'm so tired."

I slid a glass of water in her direction. "It's almost twelve o'clock, Sutton. You need to go to bed. Everyone else had already gone to their cabins."

"I can't," she whined, sitting up straight. Exhaustion was written all over her features. "Mr. Finch yelled at me about the food problem. I have to find a way to the grocery store before the day ends or else we're going to starve."

"Your other officers should've handled that while you were busy with other things," I said, raising an eyebrow. "It's their fault, anyway."

Sutton shrugged. "That doesn't matter anymore. I need to fix it."

I bit my lip. "Isn't it a little too late for a grocery run? I can go with you tomorrow morning—it's safer."

Her shoulders sagged. She took a sip of water before answering, "I'm not sure if we can get back in time before breakfast and I still have to cook. And even if we leave at the crack of dawn, the store's probably still not open. I would've done it earlier today but Mr. Finch insisted I facilitate the activities. I just can't disappoint him again."

The door creaked open. JJ entered the lodge in a school hoodie and boxer shorts. "Hey. Both of you should head back to the cabin."

Sutton ignored him. "Mr. Finch said there's a car at the back and that the owner won't mind if I use it."

JJ's eyebrows rose. "Whoa. What are you taking about?"

"She needs to go to the grocery store to restock the kitchen before tomorrow," I explained, pulling my knees up to my chest. "The other officers in the council screwed up and as usual, she's the one fixing their mess."

Sutton closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "It's not like that. They just—they just forgot."

"Forgot?" JJ repeated, tone rising. "And you want to go to the store at this time of the night?"

"Pretty much," she mumbled. "I'll use the car."

"I'm coming with you," JJ said.

"I can come, too," I piped up.

Sutton shook her head and stood. "Thea, Killian said he's going to have the name of the person in the picture with Paula in about an hour. It took long because the signal's really weak here, but he told me to meet him in his cabin. Since Faust, Theo, and Nico are all asleep, you can meet him instead."

"Are you sure?" I asked, glancing at JJ. "We can check out the picture when we come back."

The blonde waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine, Killian might be asleep by the time we get back, and I'd really like this out of the way. Faust mentioned something about the case moving forward, that the Abbeys might have planted evidence against Beau. We don't have time."

I leaned back against the chair with a heavy exhale. "How wonderful."

"And JJ, thanks, really," she mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I appreciate it, but I won't mind—"

"No," JJ said, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "You're not going alone. It's clearly unsafe. Plus, you need help with the groceries. I'm coming with you. Period."

Sutton's lips twitched. "I was going to say that I won't mind if you change first. You're in boxers."

The jock's ears turned red. "Oh."

I snickered. "Yeah. Oh. Go change, dummy."

"I'll be right back," JJ said, hastily leaving the lodge.

Sutton watched him with a grin. "He's kind of a dork."

"A dork that likes you."

"Shut up," Sutton said with a groan. "You're not helping."

"Sorry. I'm nervous."

The blonde tilted her head. "About?"

"The case," I admitted, drumming my fingers on the table. "Like you said, we don't have time. How did Faust know my mother found evidence?"

"Anya texted him," Sutton answered, exhaling heavily. "He doesn't know what, though. Anya won't tell him."

"Of course she won't," I murmured. "The Abbeys are playing dirty now."

Sutton shook her head. "They've been playing dirty since they decided to sue Beau. I just hope we find something useful from the picture. If we don't, I think we'd have to pull research on Paula and everyone she knows."

"Yeah," I agreed quietly. "I hope so too."