you're next | dolan twins

t w e n t y f i v e

"How the fuck do you know anything about that?" Jeremy whispers as he takes the book out of my hand, looking down at it.

"A little birdie told me the whole story." I keep my glare on him. "You had Amanda going good, I mean you acted like you liked her for months."

"I did like her." He looks back up at me.

Grayson begins to laugh next to him. "That's a good one."

"You used her, Jeremy. She fell in love with you and you used her." I try to keep my voice low, but that's hard to do when you're so angry.

"Explain the story." Grayson demands.

"Okay, fine." He lets out a small sigh as he turns back to look at me. "At the end of sophomore year, I found out that she used Ethan for sex. He told me about the whole affair, and how pissed he was about it. Apparently he was going to dump Kelsey for her, but Amanda said no. She was only in it for the sex."

I lean into the table and look back at Grayson. This new information is making my head spin.

"That summer I came up with this idea. I was going to start hanging around Amanda, trying to win her over in any way possible. I knew she didn't date and that was the perfect challenge for me. I told Ethan the whole plan and he thought it was hilarious. She used every single guy in school, it was time for her to get a taste of her own medicine. We started hanging out and it took awhile for her to put her full trust in me but she eventually caught feelings."

"But you didn't." I point out. "You were using her from the beginning."

"Correct." He nervously gulps. "Anyway, I started taking her on dates and after awhile we slept together. She started talking about poetry and literature so I brought up The Great Gatsby. I never read the book before, just saw the movie. She was amazed I knew what it was which was the perfect way to reel her in. We shared this book together, highlighting the most meaningful quotes and parts." He stares down at the book, but I quickly pull it out of his hand and flip through the pages.

"Then what?" Grayson waits for him to continue.

"She was talking about going public with our relationship, but I never wanted that. I eventually told her the truth. I said that this whole thing was a game and it was time the player got played. She was furious with me and cursed me out, even slapped me in the face."

He holds his hand to his cheek, as if he is recalling the memory. "Ethan thought it was really funny, but I didn't. Seeing her run away from me in tears really hurt me. I thought maybe it wasn't just some game, I was actually falling for her just as hard. She didn't talk to me the rest of junior year, and that bothered me. I guess a part of me missed having her in my life. I wanted to show her that what I did was wrong, but she wasn't having it. She told me to go to hell, and every time I looked at how sad she was, it felt like I did."

The emotion in his face is telling me that he isn't lying. His forehead is creased and his voice becomes deeper. "I kept texting her saying how sorry I was, but she blocked my number. I tried so hard to make things right, she just wanted nothing to do with me. She would put up with me for the sake of the group, but that was it. I tried to talk to her the night she died. I told her that I missed her and that I really did like her, but she ran away from me." His voice begins to shake as tears fill his eyes. "She ran into the woods, and never came out."

Grayson and I look at each other. My skin crawls with fear as I look back at Jeremy.

"Did you see who killed her?" Grayson asks with a shaky voice.

"No, but it wasn't me, if that's what you're thinking. The only damaged I caused to her was emotional."

"You lied to Detective Martin." I gulp as I look at him.