Swell (Complete)

Chapter Fifteen (Part One)

"Is this a face that looks like its sorry for you? No!
I wouldn't care which side of the grass your on
As long as your out of my way."

....

Adora felt like a ghost during her first two classes. She barely heard a word from her teachers, she kept imagining her mobile was vibrating in her pocket with news about Brett.
Her head spun about the police finding Tom's car, about Tom talking to her at Dodge's dinner.
By the time recess came around Adora could barely remember having breakfast before Dodge drove them to the school.
"Hey..." The greeting was gentle as Marti's hand settled on her arm by their lockers. "Adora, you look..." Adora let Marti lead her outside into the cool weather and to one of the old concrete benches. "Tragic."
Marti sat beside her and studied her face carefully. "Has there been bad news?"
Adora finally blinked at Marti and shook her head, trying to clear it and bring herself to the present. "No, I just..." She closed her eyes and felt her shoulders sag. "I feel exhausted." She admitted. "And scared."
She tried to think of anyone who would hurt Brett, anyone who would push Tom's car off a cliff, a reason to even push a new kid's car off a cliff. She didn't know any locals who would do either of the things that had happened after the party. "I keep trying to think of who would do anything..."
Marti gave her a pitied expression.
"Adora!" Rae hurried over to the two of them and sat on the other side of Adora. Kurt stood beside Rae and gave them a small smile. "Kurt and I are going to visit Brett at lunch, want to come with us?"
Adora looked to Rae and nodded. "Yes."
"Can I come too?" Marti asked.
"Of course, do you think Will will want to join?" Rae leaned forward a little on the bench to look at Marti.
"Probably."
"Where is he? And Tom... I heard Tom was at the station... What happened?" Kurt raised a curious eyebrow at Marti.
"His car was stolen Saturday night, the police found it at the bottom of a cliff. He's there about that." Marti answered.
Kurt frowned. "That's weird. It's not even busy here at the moment... Who would steal his car?"
"Busy?" Marti was the confused one now.
"As in tourists, visitors. That's generally the only time anything odd happens here." Rae explained.
"Ohh. So it's not some stupid welcome to town joke like on TV?" Marti tried to joke and her joke was rewarded with vaguely confused frowns. "OK, nevermind."
"Hey! Adora!" Iain's voice was loud and clear as he jogged across the courtyard and dropped his bag at their feet. "I've heard they think it was Tom." Iain's voice dropped and he looked around as if he was afraid of who else might hear.
Adora looked up and felt her brow crease. "What?"
"Or well, at least his car." Iain looked from his younger cousin to Marti.
"Wow... That would explain some things... The car... not Tom." Marti clarified her statement and explained where Tom was as Rae and Kurt looked at her.
"That still doesn't give any motive or suspects, actually, it gives even less."
"There is no possible motive." Adora spoke up indignantly. "Nobody would have any reason to try and kill Brett."
Her voice was loud enough to draw attention from the scattered groups also outside braving the grey sky.
She looked around and swallowed a lump as she saw the eyes turned towards them. She took a deep breath and put a hand on her forehead.

Tom's car had been stolen the night Brett had been attacked and now he was at the police station being questioned about it because it had been dumped off a cliff. There was no reason Tom would want to lie about his car being stolen, and certainly no reason Tom would want to hurt Brett, let alone kill him.
Adora closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pounding silence around her.
Her other hand gripped the straps of her backpack tightly and suddenly she felt herself standing up and shouldering the weight as she walked away from her safe group.
"Adora!" She heard Marti calling after her, and got ready to turn around and tell her to leave her alone, but she didn't hear her name again, nor did she hear anyone coming after her.
Relief washed through her body as she walked through the school hall and out the front double doors.
Her feet hit the pavement as much as her pulse pounded in her head. She didn't plan where she was going, she didn't even look until she was crossing the corner and heading up the road towards the small police station.
What was she doing?
She stopped at the bottom of the station steps and looked up to the glass doors. Safety posters and law reminders were fixed against the clear surface and she bit her bottom lip as she stood and stared.
Somewhere inside Tom was talking to a police officer about his car, telling them that he and Brett were friends, that they were sport teammates.
That he was as utterly clueless as Adora felt about any possible reason anyone would hurt Brett.
She looked from the doors to the first step, willing her feet to touch it, demanding they move, but why? Why had she come here? What did she think was going to happen when she stepped into the reception room?
She should have gone to the hospital to see if Brett had remembered anything that would prove Tom's innocence, to check on her best friend.
"That was the scariest and stupidest morning I think I've ever had."
Tom's voice brought Adora's eyes up from her shoes to the doors as they slid closed behind the figures of Tom and Debbie standing on the top step.
They were frowning down at her and Adora gave them a weak, half smile.
"Adora, what are you doing here?" Tom tilted his head as he took the steps down and stopped beside her.
"Um..."
A flashback of the awkward first date between them churned her stomach. Brett talking at their table, Tom trying to break into the conversation. Tom trying to convince her to have another date, Brett telling him to stop, and the last time she saw Tom; checking on her at Dodge's party.
"I..." She still didn't know what she was doing there.
Debbie sighed as she appeared next to Tom and took his hand. "She'll be here checking on the rumours that have no doubt already started in this hole."
"What?" Tom looked from Adora to Debbie in confusion.
"So, how many people think Tom tried to kill Brett?" Debbie challenged.
Adora felt her mouth gape at the brashness of the question. The way Debbie had spoken it almost made it sound like Adora had accused Tom.
"I don't think any..." Adora started.
Debbie cut her stammer off with a laugh. "Right, well, you can just tell anyone who does think he did it that he was with me, at my place after the party."
Adora looked from the blonde girl, still gaping to Tom, who was now looking down with a slight flush to his cheeks.
Was he embarrassed?
Her stomach wasn't settling and she stepped back as Debbie started to pull Tom away and towards the footpath.