ROUGH DRAFT of Loser || WlW

Twenty-Nine

"Ew, get off my car," Brittany orders, slipping her sunglasses on.

Trevor pushes himself forward, his eyes centered on me.

Grace steps in front of me, her eyes narrowed. "Choose your battles." Her voice is surprisingly calm for the threat that just left her lips.

Trevor chuckles. "Or what?"

"Give me a reason," she says through clenched teeth.

The flowy black dress doesn't make her look intimidating, but Trevor backs up. His eyes flick to mine. "Heard you're trying to frame me for Claire's death."

"Last time I checked, it was the other way around," I spit back.

He shrugs. "Did you see the news this morning?"

I don't say anything. Of course, I saw the news.

"Isn't it just adorable how people eat up everything I say?" He's circling us, his arms still crossed over his chest.

Brittany makes a gagging noise.

"What do you want, Trevor?" I ask.

He stops circling and cocks an eyebrow at me. "I've come to strike up a deal." When we don't say anything, he adds, "If you drop it, I'll drop it. Stop trying to prove it was me and I won't prove it was you." He holds a hand out to me. "My family has the power to brush this whole thing under the rug. You'll never hear about Claire again."

My eyes flick from his palm to Brittany. Her gaze is fixed elsewhere as she bites her lip. It's like the air is being sucked from the parking lot.

The idea of leaving this in the past... Of forgetting about Kyle and Officer Hodge. No more midnight visits from Trevor. As if on cue, my head throbs, reminding me of how much I've been through because of this investigation. The bruise under my eye is hot.

I dare another glance at Brittany. Her lip quivers. It's such a slight movement, I wonder if I imagined it. How am I supposed to let her down? How am I supposed to let Claire down?

Trevor clears his throat. "What? Is this about Brittany? You think by helping her, you'll earn her friendship?" He leans back and lets out a hearty laugh. "You don't even know her. She wouldn't give a damn about you if you weren't trying to solve her sister's murder. You think she's going to stick around after all this is over?" He angles his body to face her. "All she cares about is dick," he spits, grabbing his crotch and thrusting it toward her. "I mean, come on. She fucked me like three days after her sister died."

Brittany crosses her arms over her chest. "Fuck off, Trevor."

Trevor looks at me again. "What do you say?"

I bite my lip; taste copper in my mouth from a reopened cut. He might be right about Brittany. I can't help but think about the hatred in her eyes when I chased her down in the parking lot a few days ago.

Her words ring through my head. I don't trust you anymore.

"Why would you want to brush the whole thing under the rug if you didn't do anything wrong?" Grace presses.

"Because I have recruiters coming out to see me play and I don't need them hearing this bullshit about me being a murder suspect." Trevor stands taller.

I roll my eyes. "Shove your deal up your ass." I shake my head and push past him, unlocking the car and sliding into the driver's side.

Brittany stops as she passes him. "By the way, you're really small." She slides into the passenger seat with a grin.

"God, he's such a prick," Grace says.

Brittany directs us to her favorite pizza place in the nicer part of town and orders a large pepperoni pizza before sitting back in her seat and sighing. "I haven't had pizza in years."