Jude scratches his curly head. “She’s completely nuts.”
I point at him. “You,be quiet. I know you’re lying and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.” I know I do sound a little crazy at this point, but it feels like uncovering Little Birdie’s identity will prevent any more problems from arising. “Zayne could be in legal trouble now, thanks to you.”
At that, he frowns. “I thought that was all talk. He isn’t really in trouble, is he?”
“Who knows? He might be, if Carlton decides to press charges.”
Jude holds his hands up. “Look, Dot, I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear?”
“I want to hear the truth.”
“Hey,” Lenny says. “Bardot-Who-Goes-By-Dot? Maybe we should go.”
“No, Lenny. I’m dealing with this liar right now.”
He stares at Jude with new interest. “Maybe he’s a vampire.” He takes my arm, pulling me back the way I came. “Come on. Let’s go get some vervain in you before he tries to erase your memories.”
I take a deep breath, knowing there’s no use trying to argue to Lenny that we aren’t living inThe Vampire Diaries.“Okay. Let’s go.”
But before we walk away, I stare Jude down one last time. In that one glance, I communicate to him everything I want to say.I’m watching you. I’m onto you. And if you cross me and my friends again, I’ll know who it was.
As I leave with Lenny, I have no choice but to hope my message is received, loud and clear.
“Tell me again what Meredith said. And slow down this time.”
Rue’s voice cracks as she repeats herself. Her voice buzzes in my ear because of how close I’m pressing the phone against it. “She said she feltuncomfortabletalking to me.” She calms herself with a few breaths. “I asked her if we could talk, and she said things are too awkward now, considering everything. Apparently, she and Carlton are dating now. Mabel had to hug me because I started crying.”
I close my eyes. “Wow.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
I wince. “Just give it time, I guess. That’s all you can do. I have a feeling if you push too hard it might make things worse.”
“Tell me about something else,” she says frantically. “Please. I need to take my mind off how much of a fool I feel like right now.”
“Rue, it’s okay. Meredith will come around, and so will Carlton.”
“Please, Dot,” she says. “Distract me.”
My mind scatters in a thousand directions. “Um, okay. I made a fool of myself today, too. I yelled at Jude in the hallways and accused him of being Little Birdie.”
“What? Why?”
“For sending that video from the party in.”
“So, you told him you think he’s Little Birdie and yelled at him?” She tries to hide a laugh. Relief loosens my joints.
“I just snapped. It’s like all this Little Birdie nonsense has gotten to my head.” I use the side of my head to hold my phone in place. I change out of my school clothes into a fitted pair ofjeans and a tucked in, gray turtleneck. “I shouldn’t have done that, though. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Jude will be fine. Whether or not he’s Little Birdie, he definitely sent in that video, and probably the picture of you and Zayne on the Ferris wheel, too, now that you mention it. All you did was confront him. I see nothing wrong with that.”
“I guess.” I try to shove down the heavy guilt in my stomach. “But he’s Zayne’s friend. I feel kinda bad.”
“Speaking of Zayne,” she says, jumping on the change of topic. “Where is he taking you for your first date?”
I glance at my reflection in my mirror, biting my lip in anticipation. “I don’t know. It’s a surprise.”
“You better tell me all about it when you get back,” she says. “I’m going to need a fresh, new distraction.”
