Chapter 10: What They Knew

Nobody said anything for a long moment.

Dean sat down on the shingles with his legs hanging over the edge and handed one of the beers to Finley.

Gabe stayed by the window, looking at his shoes.

"You all knew," I said.

"Yeah," Dean said.

"The whole time."

"From the car," Finley said quietly.

I turned on Drake.

"What does that mean, from the car?"

He didn't flinch.

"On the drive up yesterday I told them," he said. "I said you'd probably pretend to be asleep."

"I said if any of them wanted to be in the room, they had to let you."

"You told them I'd pretend."

"Yes."

"Before anything happened."

My heart was going very fast, and I couldn't tell anymore which part of it was anger.

"So you planned it," I said. "All of it. You walked three men into my bedroom."

"I told them what I'd heard," Drake said. "Three weeks ago, through the wall."

"I heard you say my name. Then I heard what you said after it."

My whole face went hot.

I had said a lot of things after his name.

I had said them into a pillow at one in the morning, with my knees pulled up and the door locked.

"You listened," I said.

"I couldn't not."

"That's not an excuse."

"No," he said. "It isn't."

"And you told them."

"I told Dean," Drake said. "Because he asked what was wrong with me. Finley and Gabe worked it out from Dean."

"I did not work it out," Finley said mildly. "Dean told me in the parking lot at a Wendy's."

"Thanks, Finley."

"You told me to say it in my own words."

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