Betrayed in Blood

Chapter Sixteen

The days went on the same as always the following week. Her friends planned out the Tiger Times more and were almost ready to start publishing the first paper, the newspaper committee were publishing their own papers that didn't dive any further into Amanda's disappearance, and Camilla and André got even closer.

He was alive. Much to Camilla's surprise, André responded to her texts and calls after the Friday night game against O'Fallon. And although she had no idea why Ava had spared him, Camilla was glad. Her plan to make him fall for her could commence, and she was ready to finally shoot her shot.

Jared seemed to be avoiding her, but she, of course, knew exactly why. Soon enough, Camilla could release Jared from her grip and focus completely on her relationship with André, assuming he would accept her request.

So that Thursday, Camilla planned to ask him. She wanted to make sure it was late enough in the week that they could plan the date to be on the weekend and that she could have plenty of opportunities to—if push came to shove—sway his decision at the Thursday afterschool practice and Friday night game.

Camilla and André walked together after their final class of the day ended, but before they went into the locker rooms to change, she pulled him aside.

"What's wrong?" he asked as soon as they were alone in the small hallways just outside of where the rest of the teams were changing.

Camilla shook her head and fixed her stare on the tiled floor, acting nervous in front of him as she mumbled, "I, um, wanted to ask you something."

She couldn't see his face, but she could tell by his pause and the anticipation in his voice when he replied, "Go ahead," that he was anxious.

Camilla fidgeted with a strand of her long and wavy brown hair before timidly meeting his eyes. "Would you want to go on a date with me?"

The words fell out of her mouth rapidly, and her eyes darted around. The few times they fixed onto his gaze, she noticed that his eyes were bright—excited, even. She was sure he must have felt the same.

"Camilla, I..."

Her eyes flicked back up to his, locking this time. They had changed; the excitement had faded and was replaced with a darker expression. She couldn't quite identify it.

"...I can't," André admitted. He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back against the brick wall. "I'm sorry."

Camilla forced a hurt expression onto her face, but she was much more shocked than anything else. This was a rarity, a first, even; nobody had ever rejected her. She wanted to strangle him on the spot, almost wishing that Ava had finished him last Friday.

But she only managed to respond, saying, "That's okay, I understand."

André didn't speak. He couldn't even look her in the eyes anymore. With a foreign wall between their conversation, Camilla decided to leave.

When she returned to the locker room with the rest of the team, Camilla didn't see Ava anywhere; it would've been the first time Camilla had seen the new senior since the game.

However, she found Michelle right away, and before her best friend could question her tardiness, Camilla explained.

"He...he rejected you?" Michelle asked, almost as stunned as Camilla was.

Camilla sighed—though it came out more like a scoff—and answered, "Yeah, he did."

"What the hell?" Michelle nearly exclaimed. "How did he say no to you? Does he even understand what he's missing out on?"

Camilla chuckled, a weak grin on her lips. "I'm not mad at him. I just don't understand why."

"Me neither! He's making a huge mistake."