Betrayed in Blood

Chapter Seventeen

DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains drug use.

A sturdy arm wrapped over Camilla's neck and pulled her back until her head bounced against a warm surface. Before she could turn around to identify the person responsible, a breath tickled her ear, sending shivers up her neck.

"Hey, Camilla," André's voice whispered.

She wriggled around to loosen his grip so she could face him. "André, you scared me."

He grinned and kissed her temple. "Oh, you're fine," he insisted. "By the way, why aren't Michelle and Meagan sitting with you?"

Across the cafeteria, the pair sat together, seeming to be focused deeply on their conversation. They glanced back at Camilla, but the moment their eyes connected, they backed out. She rolled her eyes.

"They're just being petty," Camilla said.

"Did something happen?"

"Yeah, and it's all their fault, they just won't admit it."

André sighed. "Although I'd love to hear you rant about it, us football players have to get ready before you."

She faced him again, an eyebrow raised. "You're already done eating dinner? You guys are pigs."

He chuckled as he squeezed her into a hug and left with the rest of the football team. There was yet another game that Friday, but Camilla couldn't forget her nearly fatal experience at the last. 

As if they'd been waiting for André to leave—which was likely—Michelle and Meagan plopped down across from Camilla. She said nothing as Michelle fidgeted and Meagan stared.

Eventually, Meagan began, saying, "Okay, we're sorry, Camilla. We get it, we were in the wrong."

"You were," Camilla agreed.

Meagan's eye twitched. "But we at least want an apology from you too since you pretty much blew up yesterday."

Camilla bit her cheek. "It took me 'blowing up' at you to realize that you were in the wrong, so really I don't owe you any sort of apology."

Meagan's frown deepened, but Michelle interjected before she could reply. "You're right," she admitted, "we were totally in the wrong. We just got overly excited."

"Why even get that excited?" Camilla asked.

At her words, they both tensed up, clearly hiding something. She lifted a hand to urge them to open up.

They gave each other a look, and Meagan finally spoke up. "It's about a guy I like."

"Who is it?" Camilla questioned immediately.

"I can't... I can't say. But he likes you. He has for a while now. He's been after you for so long now, so once I heard you and André were together, I knew he'd have a reason to get over you finally."

Camilla's eyebrow raised as she commented, "I think I know who it is."

"I doubt it," Meagan retorted with a smile. It seemed their relationship was healed.

But Camilla did know whom it was. Of course, the most obvious assumption—the person they undoubtedly thought Camilla had guessed—would be Jared, but she knew Meagan didn't like him. It had to be Meagan's best friend, Shane. Besides, Camilla already knew Meagan crushed on him too, and it was painfully obvious that Shane liked Camilla.

But she chose to grant Meagan false hope and dropped the subject. As Meagan and Michelle started another conversation, Camilla's eyes drifted off to a table across the cafeteria. There, the marching band was eating dinner. Amy was nowhere to be found there. Had she quit the band to avoid her? Or was she hiding somewhere else?