Prepsworth Academy

Chapter 64 - "Try not to break the door Jake, it's as fragile as your ego."

Jake

I slipped away from Rose instructing my dorm on what to do, knowing that Harry or someone else would catch me up later. Hearing Rose talk for half an hour was not my idea of fun. I was dawdling by the edge of a soccer field, nervously eyeing the cheer team in the distance, who were standing in a clump. Now or never Jake. I walked towards the cheer team, unable to hide my nervousness, my heartbeat far too loud. I reached the cheer team and awkwardly looked around expectantly.

"Can I please speak to Amy?" I murmured. I'd assumed that Lukas had walked into the cheer practice with the intention of talking to Amy and had subsequently been beaten up. I didn't want that to happen to me and had every intention of being as polite as possible. I could be better than Lukas, if nothing else.. Lily shrugged and gestured towards an empty area about twenty metres away.

"Amy, do you want to go?" I asked, resisting the urge to fiddle with my hair. Amy nodded and wordlessly began walking towards the area. We walked in silence for a while, before Amy sighed.

"I don't want to give you the wrong impression. The dance...it doesn't change anything. I still can't accept what you did, that you knew." Amy began, growing more and more emotional, before taking a deep breath and growing silent again. I felt sadness stirring in the pit of my stomach. Of course it didn't change anything. Amy was still Lukas' puppet, and I was still a monster.

"I can't promise you anything. I don't even know if I can face you right now. I just want to be honest with you, so, there you go." Amy said, her words coming out in a rush. We reached the area and I ran a hand across a bleacher, wiping away the condensation.

'Why are you still here?" Amy asked after a minute's silence. I couldn't seem to find the right words, so I settled with a half-truth.

"I want to check that you're still okay." I said honestly. Amy laughed coldly.

"Well, I'm feeling different temperatures now, so that's a good sign." Amy said half-sarcastically. Amy's expression turned serious and she sat on the bleachers.

"After I ... woke up, I researched the fire. I didn't take anything in before, so I thought I better find out what happened. Can you imagine my shock when I find out that the fire caused millions of dollars worth of damage, destroyed an mini ecosystem and that it was all portrayed as a freak accident in the news. The landlords of the house were distraught. They built the house themselves, poured time and resources into it. Jake, you have to own up." Amy said, each word growing sharper. Landlords? I hadn't known that whoever gave Rose the permission for the party to occur didn't own the house.

"It's too late now. What's the point? I'll just be in even more trouble." I said dismissively. I felt bad, but owning up would do nothing but worsen the situation, for all of us.

"The point is that you give the landlords clarity and that everyone knows what happened and why. Because can you tell me that Jake? Why Lukas and maybe Rose burnt down a house and a forest? Can you do that for me? Or will you just clam up and go back to doing Lukas and Rose's bidding." Amy said, her voice growing louder until she was practically shouting. I took a deep breath, bracing myself against the bleachers.

"No. I don't know myself. Whatever Lukas told me was a lie, obviously. But even what I know now, I don't feel inclined to tell you, given the fact you'd probably take it all to the police." I snapped. Amy shifted slightly and crossed her arms.

"You need to own up. For once in your life, do the right thing. Please." Amy begged, her voice desperate. I turned my head, looking at Amy. I was so, so tempted. It could be my fresh slate, my redemption. If I owned up maybe, maybe, everything would turn out okay. But...only a fool would think that. My reputation would be ruined, and with the evidence I provided, the police would find out the truth eventually. Prepsworth would be disgraced and all of our lives would be ruined.