Betrayed in Blood

Chapter Twelve

"She's back?" Camilla asked with surprise laced in her voice.

"Yup," Michelle replied, arms folded over her chest while leaning against the wall of lockers. Savanna Jeans and Kendall Parish, standing beside Michelle, nodded in confirmation, briefly interrupting their conversation before resuming.

"How do you know?"

"Meagan said that Christina told her," Kendall piped in, "and since Christina knows just about everything, I'll take her word for it. Plus, she's friends with some of Amy's friends in band, so she's definitely heard about it."

Camilla stifled a groan and, instead, released a heavy sigh. "Anyone know where Christina could be?"

When her close friends all shrugged or shook their heads, she clenched her jaw and dismissed herself, treading down the hallway. Although Meagan heard a lot of rumors and often looked into them thoroughly before believing them, Camilla couldn't bring herself to completely trust her, despite her defending Camilla's side.

But Camilla needed to hear it for herself. No, she needed to see it for herself.

As she rounded the corner, the momentum from her brisk pace led her nearly colliding with a tall and broad figure. Upon halting, she recognized him immediately as Shane Howard, one of her many popular friends and a star player on the football team.

He seemed shocked by Camilla's entrance, but grinned and greeted, "Hey, Camilla! Seems like you're in a hurry."

She shot him a halfhearted smile in reply but noticed the two other people with him: Meagan and Jared. She passed Shane without a vocal response and approached Meagan with determination.

"What exactly did you hear from Christina?" Camilla interrogated, her voice coming out more demanding than even she anticipated.

Regardless, Meagan shook her head calmly, as if she expected the demands, and answered, "She said that Amy's back. Surely Michelle told you already."

"She did, but are you sure that's what Christina saw?"

"Yes, Camilla," Jared assured her, stepping between them and placing a hand on her shoulder blade, "and she's not the only one who's seen them; Melissa has too."

Camilla gazed up at Jared, and he returned hers with an intent expression. He tenderly guided her father down the hallway, away from Meagan and Shane, and she followed him aimlessly.

"I know this is hard for you," he stated after a long pause, "but we're working on defending you. We just don't really know how to go about it yet."

Camilla shook her head, insisting, "It's fine, I don't want to rely on you guys. I mean, I guess I need people to defend me because Amy's getting lots of people to back her up, but I'd just feel bad asking that much of you guys."

"We're your friends, Camilla. We want people to realize that your innocent, and we're going to do as much as we can to help you."

"Well, do you know if Amy's trying to convince people to believe her 'experience?'" she inquired, using quotations with her fingers.

"No idea, but we'll make it work."

Camilla shook her head but didn't say another word. In response, Jared snaked his warm hand around her hair and rested it on her shoulder, dragging her into his embrace as he had on Friday, as they had done on numerous occasions before their break-up. She stiffened reflexively but forced herself to relax as to reassure him that she was fine. She found it more difficult to act than normal, which threw her off because she had so much experience with it.

When Jared released Camilla, a hint of panic shot through her, wanting him to hold her for longer, to be her loyal support system. But she pulled back, keeping her head down as her mind raced. Simultaneously, Meagan, with a smug expression, and Shane, looking oddly dazed, returned to the pair.