Free Coldhearted (9781311888433) by Melanie Matthews

commit such a
felony.
    She also couldn’t turn away Russell, who
seemed genuinely concerned for her. She wanted to talk about what
she’d written, what it meant, and how to stop it. Maybe he’d keep
her secret. She knew that Diana and Madelyn would too, but she
wouldn’t dare show them her notebook. If Russell wanted to keep a
sizable distance that was fine but not Diana and Madelyn. She
couldn’t bear the stretch of miles it would inevitably produce from
their lost friendships. Mason could never know, either. His loss
would be the most damaging of all. She’d be heartbroken.
    Edie went back into Russell’s classroom,
still empty. She assumed this was his planning period. He looked up
from his desk and smiled. The look on his face implied he was glad
to see her again, so soon.
    “ Yes, Edie?”
    “ I want to talk but not now.
And not at school,” she added.
    She couldn’t take the risk that they wouldn’t
be overheard.
    Russell thought on Edie’s proposal, as he ran
his fingers through his hair. Finally, he said, “Well, all right.
I’d say ‘somewhere public,’ but that’d raise suspicions too. How
about at your house? With your uncle there, of course,” he
added.
    Edie grimaced. “Isn’t that worse than
somewhere public?”
    “ Well, I could say I was
having a meeting with your uncle to discuss your
studies.”
    Could say? This was a bad idea, yet...
    Resigned, she wrote down her address and cell
number on a slip of paper, and then handed it to him. “Tonight,
okay?”
    He pocketed the paper and smiled. “It’s a
date.” He immediately frowned and started waving his hands. “No,
no, that’s not what I meant. Sorry.” He stopped waving and put his
hands into his pockets. She could see one hand, caressing the slip
of paper that she’d just given him. “I’ll, uh, be there. Around
six?”
    Edie nodded, agreeing, and then left the
classroom.
    Oh, boy! What have I gotten myself into?
    Edie had a horrible feeling that she’d set in
motion a series of unfortunate events.
     
     
     

Chapter 8

     
    It was Edie’s last class of the day,
Spanish.
    She’d been expecting it to sail smoothly—as
her previous two classes, economics and American government, had
done—but her hopes were crushed when she spotted Rochelle and
Ravenna, gossiping in the back of the classroom. The only available
desk was right in front of them.
    Great.
    “ That seat’s taken,”
Rochelle snapped.
    “ Yeah, loser,” Ravenna
added.
    Edie ignored them and sat anyway, as she held
onto Mason’s scarf, seeking strength and courage. Yet she didn’t
feel any better. In fact, she felt cold and sick. A dark shadow
seemed to be looming over her, terrorizing her. She dared to look
up and realized it was only Rochelle. But she was scary too.
    She was eyeing Edie’s scarf through two
narrow slits. “Take it off,” she ordered.
    Edie got mad, possessive of Mason and
anything he would give her.
    “ No. It’s mine.”
    Ravenna joined in. “Rochelle said: Take. It.
Off!”
    By now, they were the main attraction. Every
student was staring at them, waiting to see who would throw the
first punch. Edie kept praying for the teacher to arrive, but she
was devastatingly late.
    Rochelle snapped her fingers at Ravenna,
never looking away from Edie. “I can fight my own battles,
Rave.”
    Ravenna fell back against her desk chair like
she’d been slapped.
    Edie’s neck suddenly jerked, and she realized
it was Rochelle, trying to pull Mason’s scarf off her. “Hey, stop
it!” Edie yelled, tugging the scarf back. “What’s your
malfunction?”
    Rochelle wouldn’t let go of the scarf. “I
told you Edwina if you’re going to play, you’d better be prepared
to get dirty.”
    A cold blast of fury seemed to erupt all
around Edie, and before she knew it, Mason’s scarf was gone from
her neck. Edie thought it’d been Rochelle, victorious, but she’d
never touched it. In fact, the scarf was moving on its own toward
Rochelle’s neck,