J
Chapter 9
After Leona dropped me off at home, I quickly hobbled inside and changed into the only spy gear I could fit over my cast: black sweatpants and a Wildcat’s T-shirt. On my dresser, I found a large pair of dark sunglasses and then—in a stroke of much needed good luck—the cherry lip gloss I’d been searching everywhere for. It still smelled fabulous.
I’d just gotten done (putting on clothes while wearing a cast was very time-consuming) when Izzie beeped in front of my house. She wanted to grab some Taco Bell before the stakeout, and I’d begrudgingly agreed. The smell of processed meat tended to cling to my hair, but I figured she could use the protein.
Grabbing my spy pack, I threw it on my shoulder and got on my crutches. Izzie smiled weakly in greeting when I got outside. Then I tossed my crutches in the backseat of her car and fell into the leather passenger seat. Ouch. My hip was still tender from the spill I’d taken during practice.
“You okay?” she asked. “We can reschedule—”
“No way. This is our first step back in the game. Keeping SOS alive will prove its necessity. Maybe in the end, people will even respect it.”
“That’s a nice thought,” she murmured, shifting into gear and backing out of the driveway. “It’d be good to start over.”
I turned to look at her as she stared out at the road. Leona and I had agreed before she dropped me off that we were going to have an intervention with Izzie soon, making her tell us exactly what was going on. But we knew it’d have to wait a few days. There was just too much going on to add another priority.
Whatever had happened, whatever Izzie had done, we’d support her. “Never leave a Smitten Kitten behind”—that was our motto.
After we’d gotten our tacos and scarfed them in the parking lot (I made her leave the windows down so the car wouldn’t reek), we headed toward Garrett’s house. He and Stacy were best friends and bandmates—part of a larger garage band. Actually, the group was called Garage Band. They played a lot of local parties, and they were pretty good. But now we suspected that there had been more than jamming going on behind those garage doors.
“Garrett and Stacy have been friends forever. Do you really think they’ve been cheating this whole time?” Izzie asked as she turned onto Evergreen Street. The plan was to park in the driveway of a home for sale just two houses away from Garrett’s place. Leona had texted me the address that she’d found in the local listings. Seemed it’d been vacant for months. Perfect.
“The signs are all there,” I said sadly. I grabbed my black spy pack from the floor and reached inside to get out the extra-zoom lens, snapping it onto the front of my camera. “I’ve seen them leaving campus together at lunch but assumed it was for practice. I mean, they’re always together. But maybe they were never practicing. Maybe they were hooking up. I don’t know, it would be pretty rotten if he were cheating with Stacy. Friendships are supposed to be a sacred bond.”
Despite the dismal subject, I smiled a little. Joel and I had started as friends, in fact, we still were. We definitely hadn’t been trying to date—we both had been in love with other people. But … I don’t know. He made me feel good. He teased me mercilessly, dragged me to carnivals, and made me eat day-old corn dogs. He was sweet peach tea.
It was completely different than what I’d had with Aiden. He and I were never friends. We just … were. From the start, we’d been inseparable, and we never questioned how or why. Maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.
Darkness seemed to creep over me, and I shook my head, trying to clear it. Aiden was out of my life. I mean, he didn’t even e-mail to see how I was doing!
“Sam had a lot of female friends,” Izzie said. I looked over to see her tightening her grip on the steering wheel, her knuckles going from soft pink to strained white.
“Hey,” I said hopefully. “Maybe this will be the one time it’s not true? Maybe Garrett is innocent.” Izzie glanced sideways at me, but neither of us believed that. We’d seen too much.
“It’s six forty-five,” Izzie said, pressing a button on her watch. “They usually have band practice in his garage at seven. Do you think he’s in there now with Stacy?”
“Wait.” I felt I was forgetting something. “What time is it again?”
“Six forty-five?”
Friday Night Lights! I’d forgotten about Joel! He was picking me up for dinner at six. Dang it! “Hold on a sec, Iz. I have to make a call.” I grabbed my phone out of my pack and dialed his number. My heart was racing, but it just rang. When his voice mail picked up, I almost couldn’t talk. But I knew I needed to.
“Um, hi. It’s me. I’m so sorry I missed our dinner tonight. Something came up with Izzie, and I lost track of time. I hope you didn’t wait too long. Can we reschedule?” I paused, not sure how to finish. It was an awkward moment of how to end the call to your almost boyfriend’s voice mail. “I’m really sorry. Okay, bye.” Well, that should work. I hung up and then turned to Izzie, biting on my lip. “Do you think he hates me now?”
“No,” she smiled. “I think he’s in love with you.”
Her comment made me freeze. Love. Love! I couldn’t hear that word being tossed around so casually. It stung my face like a bee, making me swell. Making me ache.
Refocus, Tessa. “Pass me the video camera,” I asked, quietly. “I’m going in for a closer look.”
“Really? But your crutches.”
“Please, Izzie.” I couldn’t even meet her eyes. Just thinking about what love meant and how I’d had it once … it was all too much to take. I was on a mission and, dagnabbit, I was going to catch this cheater.
Izzie took out the video camera and then slipped on her black stocking cap. “The boys aren’t in the locker room, so I’ll be able to help you and check your feed.” She took out the portable TV, setting it on the dash. “Be careful, Tess.”
I nodded, nervousness seeping in. Would I be able to spy with a broken ankle? I stopped myself. I was a natural-born spy. Nothing was impossible when it came to covert activity.
With a self-assured smile, I got out of the car and pulled the crutches from the floor of the backseat. I balanced on them and then hooked my hand through the loop of the video camera, turning it on and testing it.
“Got it,” Izzie said from inside the car. I put my long-range camera inside my bag in case the job needed more equipment.