“I hurt that woman!” he yells. “I hurt that woman because I was jealous.” Blake points in our direction. “Then I tried to kill her and her best friend. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything bad I’ve ever done to anyone. I hope they’ll forgive me!”
Still standing with the rest of the spectators, River leans forward and looks at me with wide eyes. “What’s going on?”
I shrug. “I don’t kn—”
Blake’s knees buckle, and he flops on his back on the field, out cold.
The ref and coach, who were already walking toward Blake, get to him first. A few players run over to check Blake out. Suddenly, the medic is called, and the crowd goes crazy with gasps and worries.
Me? I can’t stop seeing last night replay in my mind. Blake hurting River. Blake grabbing her breast. Blake planning to end her life.
White-hot rage dots my vision. I stand, my fists turning to solid bricks meant for crushing skulls.
“Huff, what’s wrong?” asks Keni. She seems genuinely concerned. Strange.
I turn my head, and she’s looking up at me, her green eyes filled with an odd sort of wonder or levity.
“I’m fine.” But I’m far from fine. Something inside me is coming unhinged.
Before I speak another word, I’m down on the field next to Blake. There’s a circle of people around him, and one is giving CPR.
His eyes flutter open, and he groans in agony.
Die, you sonofabitch. Die. His eyes meet mine, and this time, I mouth the word. Die.
He does.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I killed Blake. I killed him right in front of thousands of people, and no one suspects a thing.
What worries me most is that I don’t feel remorse. The guy tried to kill River. He tried to kill me. And for what? Because he didn’t want to face the consequences of assaulting her? His precious football career was worth more to him than our lives. It’s hard to feel bad over a psycho like that, especially when you think about what it would have done to our families.
And, just great, now I have to worry about the other thoughts running through my head. Like hunting down Manda. Who’s to say that this hasn’t happened to me for a reason? Because the truth is, the only other thing I’ve wished for more than this transformation is justice for Joy. Now it feels like everything is being handed to me on a silver platter.
“Hey,” says River, running up behind me while I exit the stadium, where people are crying or are heartlessly taking pictures.
“Hey,” I reply without slowing my brisk pace.
“Huff, why did you go down on the field?”
I remain silent, marching in the direction of my dorm.
“Huff, answer me.” She grabs my arm to stop me.
I turn and look down at her sweet oval face. “I think you’d better stay away from me, Riv.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s not safe.” I’m being sincere. What if I got angry at her and inadvertently made her head explode?
“Huff, come on. You could never hurt me.”
“You don’t know that, River.”
“Of course I do.”
“I just killed Blake by wishing it,” I whisper.
“What? I think you’re losing it, Huff. That guy takes massive roids. I told him he needed to stop before his heart imploded, and he didn’t listen.”
“Then what about the confession he made right before he dropped dead?”
“Who knows? He was probably on something, and the guilt was too much. Guys like him act tough, but they’re not. They have deep-seated—”
“Not interested in your pseudo-psych right now, Riv.”
Her brown eyes narrow into angry little slits. “Don’t be rude.”
“All right, then I’ll be honest: I don’t want you hanging around me anymore.”
“Huff!”
“I mean it.” I try to think of something that will piss her off. I have to get her to stay away. “Every time I’m around you, bad shit happens. I never should have come here. I never should’ve stayed friends with you after Joy died. We all know you could’ve helped her if you’d just run to the field and told the principal. But no, you wasted your time coming to find me while Joy was getting the shit kicked out of her face.”
River’s jaw drops, her lower lip quivering. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“Why? It’s the truth. And you know it is because you’ve thought it a million times. Isn’t that really why you moved away? The guilt. You couldn’t stand seeing my face, knowing what you did.”
“That’s bullshit! We moved because my parents were afraid for my life. That town is fucked in the head.”
I nod slowly. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, why don’t you use some of those psych lessons on yourself and leave me the fuck alone.”
The hurt wells in her teary eyes, but then her lips pucker into a little circle.
Damn it. I should’ve known she’d see through me. She’s known me forever.