Betrayed in Blood

Chapter Sixteen

"No, I just don't understand why he seemed so happy when I first told him then suddenly seemed upset. It was like he wanted to say yes, but he didn't. I have no idea why he changed his mind—if he did at all, that is."

Michelle's brows furrowed in deep thought. "Maybe there's someone else," she offered, "and he likes you back but doesn't want to break up with her."

Camilla blinked. It wasn't a terrible theory, but she couldn't see that. If he wasn't single, why was he so touchy with her. And he had seemed so committed to only being that way with her, so it didn't make sense. But she had no idea what else it could be.

"Maybe," Camilla said, "but I don't want our friendship to be over, and I'm worried this will ruin it."

She genuinely didn't want that, but it was only because she was afraid of gaining another enemy. Amy and all of her friends were against her, and Ava tried to attack her, so that was more than enough to encourage her to be friendly.

"Then tell him you want to still be friends," Michelle reasoned.

Camilla shook her head. "I don't know, maybe he won't want to be."

"Well, you have to try. And then later on he might realize that he wants to be with you."

Camilla forced a halfhearted smile and started changing. She couldn't stop wondering why he rejected her, though.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ava wandering into the room. She was late too. Well, not necessarily late but later than everyone else. She momentarily glared at Camilla before finding her senior friends and changing with them.

And then, a realization hit her.

Ava was the reason André hadn't said yes. She didn't kill him Friday night, but instead she threatened him to not get close with Camilla. Maybe Ava hadn't threatened him, but she definitely did something to make him change his mind. Or she could've even been in the hallway while she asked him out, watching and listening to them. That would certainly explain her late arrival. The only missing piece was what her motivation was, but Camilla hadn't the slightest clue what it could be.

During the entire practice, Camilla couldn't stop her racing mind. Surely Ava had already heard about the recent events involving Camilla, but what made her decide to take Amy's side? It was especially odd since most of her friends were cheerleaders who supported Camilla. Unless some of them were lying about being on her side, Ava would have no reason to be against Camilla.

She couldn't help but wonder if Ava was like her. Jealous easily, a perfectionist, always wanting to be at the top. Perhaps she moved, noticed how talented Camilla was, became envious, and decided to take her out. However, she didn't seem like that type of person.

She must have had some other motivation.

The practice ended, and Camilla had hardly spoken with anybody. Not even André, which was rare. They hadn't even looked at each other. She wanted to question him about Ava, but she couldn't do it directly. She'd have to ask why he rejected her, and at the same time she would propose that they stay friends. She agreed with Michelle: it was still possible for the two of them to be friends. Besides, she had Jared as a backup plan.

She'd almost forgotten to keep him hooked in case her plan with André didn't work out because she was so certain he'd say yes. She hadn't spoken to Jared since the previous week, so he was probably losing hope. She'd have to get back to him soon.

Camilla made a mental note of that and pushed it in the back of her mind as she got changed and prepared to leave. She would have time to talk to both André and Jared tomorrow because they had an away game against Belleville East High School.