In Between the Lines

Chapter 3: The Assignment - and Other Matters

Alyssa and I knew better.

"So, who is this mystery man that was hitting on Lyra?" he said, scooting closer to Olivia as he took a plate full of chips and scarfed several of them down at once.

"No one," I said at the same time Alyssa said, "Dez Warren."

Reed set down the chips.

He bared his teeth, his lip curling back in disgust. When he looked at me, his expression served as a warning. "If I were you I'd stay far away from him, Lyra. I saw him after school today, and let's just say that what I saw wasn't pretty."

I sat up in my seat. From the corner of my eye, I could see Alyssa smirking at my reaction. So I held it in. At least—I tried to.

"What did you see?" I couldn't help myself. Alyssa's smirk panned out into a full grin.

Reed sighed, running a hand through his short, shaggy mess of dark brown hair. A few strands fell back across his eyes, but he ignored them. His leg bounced restlessly beneath the glass table. 

"You guys can't tell anyone. Not for Dez's sake, but for the other guy," he said, his mouth set in a grim line.

We nodded.

"You guys know Jeremy Niles? That weird nerd Olivia had a crush on last semester?" He looked over at her. "No offense, babe."

"I'm not your babe," Olivia sneered, then narrowed her eyes at all of us. "And what is it with you people and the no offenses today?"

Before Reed could ask what that meant, Alyssa waved it off. "Never mind that. Go on. Dez. Jeremy. What happened?"

"Well . . . " Reed started, again running a restless hand through his hair. "I was walking out of my meeting with Mr. Chapman, and that's when I saw Dez talking to Jeremy across the hall. He must've been too preoccupied to see me there. One minute they were just standing there talking, and the next, he slammed Jeremy against a locker and held him up by his collar—started shouting at him so much, Jeremy straight up pissed himself. I'm telling you guys, I thought Dez was going to go full on ape-shit on the poor guy, but when he saw the wet stain on Jeremy's pants, he laughed, called Jeremy a piece of shit, and walked off."

Alyssa's jaw dropped.

Olivia's head hung low.

And I . . .

I didn't know what to think.

Dez? That didn't sound like something he would do, at least, not from what I'd seen of him. He'd always seemed so . . . playful. Cocky and arrogant and a player, yes—but not some monster who tormented other kids.

"Jeremy? Are you sure?" I said, "That kid couldn't hurt a fly. What would Dez want with him?"

Reed shrugged. "There's only one Jeremy who wears the same graphic tees to school every day, isn't there? I'm sure it was him. I just don't know what Dez's problem was."

"Well, did you hear what he was shouting at Jeremy?" Alyssa said.

"Something about being a poor excuse for a human and being worthless or some other awful thing. I don't really know. I didn't even really get the chance to intervene." Reed turned to Olivia, guilt wearily riding his face. "Which I would have. You know that, right? It all just happened so quickly. One second Dez had him pushed against the locker and the next he was gone. I'm . . . I'm sorry I didn't get to stick up for Jeremy."

Olivia shrugged, looking down at her hands folded across the table. "I don't know why you're apologizing to me. Jeremy and I aren't friends. That's his business."

"Yeah, but I know how you feel about him and—"

"Felt." Olivia pushed her glasses up to the brim of her nose. "I don't feel anything for him now."

Reed smiled lazily as he leaned closer to Olivia. "Because you've finally fallen for me?"

Olivia scowled and scooted away from him, stopping only when she hit the wall of the booth. "Get away from me, you delusional ninny."

"Ninny?" Reed's eyebrows shot up at the same time everyone at the table broke into laughter.

"My god, as if you couldn't get any cuter, Liv," he said, and even Olivia couldn't help but giggle at that.

Our howls were interrupted only when the server brought out our enchiladas. Alyssa clapped excitedly, while Reed wasted no time digging into his plate. My stomach rolled as the warm, tangy scent of the sauce filled my nostrils—but before the food could reach my lips, I felt a sudden wave of nausea. What Dez had done to Jeremy . . .

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Reed growled, his fork clanging down to his plate. I looked up to find him glaring at someone behind me just as I heard the front doors of the restaurant swing open. "What the hell is he doing here?"