The Cell Phone Swap

Chapter 26 iFinally Get Answers

"Do I even want to know how you know this person?"

"It's best if you're left in the dark."

Wisely, Keeley let it go. She picked up her sandwich but found she still couldn't eat. Restless, she packed it up and said, "I'm going to my locker. Want to come?"

Nicky agreed and they gathered their things and walked across the quad. A voice yelled out her name and she looked over to see Zach waving her over.

"Aren't you going?"

Keeley shook her head and kept on walking. If his glare was any indication of what was to come then she planned on avoiding him at all costs. Her day was already a black cloud. She didn't need thunder and lightening as well.

As they approached Keeley's locker a tall, hooded figure stood in their way. The boy—she assumed it was a boy because of the broad shoulders and large feet—pulled back the black hood and scowled.

Shocked, she whispered, "Talon?"

"My God," Nicky grumbled in an exasperated tone, "the boy turns up everywhere. First, The Factory and now school. Can't he just stay away instead of haunting me like the Ghost of Christmas Present?"

"Wouldn't that be the Ghost of Crosswell Present?" she asked. "And I think he's haunting me, not you."

"Semantics."

It wasn't, but Keeley let it pass. She hurried over to him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, pushing him into a corner. She looked around wildly, making sure no Edgewood students were around.

The lines around his mouth deepened. "The better question is why the hell didn't you answer my texts?"

"What texts?"

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past fifteen minutes, Keeley."

A glimmer of hope shown through. "You were trying to get a hold of me?"

Talon shrugged off her hand. "I thought you would at least have the decency to answer after dumping me like a sack of hot potatoes."

"Dump you? I—"

"Save it," he snapped. "I should have known better. You're a Brewer after all."

The warm, affectionate feeling she experienced was instantly doused. In its place stood a flicker of annoyance that started to grow and grow. "What does my being a Brewer have anything to do with this?"

"You're obviously trying to throw me off my game. Tell me," he threw out a hand, "was that the plan all along? Swap phones and make me fall for you? Then dump me before the football game?"

Infuriated, Keeley let out a strangled huff. How dare he question her! She'd never—not once—given him a reason to doubt her intentions. If anything, she should be the one asking that. She opened her mouth to refute the claim, but Talon powered on.

"Well let me tell you something, sweetheart," he sneered, his tone dripping with condescension. "I refuse to be duped again. Once was enough."

The patronizing nickname fueled her anger. She moved, intent on speaking her mind, but once again she was thwarted, this time by Nicky.

"Once was enough?" Nicky asked, pushing her way between them.

Talon's lip curled into a snarl. "You again."

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual, peanut bigot." Nicky propped her hands on her hips. "Now, what is this about being duped again? Does it have anything to do with Claire?"