One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans

Author:Justine Pucella Winans [Winans, Justine Pucella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult
ISBN: 9780063324480
Amazon: 0063324482
Goodreads: 198530941
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2024-06-03T22:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

All’s Fair in Love and Murder

From his social media, Ethan doesn’t have a clear alibi on the day of Mr. Ford’s murder, so he remains the top suspect. Cedar has a friend from the gaming club she’s in who is also a member of the student council and confirmed that they don’t have any after-school obligations on Friday.

We give Mari and Sean an update and agree to look into Ethan more tomorrow after school, but after getting nowhere messaging some of Big Willy’s clients, we decide to take a break for the day.

Cedar stays for dinner and even decides to hang out a while after. I promised Mom to train with them, so while they pull out our cheap puzzle-piece mats since I missed class today, Cedar hangs out with Luca. I thought they’d go into his room so I could avoid the embarrassment of a girl watching my mom kick my ass, but no. They thought it would be fun to hang out in the living room, cozy on the couch with the TV turned on, but with my struggles in full view.

Mom isn’t going easy on me in the slightest today. I don’t know if they think it’s funny to embarrass me in front of Cedar, but it’s not like I have a competition coming up or anything.

“Are you sure you can’t stay here tonight?” Luca asks Cedar on the couch. “I mean, seriously. I’ll sleep on the couch if you need me to, but my bed is big enough to share.”

Cedar eyes her phone before looking back at him. “My dad won’t be okay with it.”

“I can kick your dad’s ass,” Mom suggests to Cedar as she easily gets me in side control. “What’s the point of all this training if not beating up homophobic men?”

Luca nods. “And you’re almost eighteen. Would they even really care?”

“I’m not eighteen yet, and yeah, probably, for appearances or whatever.”

I can’t add my opinion because Mom’s crossface is killer. Their shoulder digs into my cheek, pressing my face against the mat and making it a hell of a lot harder to even attempt to hip escape. I struggle to get back my frames, playing a little dirty as I dig my knuckles into their neck to make them create enough space that I can work to recover my guard.

Mom’s no stranger to being uncomfortable or in pain, so they’re hardly out of breath. “Still, sweetie. Whenever you need to be here, don’t even ask.” They look up at Cedar and smile. “My offer’s not off the table.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see you beat up my dad,” Cedar says. “It would almost be as good as Gigi choking out Matt Russell.”

It really was an iconic event, and despite myself, I smile at Cedar for acknowledging it. Her lips curl in response, eyes meeting mine. It’s almost weirdly a moment, but in those few seconds I let my guard down, figuratively and literally, Mom easily passes and slides into mount. I’m back to defending against an arm bar or whatever else she’ll smoothly go for.

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