You're Next by Kylie Schachte

Author:Kylie Schachte [SCHACHTE, KYLIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2020-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

I need air. I find the drinking fountain in the hallway and cup some of the lukewarm water in my palm. Splash it on my cheeks and neck. Wet tendrils of hair cling to my skin.

I’m shaking so hard I feel almost weak with it. Hard to say who I’m angrier at, Valentine or myself.

So stupid. I let myself think maybe I could have him on my side. I knew it was a bad idea, knew I shouldn’t trust him.

I lean my head back against the wall and try to catch my breath. I text Cass and tell her that I’ll meet her in class.

Voices down the hall. Voices I recognize.

“That speech was terrible.”

“Enough. I don’t need it from you on top of everything else on my plate.”

I hug the wall and peer around the corner. My heart thumps double time: Elle Dorsey and her father are arguing in the hallway, just feet away.

Elle’s hands are clenched in fists. “Could you be any more transparent? Everyone knows you’re only here to boost your polling numbers with soccer moms. You couldn’t care less about Ava McQueen.”

It’s almost exactly what I was thinking during the memorial. Elle wasn’t all that broken up about Ava’s death the last few times I spoke to her. Why is she suddenly acting so upset on Ava’s behalf?

Congressman Dorsey scrolls through his phone. “I may not have known the poor girl well, but it’s my responsibility to be a leader during times of hardship.”

Elle and I both roll our eyes at the same time.

“Yeah, your concern is super believable,” she says.

He switches subjects as though he didn’t hear her. “Listen, I spoke with a friend of mine at the Whitley Gazette. They want you to write an op-ed about crime and Ava’s death. Get a student’s perspective.”

“Absolutely not.”

Dorsey pockets his phone and turns sharp eyes on his daughter. “Elle, don’t test me. You’ll do this because it’s advantageous to me. When I look good, the whole family succeeds.”

His tone is cold and flat, with just the edge of a threat underneath. So this is the real Dorsey, the one I suspected was hidden under the veneer of homespun, blue-collar charm.

Elle scoffs, “Funny how you don’t care about the whole family succeeding until we’re politically useful to you.”

“That’s enough, young lady.”

She crosses her arms. “I barely knew Ava. I’m not going to take advantage of her death like that.”

I can’t get over how weird it is to see Elle acting like a decent human being. Sure, she gave me some information the other day, but she also said some truly horrible things about Ava. Was she just pretending not to give a shit about her death before?

“Yes, Ava’s death was a tragedy.” Dorsey’s bored, dismissive tone is so at odds with his fervor in front of the crowd. “But it’s also an opportunity. One that I’m not going to let you pass up.” He smiles. It’s the same smile I’ve seen him give at political rallies. Inhuman.

Hatred burns bright in me.

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