Page 89 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
Her laugh is close to my ear when she says, “You have grass in your hair.” I frown when I feel her fingers dragging through it but am too tired to say anything.
She keeps talking, and I vaguely note I should be paying better attention, but I can’t quite hold on to what she’s saying as sleep pulls me under again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURCLARANOW
WHEN I ASKED REIDto get under Josh’s skin, I didn’t think he’d try to fight him. It seems like he’s begging for a reason to hit something. Someone. It’s not like him.
But at least it worked.
Josh and I get settled in a well-lit area by the stage. Every interview requires a slightly different approach. I know Josh well enough to know that subtlety won’t work with him. It’s best to go full throttle and launch in before he can change his mind.
After I have him introduce himself and his Legacy position, I say, “Why don’t we start at the beginning. Can you describe the video that was played during the assembly last year?”
“Really? I doubt my dad wants that in the banquet hype video.”
My nostrils flare, but I have to stay calm. I don’t want Josh alerting Principal West that I’m not making the type of video he expects. “I already have enough footage for that. This is for my own doc projectwhile everyone is home. Are you okay with that? I figured since you havenothing to hide…”I trail off.
Josh crosses his arms and sighs. “Okay, fine.”
“The video,” I prompt.
“Right. Um, it was a recording of you and me in a, uh, compromising position.”
In an effort to blaze past the awkward moment, I don’t break eye contact or momentum when I fire the next question. “Did you take the recording?”
“Like I told everyone last year,no.”
“Do you know who did?”
“Nope.”
I bristle at his attitude but keep going. “What happened after?”
“Amaya dumped my ass, and you got disqualified from the program for using me.”
My mouth drops open. “Usingyou? Really?”
His gaze hardens on mine behind the camera. “You’d literally never paid attention to me before that night and hated me after.”
I’m stunned for a moment. Is that what he really thinks? It doesn’t seem like an act, so I ask, “Is that what you told your dad?”
“More or less.”
How much of that impacted Principal West’s opinion of me? The selection committee? Obviously, the rumors held enough weight to get me disqualified. I’ve long suspected that Josh was the source of them to make himself look good. Especially since he’s always trying to get his Dad’s attention.
But I can’t get worked up and scare him off right now. I decide to change course and grab on to the part about Amaya.
“That must’ve been hard when you and Amaya broke up. I knowyou were together a long time,” I say, reaching for sympathy even as I’m seething inside.
He frowns. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Legacies are interesting. Legacy Lore seems to think so,” I say. “You two were like a power couple.”
I feel gross buttering him up like this, but I can tell it’s working when he straightens his shoulders, the corner of his mouth hiking up. “True.”
“Have you noticed the post about Amaya isn’t that threatening, though? Not compared to yours. I mean, cheating is a pretty serious accusation.”
His face doesn’t move. Like he’s purposely controlling his reaction. “It is.”
