(8) You're a Dick

Gooooooodnighhhtttt from me. It's late here and idk when I'll post this so I bid you ado 👋 enjoy this chapter!!

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Purely for purposes of the undergoing investigation, Theo and Makennah trades phone numbers. A little piece of Makennah thought that this was probably inevitable considering he already managed to find her Snapchat. Not that she ever uncovered that mystery. She still didn't know how that happened. Nevertheless, nothing had come of it. Not a single Snapchat.

However, Theo texted Makennah right after both of them had practice. He went to football practice and she went to soccer practice. She told Carolynn that she would try it just this once.

The girls were nice enough but kept their distance. For most of the practice, the coach instructed them to run through drills that didn't require a partner - thank God.

It felt better than she could have imagined to get out on that field and dribble a ball around. She had no clue what to expect from the team or the coaches, but Makennah recognized raw talent in many of the players and appreciative, respectful relationships with the coaches.

T- im coming over after practice with Matt

M- are you going to tell him

T- we're going to tell him together

M- that's not a good idea. He doesn't even know me. Or trust me.

T- I trust you and I believed you when you told me. We have to do this together

M- please don't make me do this. You're his best friend. I'm nothing

T- it will be better if we both tell him. Two is better than one.

M- I don't want to be in the middle of a fight if he doesn't believe us

T- Matt won't be mad at you. I promise. He'll get mad at me

Two seconds later, another text came through.

T- IF he even gets mad. Matt is easy going. He doesn't normally get mad about anything

M- I don't like this plan

T- suck it up. Matt deserves to know

That was one thing Makennah knew was true. Matt deserves to know. Makennah could never live with herself if she didn't tell Matt or if Theo didn't tell him either. Makennah had been cheated on before and no one told her even though everyone knew. She grew past the relationship and let the hurt fade, but she couldn't get past the fact that all of her friends virtually lied to her for months.

Makennah arrived home before Matt and Theo who drove together so she showered and prepared herself for the serious conversation they were about to undertake. They needed a better game plan than winging it, but she knew this was as good as it was gonna get.

Fifteen agonizing minutes later, Makennah waited in the basement for Theo and Matt. Theo texted her again and told her to find a quiet place and this was the best she could do.

Matt and Theo tromped down the stairs, joking without a care in the world.

"Oh, hey Mack. What's up? How was your first practice?" Matt asked. Waltzing over, he slammed down on the couch and sighed heavily like he had no energy left in a single cell in his body.

"It was good. I like the team atmosphere."

"How did they treat you?" Matt asked inquisitively, genuinely curious about her experience.

Theo slowly lowered himself down into the couch on the other side of Makennah.

Makennah's hands started to shake so she crossed her arms over her chest. She really didn't want to do this. "They were nice. They know that I haven't committed to the team but that the coach wants me. So they kinda kept their distance."

Matt nodded.

Before Matt could say anything else, Theo scooted to the edge of his seat and clasped his hands together. "Kennah has something to tell you."

"What is it?" Matt inquired, looking confused and left out.

Makennah's mouth almost fell open. How dare he!! "You're a dick," she seethed between her teeth under her breath. Theo totally just threw her under the bus!

Theo burst out laughing. "Well don't you?"

Matt smiled a little, his confusion morphing into curiosity because of his friend's lightheartedness. Well now Makennah was about to crush him.

"Tell me. Come on!" Matt said impatiently.

"Well..." she started. "Theo actually is just too afraid to tell you."

"Cassandra is cheating on you," Theo blurted out.

Internally, Makennah smacked her forehead. What tact he has. How graceful.

"What?" Matt screeched.

"That could have been handled better," Makennah whispered to Theo. She would ream him about it later.

Matt stood to his feet. "Someone start talking."

Makennah couldn't handle looking up at him so she stood up too. Theo followed her lead. "Makennah saw it. She can tell you."

The rage in Matt's eyes that blazed towards her caused Makennah to shrink into the shell of herself. Her shoulders collapsed in and she held herself, willing herself not to fall apart. She looked down and avoided eye contact, hoping that his anger would fade if she just made herself smaller.

"Tell me, Mack. Please."

She swallowed and decided it was now or never. "It was my free period after lunch, so I was going to try to find the soccer coach to talk to him since I've never met him. I was heading towards their offices and heard something in the theatre. So I checked inside and I saw Cassandra making out with someone."

"Keep going," Theo said lowly close behind her, physically offering moral support by just being there on her side.

"At first I didn't know that it was her because her back was to me. But then they turned and it was definitely her. It wasn't a student with her though. I think it was a teacher or something."

The stillness that Matt exhibited caused Makennah to shake even more. Glancing up at him, she saw that his face was stone cold and distant. She was so angry at Cassandra for putting Makennah in this position. Plus she knew - she knew - that Matt didn't deserve this kind of treatment from her.

"How did you even know it was her? You've never met." Matt finally spoke.

"She came up to me after first period and introduced herself to me. We talked for a little bit."

"I know it was her," Theo jumped in, keeping his voice low and calm. "I bumped into Makennah after she saw it happen. She told me, and then ten seconds later, Cassandra walked out of the theatre right past us."

A menacing dark look crossed Matt's face. Makennah took a step back and bumped into Theo. Theo didn't move though. For a split second, his fingers touched her spine, a gentle promise that he wouldn't leave her alone with this.

"And you think it was a teacher? Was he old?" Matt inquired

Makennah shook her head. "Not really old. Maybe in his twenties. I think he was a teacher because he was dressed in nice professional clothes, like a tie and stuff."

"Do you know who it was?"

"No, I don't really know anyone." She wished she did though. She so wished she did.

"But you didn't see her making out, right, Theo?"

Makennah sensed that this conversation was about to head downhill very quickly. She understood that Matt wanted to get all of the facts. However, there was an edge of disbelief in his voice.

"No, I saw her right after," Theo explained.

"But you didn't actually see it." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Matt..." Makennah started, but Matt cut her off.

"No. You don't have any proof other than what you think you saw. You don't even really know Cassandra. You probably wouldn't be able to spot her from a distance. You've seen her once. And you, Theo, didn't even see it happen."

"Matt, come on," Theo said.

"No!" He yelled. "Cassandra would never cheat on me. Especially not with a freaking teacher. I don't even know any young male teachers. There's no way it was who you thought it was, Makennah."

When Matt dropped her nickname and used her full name, Makennah permanently shut her mouth and decided she was done getting involved in this game.

"Matt, she's not lying. Why would she lie?" Theo asked, throwing his hands up.

"I don't know. We don't even know her." The hostility in Matt's voice towards Makennah cause a cold ball of dread and fear to curl up on the inside of Makennah's stomach. If Matt hated her and told his parents....

"Stop it. Don't be a dick. Makennah wouldn't lie. I saw her walk out of the theatre, Matt."

"Get out of my house!" Matt screamed.

Makennah covered away and turned her head towards Theo, hoping he would do something. She felt cold all over and the hairs on her arms stood up on end.

"Matt, stop it." Theo kept his voice even keeled so that the argument wouldn't escalate.

"You're lying!" And with that, Matt ran up the stairs and disappeared.

Theo sighed and shoved his hands through his hair. "It's okay, Kennah. We can convince him."

"No. It's his own relationship. It's not our business."

Theo stood in front of her and held her by the shoulders. "He's my best friend. I'm not gonna let Cassandra do this to him. We can convince him."

The sincerity and concern in his tone made Makennah lift his head. "He can't hate me. He doesn't know me. What he said is true."

"Matt doesn't hate you. He doesn't hate anyone."

"But he thinks I'm lying."

"No he doesn't. He's telling himself that because he doesn't want this to be true." Theo held her eye contact for a long moment before he dropped his hands away from her shoulders. Her skin turned cold instantly. "Matt tried for over a year to get Cassandra to go out with him. He was basically in love with her for forever. She was cheated on before and so was he. She told him over and over that she would never cheat on him. So now that it's possibly happening, Matt can't believe it."

Makennah wanted to vent to him about how she had to be careful in these situations. She was the only one that had everything to lose not just a friendship. This was the home where she lived now, and unfortunately Matt was on the other side with his family who held all of the power to get rid of Makennah if they didn't like her. Or if she pissed them off. This scenario had so much more to do with protecting herself than it did with helping Matt find out the truth about Cassandra.

Theo wouldn't understand. No one ever understood. They always called her crazy. Then the next thing she knew, she was kicked out or sent back home to live with her mom.

"We can catch her again. You can catch her. You're a little chameleon. No one really knows you yet. You can sneak around and catch her in the act. Please, help me get evidence, Kennah."

Makennah sighed. "This is a very bad idea."

Theo ignored that. "We can do this together."

"You're not listening to me," She harrumphed and placed her hands on her hips.

"If she's consistently seeing this guy, it will be easy. A piece of cake," he kept going.

"You're not going to convince me." All of her worries faded away when she finally took her stance. She wasn't about to budge.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow! We'll make a game plan. I'll text you!"

"Theo!"

Ignoring her objections, Theo hopped up the stairs two at a time. Makennah stood silently in the same spot until she heard the front door open and close, knowing Theo had just left.

She threw her head back and groaned at the sky. Boys were so annoying.

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Also sorry for any misspellings of mistakes. Sometimes I forget to proofread!

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W. Carolina