Mason was watching her too. Something wasn’t right. Then understanding dawned. Logan did this. My mouth fell open, and I uttered, “Oh my god,” before I realized I had spoken out loud. Miranda swung her gaze to me.

He had. I saw it there. He covered for us.

“We have to go.” I grabbed Mason’s hand and started to pull him out the door.

“Wait. What?” I could hear Adam behind us. “Sam!”

“Gotta go. Thanks for making me choose,” I threw back over my shoulder. “I hope to never talk to you again.”

I heard Emily laughing again.

As we brushed past Becky, she said, “Sam?” She reached out, but I hit it down. I hissed at her, “You can believe Adam, with whatever he said to you, but that’s your decision.”

Blood drained from her face. “What are you talking about?”

“You know.”

She jerked a step. I saw the guilt on her face.

“No matter what he says, it’s your decision if we’re friends. Don’t let him get in your head. I’m a good friend. Be one back.”

“Sam.” Mason touched the back of my arm. “Let’s go.”

She swallowed, moving back another step as Mason spoke. Then she said, “I’m sorry.”

I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but I sighed. Whatever happened in the future, I was sorry too. I nodded. “See you, Becky.”

She nodded. “Okay. Bye.”

As we left, I glanced over my shoulder. She was still watching us. She hadn’t moved from her spot and then Adam was next to her. He touched her arm and she turned towards him. I had no idea what was going on, what he had said to her, but it was her decision. I made mine. I was officially out. Becky had stood with me before. I’d have to wait and see if she would do it again.

When we got into the car, Mason started it up but he didn’t reverse. He let it sit there, and he looked at me. We were thinking the same thing.

Logan knew.

Mason said, “He did something to her.”

I nodded. It was the only thing that made sense. “But what?”

“She told him what we did, and he still covered for us.”

“That means something, doesn’t it?”

Mason sighed, putting the car in reverse now. “I have no idea what it means.”

He took us home and when we got there, there was still no sign of Logan. A girl was next to Nate on the couch with a blanket over both of them. A movie was on the television screen. Both looked up when we went down the stairs. “Any word?”

Nate shook his head. “Nothing.” There wasn’t any more traces of the easygoing attitude he had before. He had the same concern in his eyes now. It was bad. It was really bad.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

I canceled my birthday dinner. There was still no word from Logan, and I couldn’t handle our parents without him. Mason was quiet. He’d been quiet since Peter’s party. Things at school were calm. I had been nervous about what I was walking into, but there had been no isolation or humiliation. Whatever Logan had done, it kept Miranda off my back. The entire Elite stayed away. When they passed me in the hallway, Emily nodded at me. The next day was a wave, and then she began smiling at me. By the end of the next week, she started spending time at my locker. Once people saw that she was still friends with me and there was no backlash from the Elite, other people began warming up to me again. Well, others except for Becky. Adam followed through with his threat. Whatever he said to Becky worked. She was a permanent fixture to his hip. Mason told me that she broke up with Rex. He heard the rumor from his school. When I asked about Logan, Mason grew quiet. He stopped talking after that.

I sighed.

This was a normal reaction from him now.

After Monday, Mason found out that Logan was staying at Fischer’s house. He hung out with the group so it appeared to others that there was no problem between them, but that was appearances. Mason said that the guys knew there was friction. No one knew what it was about. Logan hadn’t told anyone and we both knew Mason hadn’t either. Nate left the following weekend. He said he decided to go back home. When I mentioned to Mason that it felt like his best friend was leaving him, Mason shot that down. Nate needed to handle his own issues. He was running away and after seeing how Logan’s absence was hurting us, he explained that Nate realized that wasn’t the right course of action.

I still felt Nate should’ve stayed. Mason needed his friend more than anything.

I was at home when Mason drove Nate to the airport. Analise and James had gone to the city for the weekend so when I heard the door shut, I assumed it was Mason. “I’m downstairs.”

I heard him coming down the stairs, and I hit the silence button the remote. “Hey. I was just watching a movie…” I turned around and my voice faded.

It was Logan.

“Logan.” I couldn’t believe it was him. There were bags under his eyes. He looked like he had lost weight and his shoulders were tense. He shoved a hand into his pocket and looked away.

“Hey,” he said. “Mason’s not here?”

“No.” I grew quiet. I’d never seen this side of Logan. I’d seen him angry, cocky, amused, and charming but never this. He was defeated. I had no idea what to say now so I blurted out, “I’m sorry.”

His head lifted. His eyes pinned me down and he frowned. “Sorry? For what?”

“I knew.”