Chapter 75: Sadie: The Same Legs

SADIE

Monday took longer to get here than I wanted, but looking around our meeting room at everyone gathered for an emergency meeting, I’d say the wait was worth it.

No one is missing. Well, except the person I called this meeting for. Usually, someone has a class or an excuse that keeps them from attending on such short notice, but whatever they read into my tone in the group chat seems to have cleared everyone’s schedule.

The room is buzzing with whispers, giving my phone some competition for the first time since strangers started finding my Instagram. A couple of my teammates have already asked me about it, and they seem to be on my side. At least, I’d like to think they are. Sophie has made it a little difficult to feel sure about anyone.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Nia asks again.

My nod doesn’t seem to reassure her any more than my earlier answers did. She was worried about what else Dixie might pull after the game, and I suppose being proved right hasn’t helped.

"I’ve been leaving comments so people know what actually happened," she continues. "Everyone in the club is doing it. We’re not letting her tell the whole internet whatever she wants about you."

Hearing how determined she is makes me feel bad for questioning everyone’s loyalty. Sophie lied to me, but Nia has been looking out for me since that night.

"Thank you. Really. It means a lot that you’re all sticking up for me, but you don’t have to spend your time arguing with them. Give it a week or two, and most of them will have forgotten."

"I don’t know, Sadie." Her voice drops. "I heard some were trying to find your address. What if they start following you?"

"They’ll have a hard time getting past Trey to find me at home. And anywhere else, I promise I can handle myself."

She still looks worried. Clearly, mentioning Trey isn’t enough to settle this, so I tell her about the walk here.

"Some of them passed me on my way over. A few eye rolls, a little muttering, but nobody actually did anything."

"Okay." She lets out a breath. "That makes me feel a little better."

If only it did the same for me. Waiting for people to get tired of talking about me is a sad excuse for a solution, but what else is there to do when they’ve already picked a side?

Nia and others could spend all day explaining what happened, and some of them would still believe whatever they wanted.

Quiz Bowl is something I can actually do something about. These are the people I’m supposed to feel safe with, and they deserve to know how one of their own helped make everything worse. That’s why we’re here.

"Prez, no offense, but I’ve got an art exhibition in an hour." Caleb’s voice carries across the room. "You said this was important, but it’s been ten minutes and you haven’t said anything."

Fair point, even if the timing makes me want to scream. Everyone came here because I said it was urgent, and now they’re sitting around waiting. But I’m so annoyed that talking about Sophie before she gets here might leave me in tiny, furious pieces before she has a chance to explain herself.

"Can we just wait—"

The door opens before I can finish, and I turn just as Sophie steps into the doorway.

We lock eyes, and whatever I was about to say disappears as I take in what she’s done to herself.

Bandages wind up her hand, her wrist, one leg — the same leg that carried her out of her dorm without any trouble on Saturday.

She looks like the lead in an Egyptian mummy play, and she’s had an entire weekend to rehearse the role.

"Oh my gosh, Sophie." Nia turns toward her. "You’re hurt so badly."

"What happened? Shit."

"Sorry for keeping everyone waiting." Her voice comes out tiny, like she’s trying to pull pity from the bottom of everyone’s heart.

Too bad for her. This heart is locked and loaded, ready to blow her cover.

Another step brings her farther into the room, and I can feel my expression giving me away. She’s trying to limp while keeping her bandaged hand where everyone can see it, and there’s so much to look at that I almost don’t know where to start.

Michael gets up to help her, and the worst part is that I might have done the same if I hadn’t watched her walk out of her dorm on Saturday, perfectly fine, to collect a package she wasn’t even expecting. Now she can barely make it across our meeting room.

This is what I wanted to see before confronting her, though watching it without Lola feels unfair. She spent part of her Saturday with grass brushing her face because of Sophie. Surely that earns her a seat at what this girl has spent the rest of the weekend rehearsing.

"Thank you," Sophie murmurs as Michael helps her into a chair.

My hand closes into a fist. Every word out of her lying mouth grates on my nerves.

"Sadie was really worried about you," Nia tells her. "All of us were. What happened?"

Before she can answer, I rise and turn toward the room. Everyone’s attention shifts to me, but mine stays on her.

"What happened with the shirts, Sophie?"

Nia stares at me in disbelief. Even Priya seems shocked, while Sophie looks from one face to another, searching for someone who’ll feel sorry enough for her to object.

"Sadie, I—" Nia glances between us. "I get that you’re angry, but look at her. She’s in bad shape. We should be happy she’s alive."

"I know why I’m asking, Nia." My attention returns to Sophie. "Now answer the damn question. What happened with the shirts?"

Her lips begin to tremble before she answers. "I was on my way to get them, and someone riding a bike hit me."

A scoff escapes me, earning a few more disbelieving looks. As far as everyone here is concerned, I’m interrogating an injured teammate over a bag of shirts. They can think I’m a monster for another minute, as long as they’re still listening when I explain who they’re defending.

"You got hit by a bike?" I repeat.

"Yes. You can clearly see that." Sophie gestures to her bandaged hand. "I know you’re mad that I delayed the team, but it wasn’t my fault."

"Prez, I think you should—" Noah begins.

"Can everybody just let me do the talking?" I snap.

The room falls silent, and I look around before continuing.

"Yes, I know I sound heartless. You’ll understand why in a minute. For now, can everyone sit down and step away from Sophie?"

They exchange glances but do as I ask. Once they’ve moved, I walk over to her desk and plant both hands on it.

"One last time, Sophie. What happened with those shirts?" I look straight at her. "And think before you answer, because I’m giving you one more chance to tell everyone the truth."

For a moment, she just looks at me, her breathing noticeably faster now that I’m standing this close. I have to give her credit for trying to keep the anxiety off her face, though it takes some work before her eyes soften with tears.

"I already told you. I was going to pick them up, and someone hit me with a bike."

"Where did you get treated? Which hospital or clinic?"

"Brookline Family Clinic."

A smile pulls at my mouth as I straighten. "Okay. Interesting."

There’s a Brookline Family Clinic off campus. I’m not questioning its existence, just whether anyone qualified to work there would send her out with bandages piled on like a toddler had been given a roll and told to keep busy.

There’s only a small stretch of space for me to pace, but I take it. Standing over her while she keeps lying to my face is doing very little for my patience.

"Sadie, where are you going with this?" Nia asks.

"You’re being harsh with her," Marcus adds. "She’s already told you what happened."

"She said she has a reason," Priya reminds them. "Can we just listen?"

I stop and turn back to Sophie before looking around the room. "Fine. I’ll spare everyone the suspense. Someone on this team deliberately sabotaged our collab with the hockey team and passed our information to people who used it to target and mock the club."

Nia’s lips part. "What?"

Several voices overlap, followed by questions from every direction.

"Who did that?" Marcus demands.

"What information?"

"What’s going on?"

Their attention shifts from me to Sophie, and for the first time since she arrived, pity isn’t the only thing on their faces. Marcus takes a little longer, but he’s had a crush on her for a while. I suppose he needs an extra minute to consider that she might have sold him out with the rest of us.

"What are you trying to say?" Sophie asks. "Are you accusing me because I nearly lost my life and couldn’t get the shirts to you? Is this what I get for that?"