I let him lead me out of the fighting area. Once in the hall, instead of heading outside, he leads me into another hall, up the stairs into the lawyer’s office. At the conference room door, he gestures me in, closing it behind me.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Nate? Bringing a kid from your school here to fight him? That is reckless.”
That familiar ping in my chest is the reminder that I hate disappointing him.
“He needed to be taught a lesson. The last time I did so at school, you told me not to do it again. He’s going to get paid for being my punching bag. Don’t worry. He knew the score.”
He sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. “You have been acting off ever since Hailee—”
Before he can finish, I cut in with a snarl, “Do not even say that bitch’s name. She is dead to us.”
He meets my eyes. “You need to watch yourself, Nate. You might be my brother, but you are also still my soldier. Don’t forget your place. I don’t know what the fuck is going on in your head, but you need to get your shit together. You’re so blinded right now that you aren’t even looking at the bigger picture. Have you even found a lead on the drugs? Or are you too busy making that girl’s life a living hell for some perceived betrayal you think she has committed?”
“Seriously? You think I’m not taking my job seriously? I haven’t found a single trace at the school. Parties are another story. Those cheerleaders are dealing the drugs. I’ve tried getting close to a couple of them, but they won’t let me in. Either thatbitchhas poisoned them against me or they know better. Either way, I’m fucked.”
He shakes his head. “I love you, brother, but you are dense sometimes. You always have let your emotions rule you.”
I start pacing in front of him, my hands in my hair. “How can you be so nonchalant about this? I have legitimately seen you put a bullet between a man’s eyes for betraying you, yet you let her live?” My heart clenches at the thought of her dead. “You let her continue to go to our school. You asked what is wrong with me, but what the fuck is wrong with you?”
He moves quickly, gripping my shirt as he hauls me into his face. “You think I don’t want to punish her for her betrayal? You think I’m sitting back and letting it go? You think you’re the one who gets to deal with this, but you’re not. So stop acting like a child and get back in your role. If and I do meanif,I decide I want to retaliate against her, it will be on my terms. With the way you’re acting right now, I wouldn’t even be dumb enough to involve you. So instead of focusing on the girl, focus on your fucking job. Now, get your ass home and cleaned up. I don’t want to see you back here until you get your fucking head on straight.”
When he lets go of me, he pushes me away from him. Then he spins, leaving me alone in the room.
Turning, I slam my hand down on the table.
Chase is right. I have been distracted by my utter devastation that the one girl I was starting to feel deeper feelings for ripped my heart out and committed the worst betrayal.
As much as I wanted to argue with him, I could see what he was saying.
My emotions were clouding my judgment. So for now, I would back off. I’d let his plan play out.
-
Nine
Hailee
“Another great practice.Come on. Let’s put our hands in.”
It’s been two weeks since I’ve joined the squad. Two weeks of grueling practices and catty bitches.
While they have been giving me a hard time, they have also had my back.
The cheer bitches have accepted me as one of their own. They can be rude as fuck to me, but no one else can. I represent them, which means no one else can fuck with me.
That hasn’t stopped the rest of the student body from trying. It seems like since Nate has amped up his hate, the rest of the school has too.
Tiffany might have said Nate was no longer king, but the rest of the school didn’t get the memo.
I make my way to the group, placing my hand in the middle with the rest.
“One, two, three. Go Ravens!”
We all scream at the same time.
“See you guys at lunch.”
“Come on.” Katie grabs my arm, dragging me to the locker room.
