“Yeah.” I nod, recalling how Dr. Pillard had even tried to hit on me as he drove me to Roquel’s house all those weeks ago—when I’d first left the Scorpion Kings. As if the memory is a sharp needle of reality, my amusement bubble pops and evaporates. No doubt the proposition Dr. Pillard gave me is something he wants to keep under wraps. After all, no one wants their dirty little secrets spilled out for all to see.
Avery’s are out now and despite Bran’s insistence that I was behind it, I have to wonder…
When the others join us at the car, we clamber in. Nolan takes the driver’s side, allowing me a clear side profile of Lex’s face as he drives. If he senses my intense scrutiny, though, he never acknowledges it. My lips twitch again at the memory of Bran’s face as I’d unmanned him.
I don’t know if I’ve ever had anyone take revenge on my behalf. I thought I’d hate it. To my surprise, there are plenty of things I thought I’d hate that it turns out I might actually… love.
16
JULIET
When I first became the outcast of Silverwood, I thought so long as I kept my chin up and acted like I didn’t give a fuck, it wouldn’t get to me. I was wrong. Sofuckingwrong.
I gasp as something wet and sticky hits the back of my neck and soaks down into the t-shirt I’m wearing. Mads’ responding scream of surprise rattles my nerves as she leaps up from where she’d been sitting next to me on the grass in the courtyard of Silverwood Public. Instead of doing the same, I manage to keep myself in check and slowly get to my feet, turning to face the perpetrator of the childish incident.
The cool, slick slide of whatever material the bitch in front of me had thrown on me continues to make its way down my back and to the top of my jeans. It’s the other Lindsey—Megan’s bestie and lackey. She looks back at me with a smirk on her smug face as she drops the carton of what looks like milk from the cafeteria.
“Oops.” She shrugs and continues to look at me. Behind her, Meg cackles with her group of friends, and I have no doubt that this is payback for humiliating her at the party last weekend.
Only Mads seems to have the mind to jump to do something about the milk staining my clothes. She quickly tries to grab a few napkins from the pile that had been sitting between us as we’d eaten our lunches in what had been polite peace. It’s rare that I’m without the guys now, but today they’d been called to the coach’s office and had skipped out on lunch. No doubt, that’s exactly why Meg and Lindsey thought it’d be the perfect time to take a shot at me.
I don’t even acknowledge Mads as she tries to dab and mop up my shoulders and back. My hair sticks to the side of my neck as I stare back at Lindsey. One second spreads into two and then three and finally, she starts to twitch.
The hint of unease is easy to see past her bravado as Lindsey shifts on her sneakered feet and glances back over her shoulder. Meg and her other friends don’t move forward to back her. They’d probably talked her into doing this, but I wonder if they will help her when I decide to do something about it.
And I’m making no qualms about it to myself, I will do something about this situation. Maybe not now. Maybe not even tomorrow. But this shit has to stop.
I stand there for several more minutes, letting the weight of my silent rage press down on Lindsey before she sniffs and flicks a lock of her hair off her shoulder. Turning on her heel, she stomps back to her pack of high school hyenas. My smile widens when, halfway there, she pauses and glances over her shoulder.
Yup, I’m still watching you, bitch,I mentally tell her.Your time is coming.
“This is so unnecessary,” Mads mutters angrily. “We’re not children anymore. I can’t believe they think this does anything but make them look stupid.”
Turning quickly, I snag the napkins in Mads’ hands, causing her to yelp in surprise. “It’s fine,” I tell her. “I’m not worried about Megan and her friends.”
Mads looks at me and then twists her head, directing the brunt of her glare at the group now cautiously observing us as if they’re concerned that I’ll go off at any second. They’re right to be worried. I’ve proven by now that I’m not one to take any of this shit lying down. My quietness and lack of response should set them on edge because when I finally do get my revenge, it’ll be so dark they’ll never even consider fucking with me again.
“Are you okay?” Mads looks back to me, her brow puckering.
“I need a change of clothes,” I admit, “but otherwise I’m fine.”
“I think I have a gym shirt in my locker,” she says. “You can change in the bathroom before next period.”
I nod my thanks and together, the two of us head inside. As we bypass Meg and company, I offer the group of them a small smile. Meg’s facial expression goes stiff and she lifts her chin up at me. Cold anger pours into my veins.
Soon,I promise silently.So very fucking soon.
Once I’m changed and somewhat less sticky, thanks to a dip of my hair in the girls’ bathroom sinks, I don’t head to next period. I make an excuse to Mads and head for my locker to grab my things and exit the building.
Lex’s SUV is unlocked, and I hop into the passenger seat and pull out a notebook. I’ve had enough of dealing with the general mass of Silverwood people to last me a lifetime. So instead of attending class as I should be, I spend the rest of the school day in Lex’s vehicle catching up on homework and reading.
When the final bell rings out over the campus and the doors to the school building swing open as students rush to their cars, my phone buzzes in my back pocket. Pulling it out, I realize it’s a call not a text message, and I hit answer, putting the device on speaker and setting it in the console as I finish the last question on the worksheet I had for my statistics class.
“Where are you?” Nolan’s deep baritone fills the interior of the SUV.
“Waiting for y’all to be done,” I reply, scratching out my final answer on the sheet before dropping my pencil into my backpack. “Where are you?”
Nolan’s sigh comes over the line clear as day and I know what he’s about to say before he says it. “We have more practice this afternoon.”
