Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
“I’m sure you’ve had five girlfriends this year you know nothing about.”
He cursed softly. “That’s not something I’m proud of.”
No, it shouldn’t be. And I wasn’t proud of my own indiscretions.
I sighed. “We might’ve turned into assholes for a while, but we can be better.”
“Yeah.”
If anyone had told me I’d be sitting on these bleachers, having this conversation with Zeke, I would’ve punched them in the face.
But here I was.
And we were having this talk.
And I suddenly felt like I really did have a best friend.
I swore. “No one can know we talked like this to each other.”
He shook his head vigorously. “Hell no. Either of us talks, and the other can punch him in the dick, without pants.”
Sounded perfect to me. “Deal.”
We were heading back and through the empty halls when Zeke slowed up.
“Shit.” He cast me a worried look. “You gonna handle that okay or you want a distraction?”
I thought he’d seen Aspen at first, that she’d come to school, and I got excited. Then I saw Mara loitering by my locker and my chest deflated.
I shook my head. “Nah. I got this.”
It was time, and judging by the look on her face, she knew it. Zeke headed out, but I focused on Mara. She looked as if she’d rather be anywhere else, but she was in front of my locker for a reason.
“Hey.”
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “Jesus.”
I chuckled. “Sorry.”
I waited. It didn’t seem like my place to start this conversation.
She leaned against my locker, folding her arms over her chest, and she looked away. “So you’re dating her?”
“Yeah.”
My response was quiet, but honest. I’d always promised honesty.
She blinked a few times, her throat moving.
“And you care for her?” Her words came out strangled.
Fuck. More honesty. “Yeah.” She had to know. She deserved that much. “She’s mine, Mara. She’s just… She’s mine.”
A tear slipped down one of her cheeks. She wiped it with the back of her hand. “Okay.” She nodded, blinking to keep more tears from falling. “Okay. I’m probably going to sleep with Zeke to get back at you. Full disclosure.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re supposed to care if I do that. Fuck you. I can see now that you don’t.” Her voice rose. “But if she did—”
A burst of anger lit in my stomach, and she saw it.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Yeah. I see that now. You’d go apeshit if Zeke touched her.”
I sighed. “What do you want me to say? We were never exclusive. I told you that. I never promised anything.”
“I kept myself just for you. We were exclusive on my end. I did that for you.”
The bell rang, and we had a nanosecond before the hall was flooded. Piss-poor timing.
“I never asked you to do that.”
“You wouldn’t have touched me if I hadn’t. And I know you liked that I kept myself for you.”
The doors opened, and people streamed out.
Mara didn’t seem to care. She shoved me against the locker. Someone gasped, and then the whispers started, the buzzing rose in volume as word was already getting around. This shit would be all over social media in two seconds, and I saw the first camera snapping our pic. Someone else was out and out recording us.
I flipped it off. “Take it down or I’ll bust that phone to pieces.”
The guy’s eyes bugged out and he quickly deleted it. He was gone in the next second, scurrying off through the crowd.
Mara glared like she wanted to kill me. “We’re going to make her life hell. Full disclosure,” she sneered. “I’m the nice one in the group. Not anymore. That girl is going to wish she was dead by the time we’re done with her.”
I saw red and started for her.
Someone screamed beside me, startled at how quickly I’d moved, but I caught myself, holding back.
“Don’t,” I warned, and I was real serious. “Don’t you dare hurt her.”
“She’s a loser, Blaise. What are you doing falling for her? Claiming her? You’re a loser.” She gave me a onceover, but she’d lost her heat. She didn’t mean what she was saying, and then she was just crying. “I hate you. I hate you so much.”
“Mara.” I reached for her, but I didn’t know why. To hold her? Comfort her? I couldn’t do either.
“No,” she choked out, turning and pushing her way through the crowd.
I hung my head. “Fuck!”
25
Aspen
I was sweating bullets, my phone next to me.
Blaise was in school for the last Thursday of the year, and I was sitting in my room. I wished I could talk to him.
Was this dumb of me? A stupid idea?
What sister was nervous about calling her brother? I mean, that alone made me a freak, right?
It wasn’t that Nate didn’t like me, but he was older than me. When he went back to Fallen Crest, he’d been angry, and with reason.