Chapter 14
SAGE
Monday morning, I’m still sore and aching. I texted Juliet the day after the party, explaining that I felt sick and went home early, and I think she seemed to buy it.
All weekend, I slept restlessly, plagued with memories of Kaiden, Vincent, and Beckham keeping me up at night. However, now I’ve been walking around school like a zombie all morning.
I’ve kept my head up, though, eager and hungry to lay my eyes on the Hallows Boys in the nooks and crannies of the dark hallways. But my efforts have proved useless, as I haven’t seen any of them all day.
After our second class of the day, Juliet and I make our way to the lunchroom. Today’s one of those days that I wish I was back at my school in LA—where they had a little coffee cart in the quad. I need energy, and I need it now.
Once we’ve grabbed food, we find our isolated table in the back and sit down to eat in silence.
Juliet’s turning out to be a good friend; she knows when I don’t want to talk and respects that, so she doesn’t bother prodding me with meaningless conversation as we eat our lunch.
I find myself comparing her to my old friends, especially Sam, who I thought was my best friend.
I haven’t been in touch with anyone since moving, and the sadness that comes with that is something I was never prepared to deal with.
I’m halfway through what the cafeteria calls a chicken Caesar salad—which is really just iceberg with grilled chicken and dressing—when I spot the Hallows Boys sauntering into the cafeteria.
They sit at their usual table once they’ve grabbed something to eat, and I grind my teeth as time ticks by and they still haven’t noticed me.
What do I have to do? Strip down and offer myself up for lunch?
A little brunette rounds their table after a minute, swinging her hips and brushing her hair over her shoulder before she slides her ass onto Vinny’s lap.
I see a flicker of something pass through his features, but he wraps his arms around her waist and buries his face into her neck too quickly for me to pinpoint what he’s thinking.
So, he has a girlfriend, then?
I clench my fist so hard that my plastic fork snaps in half, making Juliet’s head whip up to look at me in confusion. I let the broken pieces fall onto the tabletop, my gaze glued on where Vinny’s whispering something into the girl’s ear.
I’m certainly awake now, because bitterness licks across my skin like sweat, making me shove from my chair and run from the cafeteria. I’ve seen enough. I don’t need to witness anyone else drop down at their table and show some sort of affection to the three boys I’ve grown to crave.
I find the girls’ bathroom, rush through the door, and close myself inside a stall before anyone can see the redness of my face or the wetness of my eyes.
The door to the bathroom bangs open again, Juliet’s voice ringing through the room. “Sage, what’s wrong?”
I clear my throat as I plop onto the closed toilet seat. “I think the chicken was bad in my salad. I’m not feeling well.”
The lie slips from my lips so easily it should probably frighten me.
“Do you want some water or something? Or I could get the nurse?” she asks, concern lacing her tone.
“No, no,” I answer. “I’m okay. Just need a minute. I’ll meet up with you later.”
“Okay… If you need anything, just text me, okay?”
“You got it.” I clear my throat again when it starts to thicken with the tears that have fallen.
Once I hear the bathroom door open and close again, leaving me alone, I grab some toilet paper to wipe the tears from my cheeks and under my eyes.
Standing, I lift the toilet seat and throw the used tissue in, then flush it before I unlock the door.
Checking myself out in the mirror, I wipe at the smudges of black underneath my eyes, then shake out my hair.
Fuck them. I should’ve known I didn’t mean shit to them, and that they were lying about picking me for the Games.
They probably have girlfriends, and they’ll probably choose that cute brunette chick to play whatever twisted fuckery they have cooked up for Halloween.
I spend the two classes following lunch boiling with rage. All hints of sadness are gone. Now, I’m just pissed off.
Juliet’s been texting me every ten minutes, asking if I’m okay, and although I know she’s coming from a place of love, it’s starting to turn my frustration up a notch.
I was feeling so good about all this before, like I was something fucking special.
The thought makes me laugh, because no one could mean more than a nut in the dark to those fuckboys. They’re too sinister and selfish.
I can’t believe I was actually excited to see them today.
God, if I’m not the dumbest bitch in town, I don’t know who is. How can you gang-bang someone on a grave one day, and then go on to pretend they don’t exist the next? They’re sick.
My anger finally becomes too much to handle when my last class of the day ends, so before I head home, I set out to find them.
I stomp down the academic wing with my hands gripping the strap of my bag, searching all over.
I spot Beckham first, making a heavy sigh escape me at the fact I’ve found the nicest one.
But it’s short-lived, because Kaiden and Vinny come around the corner after him as he digs around in his backpack.
I grit my teeth as I march toward them, readying myself for whatever may pop out of my impulsive mouth.
“Hey!” I yell, but none of them turn around to look at me. They don’t acknowledge the fact I’m here at all, and that makes me see fucking red.
“So, you’re just going to ignore me?” I huff a humorless laugh. “Act like nothing happened?”
Vinny’s lips twitch like he wants to say something, so I mark him as the weakest link and go in for the kill. “You’re going to pretend you didn’t have your dick down my throat two days ago?!”
Kaiden spins around, pinning me with deep, dark eyes. “Go.”
He points over my head, directing me somewhere, but I stand firm, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance. The corner of his mouth kicks up in a half-smirk as I stare into his eyes. “Let’s go, Sage.”
Nostrils, flaring, he grabs me by the arm and starts pulling me behind him, toward the bathroom, making me grunt loudly. Once he has me through the door, he closes it and spins around to face me.
Walking toward me predatorily, he backs me against the door. “What do you think you’re doing, Sage?”
All confidence has fizzled out of my lungs as he stands over me and searches me with darkened eyes.
“I don’t know,” I mumble.
My voice is small, as if it’s trying really hard not to leave my lips from embarrassment.
“Don’t clam up now,” he challenges, crossing his arms over his chest.
I clear my throat to cut through some of the tension.
“I think it’s fucked up you haven’t talked to me after what happened on Friday.”
He chuckles darkly, his gaze moving from mine to trace down my body, like he’s trying to undress me without touching me. His hands move to my waist, and I suck in a heavy breath as reminders of the graveyard take over and occupy my mind.
Leaning forward, his face falls into my neck. My back arches as if on instinct, and my head turns to the side to give him more room to touch my skin with his mouth. I feel his lips curve into a smile against the flesh of my neck, right where my pulse hammers under my skin.
“Kaiden…” I moan, desperate for him.
He kisses me on my neck with wet, open-mouthed kisses. Moving around my neck, he trails his lips and tongue up and down my throat, then speaks against my skin. “You need attention, Sage?”
I nod, and when he bites my skin, I moan louder.
He licks me then, trailing his tongue across my skin until he reaches my earlobe. He bites there, his voice coming out as a growl.
“Do not confuse my dick for my heart.” He kisses me on the ear. “You mean nothing to me.”
All the oxygen whooshes from my lungs like he’s punched me in the gut. He pulls back from my neck to look at me, his face a stone mask of boredom. Tears lick at the backs of my eyes, but I press my eyelids closed so they don’t fall in front of him. I refuse to show him the weakness I’m feeling.
He takes a step backwards before he reaches for the door handle. Rushing to get out of the way, I move to the opposite side of the room so he can open the door and leave.
The door slams closed behind him, triggering my tears to fall down my cheeks effortlessly as I open my eyes.
I stare at myself in one of the mirrors that hangs above the sinks, finding my skin flushed with humiliation. I barely recognize the girl staring back at me. The sunshiney cheerleader from California is nowhere to be found—here, in Blackmore, I’m different. Reckless, hopeless, dark and depressed.
The girl I once was might as well have died alongside her parents.