5. Margo
Chapter 5
Margo
“ I ’m so sorry I missed this morning.” Riley grips both my hands. “I overslept, and then my brother needed a ride, and my mom had to call and get permission for me to come in at second period. Are you mad?”
We are just inside the library doors. I’m late to lunch, but Riley was waiting for me in the hallway. After Caleb left, I took a minute to sort my mind and then hurried down.
But I don’t know why I would be mad at her.
“Mad? Why?” I ask.
“For leaving you to fend for yourself.” She makes a face, her lips twisting. “Was it not as bad as I assumed? Your dad—er, Robert—brought you in early, right? The courtyard can be vicious, and I worried.”
I nod and keep my expression light. No need to further concern her. “We came in early and switched around my schedule a bit. I’m taking a painting class of his now. But other than that, it was fine.”
She makes a noise in the back of her throat. Disbelief? But before I can ask, she continues, “Painting sounds like a cool elective, but I don’t know anyone in that class. Maybe you’ll meet a cute, emotional artistic boy who will take you out for coffee with paint on his fingers. His idea of romance will be asking if he can paint you like one of his French girls?—”
“Fat chance of that.” I snort. “Have you noticed no one will talk to me? I’m invisible unless Caleb draws attention.”
My invisibility doesn’t bother me. I like that I can stand outside my first period class, and no one sends pointed glares. I like that the whispers that followed me around for the first week have abated.
“Still,” Riley murmurs. “I feel guilty. No way around that.”
“I’m fine,” I reassure her. “I can handle Caleb.”
We take our lunch to our chairs and spread out our options. We’ve gotten used to trading items, because Riley’s dad likes her to be healthy, and Robert hasn’t figured out my favorites yet.
Lenora and I went grocery shopping on Sunday, which was an adventure in and of itself. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a fancy grocery store until that moment. Organic was the name of the game, even if I couldn’t figure out why . Like, what made these apples any different from those? Except for paying two dollars more… She let me pick whatever I would want to have in the house: breakfast and snacks for school, lunch and dinner options.
It was just another piece of settling into a new home.
“Salt and vinegar chips?” I hold out the blue bag.
“Yum.”
“Gross.” I laugh and toss them at her.
“Trade you for… the carrots?”
“Deal.”
She sighs. “By the way, Caleb and Eli are only low-level insufferable right now. But hockey season is starting up next week, and we’ll be reminded of how much they actually rule the school. When they skate out and do their warm-ups…”
I wave my hand in front of her dreamy gaze. She focuses back on me with a start.
“Lost you there for a second.” I laugh.
“You just wait,” she says on a sigh. “You’ll feel it, too.”
“Feel… what?
“The carnal energy. No girl gets through unscathed.”
I laugh it off, but my stomach twists. “It’s that bad?”
“Every girl loses their mind. Football is big in the south. But here, hockey rules.”
Interesting. Not to say I have no interest in the game, but… I don’t know anything about hockey. The closest I got to sports was a foster dad taking us to his biological kid’s high school basketball game one year. Even that, I could barely follow.
“We could go to a game,” she offers. “It’s a good introduction to the craziness, and no one would fault us for attending.”
“You want to go to a hockey game?” I repeat.
She bounces on her seat. “Listen, it’s just something you have to experience.”
I narrow my eyes. But really, the idea of going to a hockey game sounds kind of fun.
She blushes. “And hey, I’m sure we can get into the party after, even if Caleb will be holding court with his friends.”
I stare at her. “Riley Appleton, who are you? Hockey games and parties?”
Her blush deepens. “I’ve never had a friend to take, and going alone is a total buzzkill. And then there’s the whole courage thing, so… please say you’ll go with me? Please, Margo? You can sleep over my house?—”
“I’m not allowed to do sleepovers without a lot of paperwork. Foster rule.”
She heaves a sigh, her face falling.
“But…” I throw her a bone, even if anxiety is slowly winding around my lungs. “Maybe Lenora and Robert will let you stay at their house?”
She claps. “Yay! You talk to them, and I’ll find out who’s hosting the party next weekend. I’d bet it’s at Theo’s house. Word is, he has a giant swimming pool with a slide, and sometimes they jump in from the second-floor balcony. Cool, right?”
Totally… not .
“Besides, we’ve got some time. The game isn’t this weekend but the following. Plenty of opportunity to ask your foster parents!”
“What could possibly go wrong?” My voice is faint.
I try to shake off the apprehension for Riley’s sake, although it’s damn hard. As long as Caleb doesn’t find out I plan on going, it should be fine. We gather our wrappers and toss them in the trash, making our way to the front of the library.
Out in the hall, students are waiting to get into the academic wing.
My gaze finds Caleb in the center of the crowd without trying. I swear, he always has a beacon of light on him. How else can I pick him out so effortlessly?
And just as fast, he spots me. His beautiful lips tip down, down, down, until they threaten to slide right off his face.
His two other friends, Liam and Theo, are throwing around a football. Eli is in the middle of them trying to intercept it. But Caleb stands still, hands in his pockets and completely unbothered.
Except for the way he watches me.
“Why’s he staring at you?” Riley whispers.
“Great question.” I wet my lips. “Maybe we can just go a different way?”
“The other doors are locked,” she mumbles. “And I don’t have a key for those.”
Of course not.
“Caleb!” Savannah brushes past me, headed straight for him.
She walks right up to him and touches his chest. He glances at her, but his gaze switches back to me. There’s a new gleam in them, one that gives me pause. He touches Savannah’s shoulder, but not in a friendly way. He pushes her aside and sweeps past her, still zeroed in on me.
I don’t love where this is going.
“Oh dear.” Riley gulps.
He stops right in front of me, impossibly tall. I crane my head back to meet his burning gaze. Something has him angry, but I have no idea what it could be. I just saw him an hour ago in the tower, and…
“Where do you go?” he demands.
Huh? I tilt my head, trying to make sense of his question. “When?”
“For lunch,” he spits. “Do you hide out in the bathrooms?”
We’re gaining more and more attention by the second.
But instead of cowing, I straighten. His interrogation pisses me off.
“I’m sorry, Caleb, am I supposed to report to you?” I plant my hands on my hips.
His eyes flick down, lingering on the opening of my shirt for a heartbeat before his eyes trail upward. His movements are slow and steady, everything in complete control.
In opposition, my heart races.
“You should,” he says. “Haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what?”
“That I’m the fucking king of this castle. My word is law.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I snap.
He grins. Not in a good way—in an unhinged way. I don’t love that look and have the distinct feeling that I misstepped. It’s like calling a girl crazy and suddenly being proven right. That she is, indeed, crazy.
Is Caleb about to go full psycho on me? Surrounded by people?
“Ridiculous,” he echoes.
“Yes.”
“You think I’m ridiculous?” His voice gets louder.
Riley inches away from me, and I can’t even blame her for it.
“How?”
He takes a step closer, invading my space. His expression… I don’t know who else realizes their school royalty is insane, but I see it. I try not to show any fear, even as it snatches at me the way wind tears at leaves in a hurricane. Endlessly, without remorse for the damage it causes.
His face is carefully blank, all for show, but his eyes can’t hide his inner storm.
He’s angry, unimaginably pissed , and it’s directed at me. His fury, his fire… I’m on the receiving end of all of it. It’s easy to see that when we’re inches apart.
He grasps my chin, twisting my head to the side.
“Look at your friend,” he whispers in my ear.
She’s at the edge of the crowd and won’t meet my eyes. Her gaze is glued to her feet, but everyone else is staring at us.
“She’s the smart one, Margo.”
I flinch when he says my name. Am I so conditioned to little lamb —a nickname, by the way, I should rage at—that it’s my actual name that gives me pause? I’m the only one who can hear him this close, and I’m sure he likes it that way. I’m sure he likes to keep me off-balance.
“Let go of me,” I demand.
“You’re not having fun?” He pouts and drops his hand from my chin. Except immediately, he snags my wrist instead. His palm is hot enough to brand itself on my skin. He reels me in closer, his voice pitched low. “You know the rules. First one to flinch loses.”
“I’m not playing games with you.” I half expect him to kiss me again, which would be absolutely ridiculous. He wouldn’t do that in front of all these people. There’s too much at stake. He’s made it his mission to bury me, and that can’t happen if he kisses me.
His lips quirk. “What makes you think we stopped?”
His fingers slide down my hand, falling off completely. I stand totally still, caught between wanting to argue more and simply wishing he’d walk away.
He does the latter, returning to his three friends. They’d paused their game to watch us, but they slap his hand in greeting, or congratulations for a job well done.
Caleb gestures to Savannah, and a stone plummets into my stomach. She’s wearing the same uniform as me, but she could be a model. The button-down dress shirt is form-fitting, tucked into her short skirt. Her long legs are tan and smooth, extending out from under the skirt to the white socks covering her ankles. Her blonde hair is curled.
I shouldn’t be surprised when he kisses her again.
This time it’s savage, open-mouthed. She presses her whole body into him, her hands fisting his shirt at his waist. Their tongues fight, but it’s a one-sided battle. Caleb is in charge.
That should be you , a voice whispers. No—it shouldn’t. Not like that. But it was me, not too long ago, folding like a cheap accordion against him.
Instead of jealousy or anger, the emotion swarming me is disgust . His mind games shouldn’t fucking matter, and yet… I can’t stop staring at their mouths. So long, I barely register that his gaze is locked on me.
I cringe.
He shudders, more in tune to me than the girl he’s locking lips with. I don’t know if anyone can tell. But… I am not flinching.
I’m not losing this game.
And I don’t. Time slows to a crawl. He bites and sucks at her lip, the obscenity of it burning my eyes. His friends hoot and holler.
Caleb separates from her just as the bell rings.
The river of students flows around them, and shoulders bang into me on the way past. They don’t get the same treatment—the berth around both of them is wide. I lose sight of them for an instant, and when the path is restored, Caleb watches me. Savannah, on the other hand, gazes at him like he just impregnated her.
It hurts. I’m not quite sure why it hurts, because everything else he’s done to me has been so much worse.
Savannah scowls, his lack of attention apparent. She follows his line of sight, surprised to see me standing in front of her, and then… triumphant .