Chapter 11 #2
She rolls her eyes at me, and I clench my fists. “Sure, you don’t. It doesn’t matter anyway. He would never fuck garbage. No guy with any self-respect at this school would.”
I know I need to work on my poker face now that I’m not channeling the Wolf every day, but I manage to stare the little bitch down as I clear up my breakfast. I accidentally glance toward Blaise and see the look he’s giving me, like I’ve just shocked the shit out of him.
I pick up my tray and leave the dining hall without looking back.
I tell myself I’m not going to hate Annabelle just because she’s sleeping with two of the hottest guys in our grade, but I’ve never been good at lying to myself.
I’m still feeling embarrassed and irritable when I take a seat in the chapel for the assembly.
Blaise is sitting two rows in front of me, and Harley is with him. They’re both laughing and nudging each other boisterously. The twins are nowhere in sight.
I look around to find Annabelle sitting among Avery’s flunkies.
She's gazing at the two boys with appreciative and possessive eyes.
She could be sleeping with them both and hiding it.
They could be sharing her. I wish they'd share me, I think, then I shut that part of my brain down tight. I’m Mounty trash to them.
I need to get over my little crushes. They would never be interested in someone like me, and the sooner I accept that, the better.
Mr. Trevelen stands on the small stage, and the chatter around me ceases.
The twins still haven't appeared, and Harley looks around, concern clear on his face. Blaise joins in the search and looks back at me. I feel a jolt of lightning in my blood as his eyes meet mine, and I look away quickly. I hate that I have gained his attention. I definitely shouldn’t have come to his defense in the dining hall.
He doesn’t need my help with anything but his studies.
He certainly didn’t thank me for interfering.
As the principal’s speech starts and he drones on, I watch as Harley becomes more and more agitated.
He’s practically vibrating in his chair, his leg bouncing so hard I can feel it two rows back, and his hand keeps running through the hair on the back of his head until it’s all mussed.
His concern worries me. I glance around and I see Joey isn’t here either.
Harlow and that idiot Devon are both present.
I can see all of Joey’s cronies. Not a good sign.
I have a sinking feeling that the violence Joey unleashes on his siblings is kept behind closed doors.
No wonder Harley and Blaise are antsy.
Harley starts to stand, and Blaise shoots out an arm to keep him seated. I can’t hear what they’re whispering, but they’re getting more and more heated. The other students around them are starting to take notice.
“Trouble in paradise?” Lauren murmurs.
She’s been getting braver about talking to me outside of our choir class. I give her a sidelong look and grin, and she wiggles her eyebrows in response.
I don’t question my motives before I ask, “Hey, do you know anything about that Annabelle girl? The brunette over there?”
Lauren doesn’t even have to look, instead she cringes and nods.
“Yeah. Her family is old money, but not like Beaumonts. Her great-grandfather was loaded, something to do with oil, but then her grandfather made a lot of bad business moves. They nearly lost it all. Her father married her mom to pay back debts, and now they’re stable enough.
She struts around like she’s royalty, when really her father is constantly skating on thin ice to keep them millionaires. ”
Huh. Calling me inferior when she’s pretending her family isn’t struggling? What an idiot. Especially if it’s common knowledge. I guess that’s why they say fake it ’til you make it.
“She’s obsessed with Avery’s boys. She drapes herself over them at every opportunity. Avery only allows it because she’s discreet about whether or not she’s actually banging them.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Them? As in…”
Lauren nods and eyes the back of Blaise’s head with pure lust. “She’s totally doing them all. Her room is next to mine, and her roommate is constantly getting kicked out because one of them shows up.”
Yep. I hate her. I think I might even hate her as much as I hate Joey. Damn my hormones. This must show on my face because Lauren grins at me again and nods, her own jealousy clear to see.
Mr. Trevelen starts handing out awards, and I try to focus again.
I know I’m going to get one of the academic trophies, and I’m sure Harley will too.
As students begin to take the stage and accept their framed accolades, I see Harley slip away.
Blaise doesn’t move, and when my name is finally called, I catch a glimpse of his face as I walk past.
He’s livid.
His eyes are glowing green orbs and his jaw is clenched so tight that I’m worried his teeth will crack.
I take my award and stand on the stage to have my photo taken. Harley’s name is called out, and when he doesn’t come up, Mr. Trevelen grumbles into the microphone. I look down at Blaise again and a feeling of dread starts to take hold in my stomach.
I glance around and see Harlow smirking at me. I’m not afraid of being summoned to face Joey at all. I’m only really worried about what he’s doing to the twins. I’m clearly crazy, because Avery is trying her best to get me out of the school and Ash insults me every opportunity he gets.
Yet I’m still having trouble breathing.
When I’d arrived at the abandoned warehouse to complete the last round of the Game, I was faced with the remaining members of the Twelve.
There were only eleven present, plus myself and the two other contenders for the spot.
The Coyote and the Fox both looked at me like I was a raw piece of meat.
It didn’t rattle me; I’d spent weeks being put to the test, and I was used to being the untried possible liability of the group.
Only the Jackal looked at me like I was someone worth backing.
I wasn’t afraid of Geordie. He was the bigger of the two other contenders, but he really only had his size going for him.
He wasn’t bright, and he didn’t know how to blend in or take someone by surprise.
He didn’t have the skills required to seduce someone into taking a drink without sniffing it first or to get out of handcuffs or an exemplary sailor’s knot.
He didn’t know how to survive in the underground criminal world.
Xavier did. He only looked at me when he absolutely had to but when he did, I felt the piercing gaze of his eyes on every inch of my soul. If I lost to him, he would take pleasure in whatever he did to me. Every cut his blade made would be savored, every ounce of blood taken would be intentional.
I know exactly what it means to look into the soul of a killer.
When I arrive at Hannaford Prep’s chapel, the grin on Joey’s face chills me to my core.
He’s not pretending to be a decent person anymore.
There’s no fake civility. All I see is the evil that lives under his skin.
An echo of Xavier rings out in my mind and I take inventory of what it took to disable him.
I can’t believe I’d thought Joey looked like Ash and Avery.
The differences in the siblings are so clear to me now that I struggle to even find similarities between them.
I am no longer blinded by the good looks.
The girl I put away to come to this school, the one that lives inside a box in my mind—her job isn’t quite done yet.
“Thank you for joining us, Mounty.” His tone is conversational and jovial.
I want to hit him so badly. I clench my fists to stop myself from lunging at him.
His smirk widens as he continues. “I thought we should all get to know you a little better. I took the liberty of looking into your records so we could get a clearer picture of who Eclipse Anderson really is.”
My records, fuck. I manage to keep my breathing even. They can’t know about Matteo or the Wolf. There’s no written evidence of my position in the Bay or as one of the Twelve. I’ve never been caught or implicated in any of my jobs. There’s nothing he could have that would break me.
I wasn’t wrong.
He doesn’t break me.
But fuck it if I don’t bend a little.