Chapter 23
“Au revoir, mes élèves,” Ms. Carole said as we closed our textbooks.
The tension didn’t leave my muscles as I waited for the classroom to empty. My eyes burned as I caught the sidelong looks in my direction.
A girl with wavy brown hair smiled at me as she shoved books into her bag. “I feel like I should clap or something.”
My brows furrowed. “Clap?”
“That scene at lunch. God, I’ve been waiting for someone to put Chloe and her bitch squad in their place for years.” Her smile spread. “I guess all it takes is the right girl to motivate those guys.”
My stomach flip-flopped. “I don’t think it really had anything to do with me.”
She chuckled. “Sure. I’m Sam, by the way.”
“Leighton,” I said as I slid my notebook into my backpack.
“I know. Everyone does.”
I winced. So much for my plan of fading into the background.
“Don’t worry,” she assured me. “The fascination will die down with time. It’s just that the Lost Boys don’t take girls under their wing.”
I straightened. “Lost Boys?”
“That’s what everyone calls Colt, Ronan, Dash, and Trace.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the moniker. On one hand, it was accurate. They’d formed their own sort of gang of misfits. But I hated the idea of anyone thinking of them as cast aside in any way.
“It’s not a dig,” Sam promised. “They run this place. Everyone else is scared shitless of them. Well, everyone but Dec.”
“You mean Declan?”
She nodded.
I had a million questions I wanted to ask about him. The tension between Declan and Ronan had been clear as day all through lunch. But when I’d asked Colt about it on the way to history, he’d brushed me off with some blanket excuse.
“It doesn’t seem like he gets along with the rest of the guys,” I hedged.
Sam snorted. “Understatement of the century.”
“Why?” I couldn’t explain it, but there was this deep need in me to understand their dynamics.
Sam’s mouth snapped shut, and her face closed down. “Not really my story to share.”
But that meant there was one. Just one that I didn’t have the right to know. And why would I? The truth was the only person I had a real relationship with was Colt.
I pushed to my feet and slung my bag over my shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Sam.”
Her smile was back. “You, too. I have a feeling you’re going to make things a lot more interesting around here.”
I groaned. “Not really my goal.”
She chuckled, but the sound died off. “Just keep your distance from Chloe. She might seem like a ditz, but she’s more cunning than she appears.”
Great. Life would’ve been easier if she was the airhead she appeared to be. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Of course,” she said as we headed out of the classroom.
“Sam,” a deep voice bellowed.
She shrieked as thick arms closed around her, lifting her off the floor. The massive guy nuzzled her neck. “You’re late.”
Sam grinned as she shook her head. “Class has been out for approximately one minute.”
Another guy leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. “We were worried.”
She melted into his kiss. “I’m here now.”
A third guy grunted. “Let’s go.”
“Guys, this is Leighton. Stop pawing at me and introduce yourselves.”
I was openly gaping at the scene in front of me and quickly snapped my mouth closed. I’d heard of polyamorous relationships, but I’d never actually seen one in action.
The guy who’d grunted narrowed his eyes on me. “James.”
The kisser grinned at me. “Liam.”
And the guy still holding Sam nodded at me respectfully. “Seán.”
“Nice to meet you,” I croaked. “I need to, uh, run. See you tomorrow, Sam.”
“Bye,” she called, then giggled as Seán lifted her in his arms.
I shook my head, moving in the direction of my locker. Emerald Bay was definitely a whole new world.
As I rounded the corner, my steps faltered. There was a greeting committee at my locker, but it wasn’t exactly the welcoming kind.
Chloe’s gaze locked on me instantly, and she stalked toward me. “Trash,” she said, as if it were my name.
“Bitter,” I greeted in return.
Her face hardened. “I know all about you. It didn’t take any time at all.”
Panic swept through me like a wildfire, but I did my best to keep my expression a blank mask.
When I didn’t respond, Chloe’s anger only grew. “Don’t think they want you. You’re a charity case, nothing more. Someone they pity. Never someone they’d want.”
Acid followed on the heels of my panic. But I didn’t let it show. “Are you done?”
Chloe’s jaw slackened. If she expected me to break because of her words, she was in for a rude awakening. I’d been faced with someone far more vicious than she could ever be.
“Stay away from them,” Chloe growled.
I simply sidestepped her and headed for my locker.
Chloe grabbed my arm, her fingernails biting through my blouse. “This is the only warning you’ll get.”
I jerked my arm free. “Noted.”
“Come on,” Mimi called. “She’s not worth your time. You know they always come back to you. It’s meant to be.”
Chloe flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You’re right. Something in this hallway smells, anyway. Must be the trash.”
I swallowed against the burning in my throat, trying my best to ignore her words. It took me two tries to input my locker code, but I finally succeeded. Yanking it open, I grabbed the books I’d need for homework, which was all of them.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, but I didn’t look up. It didn’t take long before Colt’s familiar scent of sandalwood and something earthy filled my nose.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice gruff.
I shut my locker with a snick. “Nothing. Just a long day.”
Colt didn’t need my burdens on top of all he was doing for me.
He stared down at me unconvinced.
As I looked up at his gorgeous face, the truth swirled around. Chloe was right. I’d never fit in here. Never fit in with them. And that broke something inside me.