Evan smelled fresh, like clean laundry and the newly turned spring air. It washed away some of the school scents that had immediately assaulted me. Rubber from shoes. Unwashed teenagers. Stale cigarettes from whichever teacher or student was sneaking out for a smoke.
“You okay?” Evan asked, his hand rubbing gentle across my back, in a soothing circular motion.
I nodded, pulling back finally. My breathing and heart rate had calmed, and I felt much more ready to get my game face on.
Lots of faces were watching us, and I wasted no time in shooting Evan a wink. “Thanks for that, babe,” I said sweetly. “You always know just the right thing to do.”
Whispers started, and I smirked. Evan, catching on quickly, slung his arm around me, and walked me down the hall to my first class. Eddy peeled off about halfway along the hall, giving me one final hug before she disappeared into her classroom.
“Everyone is watching us,” I muttered from between my clenched-teeth smile.
Evan chuckled. “Don’t worry yourself, Spare. They’re looking at me.”
I shot him a disparaging look before shaking my head. I had Evan’s number now, and he was nowhere near as confident as he portrayed to those outside of his inner circle.
Classes passed in slow motion. I barely paid attention, too frazzled to give a fuck about the lessons. Evan remained by my side in every class, mostly playing with his phone, or occasionally nudging my leg with his when all of the staring got too much.
Their fucking eyes were on me at all times. Basically everyone in the school had either heard about the incident yesterday, or they were trying to figure out why I was back in the Delta inner circle. Either way, I was sick of their staring faces.
As I left English lit, a chick a few inches shorter than me, kind of blocked the doorway.
“Seriously,” I snarled. “Can’t you stare from a distance?”
Her alabaster skin pinked across the cheekbones, and she shook her head. “No, sorry, I just wanted to say that I am appalled by what happened here yesterday. My father is a lawyer. A very rich, very powerful lawyer in New York. Let me know if you ever want to take legal action against those assholes.”
I felt the tiniest bit bad then, because she clearly wasn’t like the rest of the animals in this school.
“Uh, thank you,” I said softly. “I appreciate you reaching out.”
She shrugged. “In this fucked up world, women need to stick together.” She brushed back her long blonde curls. “I’m Sami. Just holla if you want to take it further.”
Sami left then, and I blinked at Evan. “What do you know, some rich people do have souls.”
Evan snorted. “Yeah, for now. It never lasts.”
Wasn’t that a sad, screwed up truth.
It was time for lunch, and I dumped all my crap in my locker. Maybe now it’d all actually be safe there. Everyone was already waiting for us, and I grabbed a plate full of food—teriyaki chicken with hokkien noodles—before sliding in next to Eddy. Beck, Dylan, and Jasper were on the other side, right across from me, and all three of them checked me out like they were searching for new injuries.
“No troubles?” Beck asked. The intensity he was throwing off had me all off balance.
I shook my head. “Nope. Except for a lot of staring, it was uneventful.”
Eddy leaned in closer. “Have you heard what happened to the guys? The ones who dragged you into that classroom.”
Jasper groaned. “For fuck’s sake, sister. Can you seriously not keep your mouth shut for five minutes?”
Eddy looked contrite, but she had piqued my curiosity. “Did any of them die?”
We were whispering, and I could sense the tables around us leaning closer, trying to hear our conversation. That was until Beck lifted his furious gaze, and they all backed right the hell up.
“All of them are still in the hospital,” Dylan said, his tone somber. “Most of them with serious injuries. Beck broke two jaws, four arms, twenty ribs, and about eighteen teeth between the six of them.”
Something hot and primal stirred in my gut, and I should have been scared that he was capable of that much carnage, but I really wasn’t.
“Will we be pressing charges?” Eddy asked, louder and more pissed off. “Those fuckers should be in jail. Or dead.”
She didn’t sound like she was kidding, and I remembered exactly why we were best friends.
