I walk like I own the school.
Shani bumps my shoulder. “Girl, these bitches are terrified.”
“They should be,” Tristan mutters. “You flipped the table over and built a new one.”
Mindy giggles nervously. “Jade, I swear, the administration is walking on eggshells. They think your aunt is prepping another lawsuit.”
The teachers are acting weird too.
Nicer.
Softer.
Like being too strict with me might land them in a deposition.
The entire campus smells the litigation in the air.
Bad PR.
Bad press.
Bad timing before the donors’ winter gala.
I should feel vindicated.
I should feel powerful.
Maybe I do.
Maybe I don’t.
Maybe I’m too numb to tell.
Then I feel it.
His eyes.
Before I even turn, my pulse betrays me.
Leo is across the hall.
Shoulder against a locker.
One hand gripping his backpack strap.
The other clenched at his side.
He looks…
wrecked.
Tired.
Sharp-jawed.
And too good for my sanity.
He’s not even trying to hide it.
