“Hey! That’s my lunch, asshat!”
I stick out my tongue. “Want them back?”
She shoves her hand in front of my mouth. “Ew, no. Disgusting.”
“You guys crack me up,” Ivy says, laughing as she eats her lunch.
“Glad I could be of service,” I mutter as I get up.
“Where are you going?” Océane asks, plucking at her curly black hair. “Chasing a girl?”
Talon suddenly approaches. “Océane … can we talk?”
She smiles at him. “Oh hey, Talon. Sure.”
He looks around, particularly at us, before running his fingers through his black hair. “Somewhere private.”
She nods. “Yeah, of course.”
I clear my throat. “Anyway, I have … things to do.”
“Things.” Aspen smirks and wiggles her brows.
She and Océane chuckle while I walk off.
“Ha-ha, have fun with your gossip break,” I jest back.
“Bye, Xav! Love you!” Aspen yells.
I stick my middle fingers up at her instead.
We argue a lot, but I know she means it, and I would definitely kill any fucker who dares to touch her in the wrong way. But man, sometimes I really want to throw her off a cliff for pushing my buttons. I guess that’s why she’s my twin.
I walk away from the grass and casually stroll the path until they’re out of view and can no longer see me, making sure I’m still on Sunny’s trail. I’ve seen her walk by so many times now, but the way she’s waltzing on those heels today makes me wonder if something’s going on.
Ever since she came back to school after being in the hospital, she’s been acting differently.
Normally, she’d be the talk of town while strutting all over campus, posing left and right for her Instagram profile with her girl squad and squashing men’s hopes and dreams under her killer smile after rejecting their advances, but now it’s almost as if she’s not really … present.
Another tattoo has been added to the myriad of tats already gracing her skin, a string of words that keep repeating over and over in my mind.
Turn the pain into power.
Sunny marches all the way to her motorcycle and hops on, seemingly in a hurry, as there’s barely any time between her putting on her helmet and churning the engine. I hide behind a tree as she makes a U-turn and races off, then immediately get to my car, hop inside, and hit the gas.
I shouldn’t be following her like this.
I know it’s wrong, and if she catches me, I’m dead.
Literally.
Yet I can’t help continuing the journey along the narrow road all the way down Spine Ridge Mountain, past the thick pine trees of Priory Forest and the abandoned playground at the bottom of the mountain, until we’re neck-deep into Crescent Vale City.
She drives toward a secluded area in the back of the town near the docks, where there are plenty of abandoned warehouses, and parks her motorcycle next to one of the doors before going inside.
I park my car not too far away and get out, pausing for a moment, only to lean back in to grab a dumb horned mask I got at a Tartarus House party a few weeks back to make sure I have something to hide my identity in case someone sees me.
I close the car door and check the area to make sure no one saw me following her before I head toward the warehouse. Coming in through the front entrance is definitely not the smart option here, so I take a gander around the building.
