Taking a swig, I notice Emer walk out of the shadows. She stops on the other side of the table and gives me a look.
“What do you want now, Emer? Did you not embarrass yourself enough? You have to ask for more,” I slur.
She looks me up and down, not so different as the first time she met me. “You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?” She asks, and I do admit, I smile. I mean, you would too. The bitch who was giving me a hard time just had her ass handed to her. Plus, the guys were all over me, dancing, laughing, and just giving me all the attention I could handle.
“Yeah, I thought so,” she sneers. “You do know that they’re only hanging out with you because they were asked, don’t you?”
I laugh and almost fall over. Grabbing hold of the table, I look back over at her. The look on her face is at odds. Her sneer doesn’t match the pity in her eyes. As in, she knows what it feels like to be in the position she’s about to put me in, but doesn’t care. She’s going to rip out my heart anyways.
“Yeah, right! They wouldn’t do that,” I still say with conviction.
“Oh really? You would know—the girl that just got here less than a week ago,” she says, leaning on the table. “Remember when I told you that when the Princes ask for a favor, you do it? Well, it’s the same thing where the council is concerned. They run everything in Nova. Hell, most of Purgatory is in their control.”
I think back to Mayer Abernathy’s office, how he treated me, and then called a council meeting as I was leaving.
“I heard them, you know. Talking about how their progress was coming along on you. About how you were put into the guys’ care so they can monitor you and report back to them. You’re nothing but an assignment for them. Hell, Levi never goes to parties. It’s beneath him. His mother looks down on him for doing it, so ask yourself, why is he here then? Hmm? It sure as hell isn’t for your shining personality.”
Her words hit me harder than a Lynx temper tantrum when I turn off his porn. She wasn’t wrong about Levi. Even Ryker mentioned it in the text message. I put down my bottle and look her directly in the eyes, praying what I’m about to say doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
“You’re wrong,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Oh, really?” She pulls out her phone and swipes until she finds what she’s looking for. Tapping the screen, she lays the phone on the table, turning it so I can watch the video of what she just described to me.
In Mayor Abernathy’s office, there are a group of people I’ve personally met this week, all sitting around with a picture of me in each of their hands. Mayor Abernathy, Chief Cloak, Dr. Steinbeck, Lilith, and Dean Caldron sit there describing me like I’m nothing but the experiment she accused me of. Although the Dean seems more annoyed that he’s there in the first place by the frown that graces his face. His arms are crossed and he’s shooting daggers across the room with his eyes.
“Yes. I got that covered. I asked Levi to become more active with her and her friends. His powers are getting stronger, so he should be able to get a reading on her emotions without her knowing,” Lilith says, and my heart fractures.So, he was using me?
Abernathy puffs out his chest, “Ezekiel has finally stepped up and decided to take on some responsibilities.” Pride showed on his face, and my stomach drops. “My source says they are very close and spend most of the day together even after school,” he beams, looking around the room. “Emer, could you bring us some refreshments, please?”
The video ends and she grabs her phone, giving me that pitying look again. “Sorry, not sorry,” she says, and walks away. I stand there for a few minutes to process what I just saw and try to figure out where that leaves me now.
“Hey, Rez, there you are,” Zeke calls. He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me, but I don’t lean back like I usually would.
Oh no, I do what I should have done when I first got here. Close myself off from everyone and just focus on getting the fuck out of here with Lynx. I guess hindsight is 20/20 after all, huh?
I can hear the rest of them coming up behind us, and I stiffen. And it’s Levi that’s the catalyst for my explosion.
“Nerezza, you seem tense. Are you okay?” He questions, and places his hand on my shoulder. I spin around so fast that Zeke has to let go, stepping back so he doesn’t get hit by my hair as I focus on Levi first.
“Really, Levi? Are you sure Iseemtense? Or do you know that Ifeeltense? Because there’s a huge difference in just guessing orknowingin my book,” I say, dipping my words into a poisonous vat of sarcasm. The force is one with this bitch. I stand there and wait for him to say something—anything, to defend himself.
“Hey, ma chérie, what’s wrong?” JP says, swaggering up to me. Before I let him get close, I sharpen my claws and let my venom fly. I need to know right now, who knew about this.
“Did you know?” I ask him as tears start to burn behind my eyes. I’m not sure if it’s from anger or the fact my heart is breaking.
“Know what?” He asks, looking around trying to get a clue. I notice the guys behind him all shuffle their feet, even Levi, who can play a statue with the best of them.
Oh no.A small part of me was holding out hope that what I saw on that phone was doctored or the guys had no clue what the council was asking for. But my hope bursts into nothing when Zeke steps forward.
“Rez, calm down and just tell us what’s wrong. You might just be overreacting. The drinks are really strong and it’s probably not what you think,” he tries to reason, reaching for me. I back away and bump into the table. Quickly, I slide along the edge so I’m now facing them and the entrance to this fucking party is at my back.
“What? That yourparentswould ask you tospyon me? That you only got close because they FUCKING TOLD YOU TO!?” I scream. Thankfully, everyone here is 3 sheets to the wind, and they overlook my screaming. I swing my gaze back to Levi, who for once has emotions splayed out for all to see, “To be friends with me and hang out with my friends so you canreadmy emotions? Did they tell you to sleep with me too?”
He at least looks ashamed he was caught. JP looks confused as hell, along with Moni who just joined us, so at least they weren’t in on it. Knox and Ryker just have stone-cold faces, not giving anything away, so it’s hard to be sure about them. I turn to Zeke last, and he looks devastated. The look spelling out his deception while my heart shatters. All this, coming from the man I thought I was falling for. I refuse to look any longer than to register that because my feelings are too confusing when I see him. I focus back on Levi, the one with the most evidence against him, the fact his ass is here right now the biggest proof.
“Well, are you reading them now, Levi? Just in case you’re confused about what you’re picking up, let me break it down for you. I’m pissed I let myself trust you. I’m sick that I fucking slept with you, and I feel sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t stand up for yourself, so you allow someone else to control you just so you canfeelimportant,” I spit out. I start backing up and give the group as a whole one final look.
“I want nothing to do with any of you. Stay the fuck out of my room, my personal space, and don’t seek me out in class. You can all go fuck yourselves. Givethatto your precious Council.” With those parting words, I turn, running as fast as I can away from the beach, from the monsters I was falling for, and back to the safety of my room.
