Page 34 of Wicked Titan

“I hate liars.”

“Okeydokey,” I reply with a curt nod his way, stepping to the side so he’s not blocking my view of the wall.

He clenches his teeth before speaking in a forced tone, “And confined spaces.”

“You’re claustrophobic?” Shock is evident in my voice as I ask him with a raised eyebrow. Did Asher just reveal a weakness? And why am I already suspicious that it’s nothing more than a strategic move?

“Come climbing with me.”

“I’d rather run through the field of puppies.” My arms remain folded across my chest as I take a step back, turning to walk out of the gym. Even if I could trust him, I’m not climbing without my dad. I never have and never will. Climbing is a thing of the past.

26

I sip my water, studying the science textbook in front of me. Victoria flips the page of her history book. We are enjoying our comfortably silent lunch until a platinum bitch takes a seat next to Victoria. Looking up from our books, Allison gives us a smile as plastic as her boobs falling out of her unbuttoned uniform shirt.

“Wasn’t that bonfire the best one ever?”

“Sure,” I reply, looking back to my book as Victoria has already resumed her studies. It’s evident we both want to ignore whatever drama Allison is currently whipping up.

“Why did you run out so fast, Quinn?”

She’s not going to let me be. Her existence is even more miserable than I thought. Taking a deep breath, I look up to meet her eyes. “Yes, Allison. You had sex with Grant. Yay for both of you. Run along and go screw him again if it was so great.”

“It was great, but I knew it would be. It’s not like it was our first time together … Although, it was the first time we had an audience.”

“You’re nauseating,” I say flatly, recalling the sensation that overwhelmed me when I saw her and Grant screwing.

“Grant didn’t think so.” She pops a piece of gum into her mouth.

“Because he’d screw anything with a hole,” Victoria mumbles, looking up from her book. Making direct eye contact with Allison, she says, “Even the contaminated ones.”

I bite back a grin as Allison rolls her eyes, pushing off the table. I’m satisfied she doesn’t get the heated reaction she was expecting from either of us.

“Just ignore her,” Victoria turns the page of her textbook without looking at me. “But she did you a favor.”

“Good point, but she had some encouragement.” I look over to where Asher is usually sitting but his spot is empty. Elliot is missing from the usual group too. They’re probably out wreaking havoc, burning down a village or something. Hopefully, whatever it is keeps them occupied for a while.

* * *

The class I’ve dreaded all day has arrived—woodshop. It used to be my favorite, especially since it’s my last class of the day. Grant is sitting in his usual spot as I take my usual seat.

“Hey,” he says quietly.

“Hi.”

“I’m s—”

Holding my hand up, I stop him. “Don’t.”

“Quinn, please.”

“Damn, dude, she said leave her alone,” Wade cackles, sitting across the table from us.

Grant lowers his voice as a few people turn to look at us. “Can we at least be friends?”

“Sure, for an hour every day.” It’s not like I have a choice. The shop teacher assigned each table a shelf to build for a classroom in the school. Lucky me, I’m paired with Wade and Grant.

“I’ll take it. And I’ll be at Java Knox every morning in case you change your mind.”