I rolled my eyes. “I’m not letting you drop out. You’ve been looking forward to this, and it will be fun. I promise.”
“Are you hearing this?” Wyatt sauntered up and stood next to Whitney, brown eyes brighter than I’d ever seen them. His head was on a swivel, taking everything in. “All the drama and angst. It’s better than television.”
Trent laughed and slipped his hand around mine, lacing our fingers.
“Take that kid, for example.” Wyatt jutted his chin toward a guy across the hall; he had long, greasy-looking gray hair, and his jeans hung loosely on his hips. “He’s dating someone named Dee, but he’s secretly in love with Dee’s best friend, Fiona, and over the summer, he kissed Fiona. Now, she won’t talk to him, and he’s crushed. He can’t decide if he should break up with Dee. If he does, will he be able to find a new girlfriend before prom?”
I swatted at Wyatt. “You can’t go around reading everyone’s thoughts.”
“Why not?” He laughed. “It’s not like they’ll ever know. Besides”—he shrugged one shoulder—“it’s fun.”
I looked to Whitney for help, but her gaze was trained on someone at the end of the hall. Luke. Interesting. Does she like him?
“No,” she answered my unspoken question.
I scowled. “My head is still off-limits, remember?”
Whitney gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
The first bell rang, and students scattered toward their classes. “What’s your first class?” I asked Trent.
“English. You?”
“Life skills,” I said with very little enthusiasm.
“Hey, that’s my first class,” Whitney said.
He chuckled. “I’ll see you after class.” He placed a quick kiss to my lips and then vanished with the crowd.
“Lead the way.” Whitney looped her arm through mine, and I showed her where our first class was—which was just around the corner.
“Morning,” the teacher greeted when we entered. “Please find your name and have a seat.”
Assigned seats? This class already sucked. Whitney found her name quickly—she was seated in the front row near the door—and I was in the second to last row, by the windows.
I slid into my seat, pulled my phone from my backpack, and turned it to silent. We weren’t even supposed to have phones in the classroom, but I’d gotten distracted by Trent and had forgotten to put it in my locker.
“All right.” The teacher clapped.
I quickly dropped my phone into my bag.
“I’m Mr. Gordon, and I’ll be your Life Skills teacher.”
He was a short, round man who wore purple rimmed glasses. He had a head full of curly brown hair and a matching beard. I didn’t remember him being here last year. Was he new?
“In this class, we’ll learn about the most basic skills everyone needs to survive out there”—he pointed toward the windows—“in the real world.” Mr. Gordon walked around the room and handed out a packet of papers. “Things like maintaining a household, balancing a checking account, doing taxes, applying for loans, living within a budget.”
Once all the papers had been passed out, he stopped near my desk. He smelled like coffee and mint. My stomach churned.
“Now, to make this more interesting, I’ve decided to allow you to work with a partner.”
Ripples of excited chatter filled the room. It was then I noticed Isach. He sat two rows ahead of me. That was just great. At least now I knew where he was, though. I needed to talk to him after class and tell him to leave me alone.
Mr. Gordon walked to the front of the room and whistled, effectively quieting everyone. “Front row, turn around and meet your new life skills partner.” He moved to stand in front of the third row of desks. “Turn and meet your new life skills partner,” he repeated. And he did the same for every alternating row.
When he got to my row, I twisted in my chair and was met with Jax’s grinning face. “Hey, partner,” he said, his voice a husky drawl.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I mumbled.
When had he gotten here? How had I missed him sitting there?
“The second page of your packet is a worksheet you and your partner need to finish by the end of class today. Decide what sort of household you’re currently living in. Married. Dating. Friends and roommates. Pick a city to live in and a career from the list on the last page. Divide the chores and household responsibilities.”
What kind of class was this? I hated it so much already. And knowing I had to work with Jax? That made it even worse.
“All right, get to work,” Mr. Gordon said.
“Who knew on the first day of school you’d become my wife,” Jax said.
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “We can be roommates.” There was no way I was going to spend the entire semester pretending to be Jax’s wife.
“Roommates with benefits?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
I smacked him with the packet of papers. “Knock it off. I mean it.”
He chuckled, the sound sinful. “We can be roommates. And I’ll be secretly in love with you, so I’ll do all your chores in the hopes you’ll notice me. I’ll pine after you, follow you around, make—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I said, exasperated. “Fine. We can be married. But it’s a loveless marriage. We barely speak. You’re an alcoholic. And I’m more than likely cheating on you.”
At that, he flung his head back and laughed, earning us curious stares from the rest of the class. I tried, and failed, to hide my smile. I’d forgotten how fun Jax could be when he wanted.
We took a moment to write down our choice: married. But we left off the rest of the stuff. I wasn’t sure Mr. Gordon had much of a sense of humor, and I didn’t want to fail this class on the first day.
I shifted in my seat. “Can I ask you something?”
He met my gaze. “Always.”
I glanced around to be sure no one was paying attention to us, and then I held my hair away from my neck. “It’s not fading,” I whispered. “Is this normal?”
“I don’t know,” he said after a moment.
“You don’t know?” I let my hair fall back into place. “What do you mean? You said they’d fade.”
He shrugged. “I thought they would.”
My jaw dropped. “You thought they would?”
“Look.” He leaned across his desk and lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. “You’re well aware of my diet. It’s not like I go around feeding on people.”
“You mean… You’ve never bitten anyone like this before?”
Jax shook his head.
“Not even Hannah?” I whispered.
“Nope.” A slow, seductive grin lifted his lips. “You were my first.”
I sat, stunned. For some reason, I’d assumed Jax had fed for pleasure, that he’d bitten a girl for the sheer fun of it. I didn’t know why I was so shocked by this information. Maybe because Jax just seemed like the type to do something like that.
“I can ask Sean about it tonight, if you want,” Jax offered.
“Yeah, okay.” I nodded absently.
Not that I wanted his father to know what we’d done, but I needed answers, and Sean was probably the only one who had them.
“I’m sorry.” Jax twisted a lock of my hair around his finger and then released it. “I never meant to—”
“It’s okay,” I cut him off. “You didn’t know.”
Where was Mr. Gordon with his life skills for this situation?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
Stalker
WHITNEY WAITED FOR ME WHEN CLASS was over, and we walked out together. “So, you and Jax seemed to be having fun in there,” she said. There was an accusatory edge to her tone.
“You know how Jax is,” I said, waving away her concern and hoping she’d drop it.
I did not want to talk about Jax. If I had my way, I wouldn’t think about him ever again, but I seemed to have zero control over that lately.
&nb
sp; “Yeah, he’s grumpy, moody, angry, looks like he wants to kill everyone all the time,” she said.
I laughed nervously. “I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
“Chloe.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way. “I’ve known Jax a long time, and he’s different around you. If I can see it, don’t you think Trent will, too?”
I wiggled out of her hold and rubbed my arm. “What do you want me to do, Whitney? It’s not like I can control how Jax acts.”
She crossed her arms and raised a brow. “Swear to me right now that there’s nothing going on between you and Jax.”
“I swear,” I said without hesitation. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else.
After a moment, her posture softened. “Okay,” she said with a nod. “But maybe you should ask Mr. Gordon if you can switch partners.” And then she disappeared.
I blew out a breath and sagged against the lockers for a brief moment, just long enough to regain my bearings. And then I caught sight of Isach standing at his locker a few feet away. I marched up to him.
“We need to talk,” I said.
He closed his locker and turned to face me, an innocent smile plastered across his face. “About?”
“I know what you’re doing,” I whispered harshly.
“Getting my books?” He held up an armful of books, his smile widening.
God, he was so infuriating; he was worse than Jax.
“No,” I said through clenched teeth. “I mean, I know what you’re doing to me. I know you’re messing with my head again, and it needs to stop.” I glanced around. Satisfied no one was paying attention to us, I continued. “Trent swore I wouldn’t break the curse, and I’ll honor his promise.”
“And how do I know that, Chloe? You two could be conspiring to run off together to break the curse. Or do God knows what else. Maybe you’re plotting to kill me, get me out of the way so you can do whatever you want.” He shifted on his feet, and it suddenly felt like he was twelve feet tall, looming over me.
“Because unlike you, Isach, I’m not a liar. When I make a promise, I keep it.”
“Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. I guess only time will tell.” He adjusted his books. “But we both know that you didn’t make this promise. Trent did.”
I scowled. So, he’d realized that, too, huh? “Whatever. Stay out of my head and stop messing with me. There’s no reason for it,” I said.
Isach titled his head, confusion flashing behind his green eyes. “What is it you think I’m doing?”
He was going to play like he had no idea? I curled my hands into fists, my fingernails biting in my palms.
“You know what you’re doing. Stop acting like you don’t.” My words were tight, my jaw clenched even tighter.
“All I’m doing is watching you, Chloe, making sure you don’t try anything sneaky. That’s it.” He gave a hard shake of his head. “I have no reason to mess with your head.”
“Exactly, so knock it off,” I snapped, poking him in the chest with each word.
Isach took a step forward, and fear whipped through me. When would I learn to stop provoking supernatural beings who could easily kill me without blinking?
“I’m not doing anything, but if you’d like me to.” His grin was pure evil, and there was no mistaking the threat in his tone.
“Back off.” Jax’s firm—and wholly terrifying—voice carried through the hallway. “And you.” He grabbed my arm, scowling, and dragged me away from Isach. He guided me toward the space between two banks of lockers, effectively hiding me from prying eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I jerked my arm away from him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving you, apparently.” He stood tall, feet planted firmly, and crossed his arms. “Why must you antagonize him? Remember what happened last time?”
Yeah, Trent had grabbed Isach by the throat, pinned him against my locker, and nearly killed him in the middle of a crowded hallway.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing Trent wasn’t around this time, huh?” I mimicked his stance and crossed my arms. “And why are you, anyway? Are you watching me?”
“Yes. That’s literally the entire reason I’m here. To watch you. To make sure you’re safe and that Isach doesn’t do anything to you.”
Tension eased from my shoulders, and my body sagged. “Yeah, well, you’re too late.” I hung my head.
Using his finger, Jax lifted my chin. “What do you mean I’m too late?” His words were calculated, like he was barely controlling his rage.
“Nothing.” I moved my head to the side, and his hand fell away. Having him touch me, no matter how innocent, wasn’t something I could handle right now.
“Chloe. If he’s doing something, you need to tell me.”
“He’s not,” I lied.
Though I had no idea why. Jax loved to remind me I was a terrible liar, and chances were good he’d see right through me now, too.
“Other than constantly watching me. He’s like a stalker. I can’t stand it.” I shuddered dramatically and rubbed my hands up and down my arms.
Jax studied me. “I can’t stand the guy, but give him a break. You are fun to watch.” He smirked.
I let out a surprised laugh and shook my head. “Can you please move now? I need to go to my locker, and I don’t want to be late for class.”
“Can you stop provoking the big bad witch?”
“Yes.” For now. But I didn’t say that last part aloud.
With that, Jax stepped aside and let me pass. I walked straight to my locker, not bothering to look back. Mostly because I didn’t want him to think I cared, but also because Isach was in front of me again.
“I’m not messing with you, Chloe, and I don’t appreciate being called a liar. It would serve you well to remember that,” Isach said before spinning on his heel and walking away.
I stared after him. Was he telling me the truth? Why would he lie to me? Unless that was just another way to mess with me. But why?
He was right about one thing—he had no reason to mess with me. Didn’t mean he wasn’t. He was Isach Zoya after all, a powerful witch with immense amounts of dark magic at his disposal. He could do whatever he wanted.
Again, why would he use all that power to make me fantasize about Jax of all things? It made no sense. If Isach really wanted to harm me, he could. But he hadn’t. He’d done exactly as he’d said—he’d been watching me. Nothing else. And he’d really only been doing that for a few days since rescuing me.
The bell rang, and I raced to class without getting to see Trent. Disappointment weighed me down, but then I walked into the room, and Trent was seated in the back. He waved to me, and I claimed the seat next to him.
A second later, Isach entered the room. Of course, he was in this class, too.
And that’s how the rest of the morning went—Isach was in every single one of my classes, and either Trent, Jax, Whitney, or Wyatt were with me, too. It was as though they’d planned it so I had someone near me at all times. Watching. Stalking.
So far, I hadn’t had a single class with Abby. I hoped I’d have some with her this afternoon. I desperately needed some normalcy, some non-vampire friends I could decompress with for a little while.
“Chloe, over here!” Ellie waved me to a table in the middle of the cafeteria.
I joined her, and within minutes, Gina, Tonya, Luke, Nick, and Abby were seated around the table. Everyone tried to talk at the same time, voices rising above others as they discussed their morning classes. We were all in agreement that Mr. Gordon was a weirdo and that his class was awful.
“I’m partners with Nick,” Luke grumbled. “And when I complained, Mr. Gordon told me to embrace an alternate lifestyle. That I might like it.”
“Yeah, so then Derrick Rhodes starts making all these gay jokes,” Nick said.
“Well, Mr. Gordon said you could pick your situation. Just be roommates,” I said with a shrug.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, and chills spiraled up my arms. I didn’t need to turn around to know Trent was here.
“We did,” Nick said. “Still, the class is a joke.”
Ellie rested her head on Nick’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I still love you,” she said with a giggle.
I glanced over my shoulder, fully expecting to find Trent making his way toward me. But he wasn’t. He sat at a table in the corner with Jax, Wyatt, Whitney, and Isach. Why on earth was Isach sitting with them? Why were they letting him?
Trent crooked his finger, beckoning me to go over there.
“Hey, I’ll be right back.” I stood, my chair scraping against the tile, and I weaved through the now crowded cafeteria until I reached Trent’s table.
He tugged me down onto his lap, and his arms circled my waist. “Why are you sitting all the way over there?”
“Why are you sitting all the way over here?” I asked with a teasing smile.
“Because your table is full.”
“Oh.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Sorry.”
Isach’s gaze kept wandering toward me, and my skin crawled. I still didn’t know if he was messing with my head, but he was watching my every move, and I hated that.
“I’ll make sure to save you a seat tomorrow,” I said, standing.
“Wait, you’re leaving?” Trent was on his feet.
I nodded. “I want to go sit with my friends. I haven’t seen them in months.”
He groaned but didn’t argue with me. Instead, he gave my lips a lingering kiss, the kind that would stay with me all day, that would make me want to beg for more. I patted his chest, then walked back to my table. I felt his gaze on me the entire time, and when I glanced back at him, he was seated his chair, his eyes on me. So were Isach’s.
Ugh. Seriously, that guy took stalker to a whole new level.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
Naughty Nightmares
“SO, HOW WAS SCHOOL TODAY?” AUNT Beth asked as soon as Abby and I walked through the front door.
“Amazing,” Abby said and immediately launched into a long, drawn-out explanation of every minute of her day.
Eternal Bond : (The Cursed Series, Book 3) Page 18