by Becca Steele
“Wh-what are you going to do to me?” My voice was weak and breathless.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
The first tear fell. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong. I was…I was afraid of what you’d do to me if you knew.”
“You’re lying.” His eyes followed the movement of my tear as it fell. Then he shifted, and I gulped some much-needed air into my lungs. “Tell me why.”
My eyes closed, and in a trembling voice, I admitted the truth that I hadn’t even allowed myself to think. “I didn’t want you to stop.”
Another tear fell.
“Look at me.”
My eyes flew open, and he stared at me for a moment, his face illuminated by the glow of the lamp, then lowered his face, and his lips were on mine, hard and furious.
I froze in shock for all of two seconds, before I kissed him back.
His mouth was punishing, slamming against mine, savage and raw. He attacked me with his lips, and I met every single assault, moaning into his mouth, my legs hooking around him of their own accord as he sent fire racing through my veins.
“You want me, don’t you?” His voice was a low growl as he moved to nip at my neck, and I sighed, allowing the quietest yes to escape.
He stilled above me.
Suddenly, his body weight was gone, and he was looking down at me with total and utter contempt. His eyes were hard and unforgiving, and his harshly spoken words fell like acid rain on my skin.
“You can want me, but you can never have me. Watch your back, little trickster.”
9
From the minute I awoke, I hadn’t been able to shake the overwhelming trepidation that had stayed with me ever since Carter had come into my bedroom and told me that he knew who I was. He hated me before, but now, he actually had reason to. I’d never dreaded school like I did this morning. I really needed to speak to someone, but I guess I felt a sense of guilt surrounding everything that had happened between me and Carter. Guilt for the way I’d tricked him, lied to him, and made him think I was someone else.
As I turned the corner and the gorgeous, golden stone buildings of Alstone High came into view, my gaze was immediately drawn to a familiar figure, slouched against the wall with his arms crossed over his impressive chest. I noticed the moment he saw me because he straightened up, the distant expression on his face replaced by a hard, dark look.
My stomach flipped, and my steps slowed.
“Everything okay?” Lena eyed me with concern. She’d been picking me up on the way to school every day since we’d been paired on our project, and I’d started to look forward to our random morning conversations. She’d asked me how Fright Night had gone, both via text and again this morning, but all I’d told her was that I’d left early. I owed her the truth, but I was working up the courage to tell her.
“Yeah, fine.” I gathered myself, and as we ascended the steps, I did my best to ignore Carter, despite his dark gaze boring into me. We drew level with him, and I held my breath. One more step, and I’d be inside the doors, free.
Then I felt the hand on my elbow, and I was dragged against his torso. I gave a squeak of fright, losing my balance and accidentally elbowing him in the ribs. He made a low, angry noise in his throat.
“Raine?” Lena had suddenly noticed I wasn’t next to her anymore. I did my best to school my expression into one of unconcern, although from the look in her eyes, I didn’t think I succeeded.
“I’m fine. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”
She frowned, but at my pleading look, headed inside with a sigh, only after she’d shot a pointed look at Carter and drawn a finger across her throat. Her theatrics made me smile, despite everything, although the same couldn’t be said for Carter.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” Five innocuous words, but spoken in the low, sinister tone Carter used, sent icy shivers down my spine. He held me in an iron grip, my back against his torso. People were throwing us strange looks as they passed, no doubt wondering why Carter, king of the school had me, a nobody, pressed up against him.
“Little trickster.”
His lips were tickling my ear, and I had a sudden, inexplicable urge to laugh. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips before I could stifle it.
“Something funny?” The grip on my torso tightened. He pulled me behind the columns at the top of the steps, into the shadows away from prying eyes.
“N-no,” I stammered. My brain was going haywire. I took a deep, cleansing breath, and then my nose was suddenly full of cedar and spice. Why did he have to smell so good?
“Remember how I told you to watch your back?” His low, threatening tone sent prickles of fear through me.
“I said I was sorry.” Gathering my courage, I met his eyes. The gold flecks blazed like fire as he stared down at me. Yeah, he wasn’t going to be forgetting what I’d done anytime soon.
“Too little, too late.”
“Yeah? You hated me already, what difference would it have made?”
“I already told you that to hate you would mean I actually cared enough to form an opinion,” he said in a bored voice.
“It sounds like you care now.” What was I saying? Goading him was the worst idea. Yet, somehow, the words kept spilling from my mouth. “If anything, I should be the angry one. You threatened me, intimidated me, and made me scared to say anything. I don’t like you, Carter.”
I was breathing heavily by the end of my rant. This boy. I hated speaking up, didn’t answer back, but there was something about Carter Blackthorne that riled me up.
His eyes sparked, and he leaned down, his breath hot on my ear. “You don’t like me? What about when you kissed me? Let me touch you?” Lowering his voice even further, he moved so his lips were touching my ear, every single part of me tingling with awareness. “What about when you came all over my hand?”
I had nothing to say to that. My fists stayed clenched tightly at my sides, and I turned my head away from him.
“You can keep lying to yourself, but I can see straight through you. Watch out, Laurent. You like to hide in the shadows, but soon, everyone will know your name.”
He tore himself away from me, leaving me slumped against the wall, my heart pounding. What had I done?
The whispers started during my Economics class. People threw curious glances my way, smirks and low taunts heading in my direction. Lena slid into her seat next to me, brow furrowed. “What the fuck is going on with everyone today? Why are they all looking at you?”
I shrugged, staring down at my desk. “No idea.”
“If anyone’s said anything about you, I’ll fuck them up,” she said fiercely, which got a smile out of me. I had no doubt she’d actually do it, either.
“Hey, Imogen! What’s going on?” Lena stared over at Imogen Lang, a challenging brow raised. If anyone knew what was happening, it was her. Beautiful and popular, she was part of Carter’s group, but unlike the other girls, she was actually nice to everyone. I’d never even heard her say anything bitchy about anyone.
She glanced at me, then back at Lena, biting her lip. “Maybe you should check your phone.”
“You do it, I can’t look,” I muttered.
Lena blew out a breath and pushed her blonde hair behind her ears, before picking up her phone.
She was silent for a while, and then she spoke, the words spat from her lips like bullets. “I’m. Going. To. Kill. Him.”
Oh no. No. “Tell me,” I whispered.
“Quieten down, everyone! Today we’ll be studying the economic repercussions of the collapse of the Lehman Brothers.” Our Economics teacher, Mr. Hicks, looked pointedly at me and Lena, and I shut my mouth. When he turned to his laptop to begin his slideshow presentation, Lena slid her phone over to me.
It was open at the social media gossip account for students of our school. An account I avoided wherever possible. The only drama I was interested in was the drama club.
There was one new post. Almost all the posts were anonymo
us, but this one had been posted by Carter Blackthorne himself, giving it instant credibility in the eyes of the students reading it.
WHAT HAS RAINE LAURENT BEEN UP TO?
The question was written over an image taken in the gym changing rooms, if the background was anything to go by. Slightly unfocused and grainy, it depicted a girl with hair more or less identical to mine, her head level with the crotch of a guy that I vaguely recognised from the football team. The first thought that ran through my head was, who was giving him a blowjob in school? Then, I gritted my teeth as the outrage hit me, followed by nausea churning in my stomach.
“Seriously? Is he for real?”
“What the fuck is his problem?” Lena hissed.
“Silence! Miss Drummond, this is your one and only warning.” Mr. Hicks gave her a stern warning, and she rolled her eyes but stopped talking.
I opened her phone to a new message and started typing furiously. I couldn’t get her involved. It wouldn’t be worth my time. If she put pressure on Carter, or tried to, he’d just fuck with me out of school, or in places Lena couldn’t reach.
Don’t do anything. Please. Let me handle this.
She read it with a frown and shook her head.
Please. I need to fight my own battles.
“I guess I can understand that,” she whispered. “But say the word, and I will fuck him up.”
Her impassioned promise on my behalf sent a flutter of warmth through me, dulling my outrage, and I couldn’t help a tiny, grateful smile at her determination. “Thanks.”
“Miss Drummond, Miss Laurent.” My head flew up to see Mr. Hicks, his mouth set in a flat line. “See me after class.”
Great.
The rest of the morning I did my best to ignore the whispers that followed me everywhere, the attention almost unbearable. People who had never given me the time of day before were openly staring, gossiping about me as if I was the latest source of entertainment. As my discomfort grew, so did my anger at Carter, until I felt like I was about to explode.
When lunchtime rolled around, I hid away in the huge library, and instead of heading to the English class that I shared with Carter in the afternoon, I stayed tucked into a tiny alcove in the archives. I tried to bury myself in my textbooks, but after my phone buzzed for what felt like the hundredth time, I finally gave in and opened my notifications.
I shouldn’t have looked.
Texts from unknown numbers, and comments on the AHS gossip site photo…all negative.
Who the fuck is Raine Laurent?
Didn’t realise he was that desperate
Hope he didn’t get an STD from her diseased mouth
WHORE
I’d give you a tenner to suck my dick
If you want a real man, text 06817332111
The afternoon seemed endless. I didn’t make it to any of my other classes, remaining hidden among the books. As soon as the bell rang to announce the end of the school day, I gathered up my things and escaped to the theatre. Being pretty much in charge of costume design, and getting close to the dress rehearsal stage, I had to be on hand for alterations, and I still had to finish sewing the additional outfits for the lead characters.
Dylan paused, paintbrush in hand, to throw me a sympathetic glance, giving me a hesitant wave from his position balanced precariously on a ladder in front of a partially painted backdrop on the stage. I returned his wave, continuing on to the backstage area and into the room where the costumes were kept. Sinking down into the seat in front of the large drafting table, I finally took a breath. Being in the one place in this school that I loved soothed me, and I felt myself relax in tiny increments as I lost myself in my needlework.
“Hold still…” I mumbled through a mouthful of pins, as I carefully tacked the fabric around Imogen, our lead actress. I finished pinning it into place then stepped back, eyeing her critically. “Hmm. I think maybe I’ll bring the hem up another inch. What do you think?”
She eyed herself in the full-length mirror, all shiny jet-black hair, porcelain skin, and small, delicate features. Her brows pulled together. “Hold it up?” Even her voice was sweet. How she’d managed to gain queen bee status in our school, I’d never know. I suppose it didn’t hurt that her parents were diplomats, her older brother was a professional footballer for Manchester United, and her best friend Anastasia Egerton’s family were peers. Ana’s dad was an actual earl, or something. Rumour had it, the royal princes had attended her last birthday party, although I had no idea if that was true or not.
“There.” I lifted the fabric, and she nodded.
“That looks good to me. Thanks.” Her dark eyes flicked to mine for a moment. “Are you okay? After the…thing this morning?” Her tone was careful.
“I’m fine,” I assured her, willing myself to believe my own words. She gave me a sceptical look, but she didn’t push it. There was nothing she could do, anyway. In fact, her best friend, Anastasia, was Carter’s ex-girlfriend.
“For what it’s worth, I could tell it wasn’t you in the picture. I’m sure that if people looked at it closely, they’d be able to see that.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged uncomfortably and cast around for a change of subject. “Are rehearsals going better, now? I don’t get to see much, being backstage.”
“I think so.” She seized onto the change of subject, her expression opening up. “I’m channelling Johanna and constantly reminding myself that this is only acting, and Xavier isn’t Xavier, he’s Anthony.” A sigh escaped her lips. “I won’t deny, though, kissing Xave again, after everything? That’s going to be difficult.”
I was surprised she’d been so open with me. “Yeah,” I agreed, not that I’d know. From all I was aware of, she’d had a bad breakup with Carter’s friend Xavier at the end of the last school year. I had no idea of the details, but you could feel the tension between them every time they were in a room together. They were both talented actors, though—Xavier, surprisingly so, since he’d never shown any interest in drama until this year. Hopefully their acting skills would be enough to get them through, even though the play called for them to pretend to be in love.
Anyway, not my problem. If it wasn’t a situation like now, where I had to forcibly spend time with them, I’d stay as far away from Carter and his friends as possible.
“You’re all finished,” I told her. “I’ll get those alterations done ready for next time.” After making a note on my clipboard, I unpinned her, and she disappeared back into the auditorium.
“Why is he so obsessed with you?” I spun around to find Xavier Wright eyeing me, his gaze contemplative. My cheeks heated. I couldn’t deny it, I’d had a bit of a crush on him. Not anymore, but at one point I couldn’t even look at him without feeling all hot and flushed. He was absolutely gorgeous. Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t even come close. And his smile? Girls more or less swooned when he directed it at them. Imagine Tyrese Gibson’s smile and multiply it by ten, and you still wouldn’t be close.
I realised I’d been staring at him without saying anything when the corners of his lips curved upwards. “Still tongue-tied around me, huh?” He shook his head. “I just don’t get his obsession,” he muttered to himself. Then he stepped closer and cocked his head. “We doing these costumes, or what? I don’t have all day.”
Ah, yeah. There was a hint of that asshole behaviour. One of the reasons I’d quickly managed to get over my little crush on him. That, and the fact he was in Carter’s inner circle. “Y-yes. Could, you sit down, please.” I cleared my throat. “You’re mostly done, but I need to measure your head for the hat.”
He nodded, crossing to the chair and sprawling back in it, all long limbs and lithe, graceful lines. I grabbed the measuring tape from the workbench and came to stand next to him. “Keep your head still, please.” I carefully wrapped the tape around his head, idly admiring the swirling pattern shaved into the back, then returning my attention to the task at hand. “Hmm, your head isn’t as big as I thought.”
My annoying habit of vocalising my inner thoughts reared its ugly head, as I realised when he swung his gaze to meet mine.
Amusement glinted in his dark eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I guess I’d have to explain myself. “You know. You have a big ego.” I quirked my lips at him with a shrug, desperately trying to play it cool, although inside I was anything but. Attempting to joke around with anyone popular was so far out of my comfort zone, I didn’t even know why I was trying.
He stared at me in silence for a moment.
Then he gave me his signature blinding smile, and my heart skipped a beat. “That ain’t the only thing that’s big about me, baby.”
Now I was at maximum embarrassment levels. I fled into the safety of the costume racks, hearing his amused laugh behind me.
Fuck my life.
10
After waiting on the front steps for twenty minutes, I finally concluded that Carter had already left. I didn’t know why I’d expected him to wait for me after everything that had happened after the weekend. By this point, the student car park was empty, and the only people left were the cleaning staff. Scrolling through my phone, I debated between calling Lena or booking an Uber. It was a five-mile walk home, and part of the route was on a busy main road with no safe path to walk along, so that wasn’t an option. My thumb hovered over Lena’s name. Why was it so difficult to ask for help?
“I heard someone needed a lift.” A huge, matte-black SUV pulled up at the school entrance gates. An older guy with tousled, dirty-blond hair and a huge grin was in the driver’s seat, his inked arm casually resting on the window frame. As I stared at him, suddenly tongue-tied, his grin widened and he pushed his sunglasses up on the top of his head, revealing bright blue eyes that were sparkling with amusement. “Hey, Lena. I think your friend here’s been struck dumb by my good looks.”