Cruel Devils

by Mae Doyle

  Chapter 9

  I’m not sure what I thought that this morning would be like. Waking up in my huge double bed, I stretch, roll over, and look outside. It’s misty out but the sky looks like it’s going to clear up quickly, which means that the girls and I may eat breakfast outside. It’s definitely my favorite way to start the day, so I hurry, shower, and get dressed.

  By the time I make it to the cafeteria, though, it’s obvious that this quiet morning isn’t going to stay quiet for long. There’s a huge line out the door, and everyone is talking to each other. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I spot Lila and Clementine already in line and scoot up to join them, ignoring the way some people stare at me when I do.

  “Hey, you two. What’s going on out here?” There’s a definite uneasy feeling in the air, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Even though I’ve only been here a week, I can tell that there’s something a little different about this morning. I just don’t know what it is.

  Lila raises an eyebrow as she looks at me. “Breakfast is late,” she says, shrugging.

  That’s weird. Meyer’s Grove prides itself on everything being perfect, or at least that’s what I’ve seen so far. And it doesn’t explain why people are acting so strange out here.

  “Is that it? It feels like something’s going on, but late breakfast I can handle, as long as we do get something to eat before homeroom.” As if to illustrate my point, my stomach rumbles, and Lila laughs.

  Her sister, however, frowns at the two of us. “You two didn’t see the sign, did you?” She asks, pointing.

  Even in my heels, I have to stand up on my tiptoes to see over the heads of everyone in the crowd, but when I finally do and my eyes fall on the sign, my stomach drops.

  “The devils are making breakfast?” It sounds ridiculous, and I almost start laughing, but the look on Clementine’s face tells me that it’s the truth. Just then, Sophia runs up to us, scooting into the line behind me.

  “Why in the world are the devils making breakfast this morning?” She asks. She’s a little out of breath like she’s been running, and she takes a moment to catch it before speaking again. “I heard that headmistress Decker is allowing them to cook when they want to. That’s insane. There’s no way that they’re going to be able to make anything besides burned toast and runny eggs, I can feel it.”

  I shoot a glance at her, but I don’t think that she realizes what she said about the runny eggs, so I just sigh and look back up at the sign. “You don’t think this is going to be a regular occurrence, do you? There’s no way that they’re going to be able to feed everyone in time for classes this morning.”

  “I bet they have help,” Clementine says, frowning. “I bet you all that they’re just helping cook and serve but that they didn’t actually make it all. Otherwise, that makes absolutely no sense at all.”

  We all agree, and in just another minute, the line slowly starts moving forward. Finally. I’m so hungry that my stomach feels all twisted up, but at the same time I’m really worried. There’s no way that they would just be making breakfast for everyone out of the goodness of their hearts and I have a sick feeling that this has something to do with me.

  Sophia glances at me and must realize exactly what I’m thinking, because she squeezes my hand as we inch forward and shakes her head. “They probably just got in trouble and need to do community service or something. Or maybe one of them thinks that he wants to be a chef. This has nothing to do with you, I’m sure of it.”

  Great. I nod at her, but I’m not convinced. None of my interactions with the devils have been positive, and they’ve made it seem like things are only going to get worse unless I listen to them and leave the school so that Asher’s cousin can come back.

  How much money and influence do my aunt and uncle really have?

  We wind our way up through the line in the cafeteria. Students walk past us with trays loaded with blueberry French toast, maple syrup, and fresh fruit. Okay, maybe the devils did okay in the kitchen. There’s always a chance that they didn’t fuck this up and that it’s actually them trying to be nice.

  But I still don’t think so.

  I grab my tray, fully intending to make my way down the line and get my food without looking up at any of them. All four of the devils have on aprons and are serving the food, but I don’t want to make eye contact with them.

  Honestly, I don’t want to be in the same room with them. Part of me hates them, just like I know that I should, but there’s another part of me, a part that I can’t trust, that is attracted to them. I’ve never seen guys like them before, and I’ve certainly never had the attention of anyone an equal mix off attractive and cocky.

  It would easily be intoxicating if they didn’t make it clear every time we met that they hated me more than anything in the world.

  Asher’s closest in the line, and I slide my tray up to him, waiting for him to put a plate of French toast on it. For a moment, I think that everything is going to be fine, but then silence falls throughout the cafeteria. Glancing up through my lashes, I see that he’s got his hands up like he’s trying to get attention and trying to make everyone quiet.

  Crap. What in the hell is he doing? There’s no way that this is going to end well for me. I briefly consider leaving my tray and making a run for it out of here, but I’m hungry. And it’s not like they haven’t seen me. Looking down the line, I’m not surprised to see Parker, Caspian, and Luca all staring at me.

  My tray suddenly feels heavy in my hands and I set it down, nervously wiping my hands on my skirt. Whatever they have planned, I have a feeling that it’s not going to be good.

  “Looks like we have some white trash looking for something to eat.” Asher’s voice carries perfectly in the quiet cafeteria, and I wince at the way it echoes around my ears. “Now, I don’t know what kind of shit this little skank likes back in her shitty West Virginia, but the devils and I made sure to try to cook her something that would make her feel like she were at home.”

  This is not good. Any hope that I was going to be giving some French toast and then ignored has disappeared. I should leave. I should do something. Unfortunately, I’m rooted to the spot. My eyes are locked on Asher and I can’t tear them away. His blonde hair is messy and unkempt and I have the sudden urge to reach up and run my hands through it.

  What the hell, Kiera?

  “So we made her something that we thought she would enjoy.” Parker’s voice tears my attention away from Asher. He’s not looking at me, but a slight smile plays on the corners of his lips when he speaks and my heart drops. I don’t want to know what they made special for me.

  I don’t want to know what they think I would rather eat.

  Caspian clears his throat, grabbing my attention. He looks straight at me and winks. Heat floods through my body, settling between my legs as I focus on the way he looks at me. Maybe he doesn’t hate me. Maybe he’s the one devil who will stand up to the others and make sure that they don’t torment me too much.

  It’s not that I honestly think that any of the devils are good people, but if one of them is going to be kind to me, I have a feeling that it’s going to be Caspian.

  “So, Kiera, in honor of you being at our great school, we hope that you enjoy your meal. We would have cooked it for you last week on your first day, but some of the ingredients weren’t quite ready.”

  They weren’t ready? What the hell is going on? I don’t want to look at Luca. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to not look at him, but I know that I’m going to have to. I have to know what he’s done.

  Hell, everyone in the cafeteria is waiting. Even my friends are all lined up behind me. They’re silent and watching, and I can’t blame them. There’s no way that we can make it out of this without knowing exactly what these four devils have in mind.

  Finally, I break, and I look up at Luca. He smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, and I shiver at the way his gaze bores into me.

  “Why don’t you come o
n down, Kiera? I have your meal down here.” He gestures towards a covered dish sitting in front of him. Everyone else moves out of the way, giving me a clear path to walk to him. I don’t want to.

  My feet start to move, and I swear, it feels like they’re going on their own. Without thinking about what I’m doing, I throw a glance back at Asher. His bright blue eyes look dark under the lights in here, and I feel like I could get lost in them.

  Not in a good way. They look like what it would feel like to be pulled out to sea. To drown while people on the shore watch and cheer you on but nobody moves a muscle or lifts a finger to help you.

  When I reach Luca, I take a deep breath and force myself to look into his eyes. He motions for my tray and I hold it out for him to put the covered dish on it. It’s heavy and I have to readjust my grip so that I don’t accidentally drop it. Whatever it is.

  We all know by now that it’s definitely not French toast.

  I start to turn away, but he stops me. “No, no, Kiera, don’t you want everyone to be able to see what we made you? We worked really hard on this, darling, and it’s only fair if you let everyone see what we made you.”

  Biting my lower lip, I debate making a run for it, but instead I adjust my hands and lift up the lid covering the plate.

  The smell is immediately overwhelming. I don’t know what it is, but my eyes water as soon as I take a breath. I feel my stomach revolt and I have to swallow hard so that I don’t accidentally throw up. The tray feels heavier than it did a moment ago and I drop the lid to the floor with a loud clatter so that I can hold it with both hands.

  What the hell is it? My vision is blurry but I blink away the tears and stare at what’s on my plate.

  It’s staring back at me.

  Or, it would be if it weren’t dead.

  It’s a possum, obviously roadkill, with its eyes open in permanent fright. Its jaw has been broken and its pale pink tongue hangs out over the razor sharp teeth. I suck in a breath, trying to clear my head, but when I look away from its grotesque face, my eyes fall on the maggots forcing their way out of the bloated stomach.

  Roadkill.

  They put fucking roadkill on a plate and gave it to me for breakfast.

  I’m going to throw up, I know it.

  There’s a titter of laughter from somewhere in the cafeteria. Others join in and the sound swells, moving easily through the entire room. Everyone is laughing at me, and I whip my head around to see if my friends have joined in.

  They haven’t, but they all look pale.

  The only other four people not laughing are the devils. Slowly, they walk around from behind the serving area. Asher leads them to me, his gorgeous face twisted in rage.

  “You don’t belong here, Kiera. That’s the kind of shit that you’re supposed to eat. That’s what you deserve, white trash. I know that your aunt and uncle bought your way in here, but do you think that they’d want you to stay if they know how disgusting you really are?” Every one of his words are clipped with anger, and his blue eyes look almost black.

  “Fuck you.” My arms feel like they’re moving on their own. I know that I shouldn’t do this, that doing it is simply going down a path that I’m never going to be able to crawl my way back out of.

  Asher doesn’t move. Either he doesn’t realize what I’m about to do or he doesn’t think that I really have the balls. I lock my eyes on him, but a movement from behind him catches my attention.

  It’s Caspian. He sees what I’m doing and his jaw drops. I can’t let him stop me. Even though he hasn’t moved, he could reach me. The thought of his hands on me, stopping me, almost freezes me in place.

  I can’t keep thinking about them like this if I’m ever going to make my way out of this school. They’re not good people.

  I tip the tray, and by now, Asher realizes what I’m doing, but by now, it’s also too late for him to do anything about it. The rotting possum slides off of the plate with a soft squelch and falls directly on his head.

  We all freeze. My body is screaming at me to turn and run, but I can’t get my legs to cooperate. I’m still holding the tray in the air above his head. Maggots fall from his hair to his shoulders and down to the floor. I track one with my eyes, and when I look back up, I realize what a huge mistake I’ve actually made.

  “I’m going to kill you.” Asher’s voice is so low that I could almost convince myself that I didn’t hear him correctly. “I swear to god, Kiera, I’m going to fucking kill you.”

  As my dad used to say, I’ve done it now, and I can either go whole hog or turn tail. Swallowing hard, I tear my eyes away from a maggot on his shoulder. How in the world has he stood there and taken it and not moved?

  “I’m not white trash,” I tell him, trying to keep my words even. I hate it when I’m about to cry and it’s obvious in my voice. “I belong here. And I swear to you, Asher, anything that you and your stupid little devils try to pull on me won’t work. I’m better and smarter than you.”

  I need to get out of here. I need to make a run for it before he reacts and makes good on his promise. Turning, I start to walk out of the cafeteria, but a strong hand on my arm stops me.

  Parker whips me around to face him, pulling me close so that I’m pressed up against his chest. I can feel the heat from his body through our clothes. He’s covered in muscles, but before I allow myself to enjoy that too much, I force myself to look up at his face.

  He’s pissed.

  Asher still hasn’t moved, but the other two devils flank me while Parker holds me in place. “You want to make enemies, Kiera? You’ve done that. You want to cause a stir and stand up for what you believe in? Done. Congratulations. But now what?” Parker’s voice is for my ears only and I can’t help but enjoy the honeyed sound of it snaking through me.

  I should not be enjoying this.

  He asked me a question.

  The devils have threatened me in front of a room for of students but nobody has come to my aid. I’m all alone on this one, and I really don’t have any recourse. No way to protect myself.

  Shit. Did I mess up? My skin grows a little clammy, but Parker still doesn’t let me go. If anything, he holds me tighter, his fingers digging into the soft skin on my arm. I couldn’t get away if I tried, and I’m sure as hell too afraid right now to try.

  “I’m going to stay here. I’m going to finish out my high school years, and you four are going to stop fucking with me.” My voice sounds strong and I hope that they think I’m braver than I feel.

  One of the devils chuckles, and I turn to look at Caspian. “You should have just left, Kiera,” he says, a little sadly. “Now there’s really nothing that we can do for you.”

  Parker lets go of my arm, pushing me back from him a little. I stumble on my high heels but manage to keep myself from falling. Asher still hasn’t moved, and when we make eye contact, I feel my stomach drop.

  How badly did I just fuck up?

  The devils all stare at me, and then, as if responding to a signal that only the know, they turn and walk away. I don’t realize that I’ve been holding my breath until they’re gone and I breath out so that I can gasp in a breath.

  Chapter 10

  The day started out like shit and it didn’t get any better. Not that I really thought that it could, especially after I dumped a rotting possum carcass on Asher, but I had hopes.

  I honestly thought that if I stood up to them enough that they may leave me alone. They may see that I’m not interested in playing their games and find someone else to pick on.

  But then I remember that I took a coveted spot from Asher’s cousin. There’s no way that they’re going to look the other way. Not before, and certainly not now.

  Fuck. I want to ask my parents what I should do. I wish, more than anything, that I could just pick up the phone and call them. My mom was the best at giving advice, but there’s nothing that she can do for me now. I don’t have any family who cares about me.

  Tears prick my eyes, but I wipe them away a
ngrily. I have another class to go to, and both Parker and Luca are in it. They’re the two wild cards of the devils. I know that Asher hates me more than anything, but I almost feel some compassion from Caspian.

  I know that that’s probably crazy. Devils don’t have compassion for anyone.

  Sliding into my seat, I keep my head down and pull out my notebook. Algebra 2 is not my best class, and I know that I need to work harder than ever if I’m going to be able to pull an A in it. My uncle didn’t say that he’d yank me from the school if I got Bs, but I’m not really interesting in testing him and seeing how far he’s willing to go.

  A slam of books on a desk to my left makes me jerk my head up from my notebook. Luca grins at me, then slips into the seat. “Afternoon, darling. You having a good Monday?”

  My stomach twists at what he calls me. No guy has ever called me that, and I can’t believe that the term of endearment would come out of the mouth of a devil.

  Turning a little away from him, I try to ignore him, but Parker slips into the seat on my other side. “We didn’t see you at lunch, white trash. Did you manage to find a dumpster to dig through or did you end up eating the roadkill we left you?”

  I don’t want to answer them. This morning felt great when I dumped the dead possum on Asher, but I know for a fact that all I did was make them even angrier. I set myself up for more problems with them.

  “I’m fine,” I lie, even though my stomach has been rumbling all day long. Sophia took an apple from the cafeteria for me, but it just wasn’t enough. After the shenanigans this morning, we were all told that privileges for eating outside were revoked.

  “I told you that we should have cooked it a little,” Luca says, making me turn to look at him, even though he’s looking over my head and talking to Parker. “I don’t know how anyone would be able to eat a rotting possum raw.”

  “You obviously haven’t met white trash like our little Kiera then,” Parker says with a laugh. I try my best to ignore them, but a quick glance around the room tells me that everyone is listening.