Kyle came to stop in front of me, and his jaw unhinged slightly when he saw who I was talking to, but he quickly resumed his composure. “Hey, man,” he greeted awkwardly before redirecting his attention to me. “Ready to go?”
If looks could kill, Kyle would be over a grill in a zoo somewhere, being fed to a den of hungry lions. Asher righted himself and fixed a blank look on his face I hadn’t seen for a while.
“You can run along, I’ve got it,” he drawled. “Peters won’t mark her late if she’s with me.”
Kyle laughed, completely missing the hostility emanating from Asher. Sometimes, Kyle’s surfer boy attitude meant he was as unassuming as a box of crackers. “Dude, you’re seriously underestimating Petrie Peter’s hatred for Ives. She’d slam her with detention even if the president personally emailed her.”
At this point, Kyle loosely grabbed my wrist, but before he could lead me away, Asher stepped into his path, and he’d dropped the blank expression in favor of a menacing, slightly homicidal one.
Uh-oh.
“Well, dude, I can handle Petrie Peters. Leave. Ives isn’t your concern,” Asher bit out, and I could have sworn his hand twitched towards his calf, where I knew he’d strapped a gun.
I stepped between them, wrangling my wrist from Kyle’s hand. I poked Asher in the chest until he redirected his gaze to me. He softened instantly, but I was too annoyed to note it. “Stop it,” I ground. “You’re going to make a scene. He’s walking me to class, not seducing me in a dark alleyway.”
We had a stare-off for a few minutes. “Jealous?” I chuckled purposely. His frown deepened, and with another poisonous glare of warning at Kyle, he stalked off.
It took us a few seconds to reanimate. “Sorry,” I apologized, tugging on his sleeve as we walked to Biology. “He’s really not a douche most of the time.”
Kyle sent me a dubious look. “That’s pretty hard to believe. He looked like he wanted to rip my head off and feed it to his drooling pitbull Fluffy.”
I laughed, swiping a strand of hair from my mouth. “Your soccer coach wouldn’t be too thrilled with the game next week.”
“Just my luck, to piss off Asher Grayson before the most important game of the year,” Kyle groaned.
“He’s not going to hurt you, you know that right?” I checked. It was okay for me to accuse Asher of being a Neaderthalic delinquent, but only me.
“Ives, the guy was hauled into juvie because he trashed a strip mall. When they tried to make his punishment to clean it up, he threw an officer over a railing. Good thing it was Christmas, because the officer fell right into Santa’s lap.”
“That was a long time ago,” I said uncertainly.
Kyle stopped at the door to Mrs. Peters. “That was last Christmas. He’s still seeing a parole officer,” he informed me, and yanked the door open.
Peters stopped her lecture give us her glare. “Mr. Callaghan, Miss Robello, nice of you to finally grace us with your presence.”
This was going to be a long period.
By the time lunch rolled around, I was a centimeter from ripping heads off. Mrs. Peters had taken an obscene amount of pleasure from torturing me during first period, and reading Romeo and Juliet in Lit had irritated me further.
Their relationship was basically, “You’re pretty, I’m gonna marry you even though we met a second ago when I was hung up over another chick.”
Juliet: “Sure thing, I ran out of crayons for my coloring book. Oh wait, don’t want to forget my pacifier.”
Romeo: “Great, we’re secretly married, you don’t have to feel guilty if we get nekked and take a roll in the hay.”
Juliet: “Oh gosh, why not? It’s not like I was twelve a year ago and this should be considered pedophilia or anything.”
By the time I reached our lunch table, my left eye was twitching. Caleb, Dana, and Kyle took one look at me and quickly buried their faces in their lunches. When my twitch had visibly stilled, Caleb plucked up the courage to speak.
“Bad day?”
I impaled a cube of chicken on my fork. “Yup.”
“Bummer,” he nodded. Dana rolled her eyes.
“Wow, Caleb, your emotional sincerity never fails to stun me,” she said sarcastically. She pushed her cookie in my direction. “Have it. Chocolate always makes you feel better.”
I accepted it and chomped into the doughy goodness. I flashed Dana a thumbs up, and she shrugged. “What are best friend’s for, if not anger management?”
To be honest, it wasn’t only my craptastic morning that was making me a younger version of my mother in her Momzilla mode. My deal with Trevor was weighing heavily in my gut, and I’d second guessed myself more times than should be healthy. I’d spent most of Sunday pacing my room like a crazy woman, finding everything that could possibly go wrong.
There were a lot of things.
Kyle was talking to Caleb about the upcoming soccer match, using a bunch of fancy terminology that went right over my head. The Plastics entrance was as dramatic as ever, but this time I wasn’t paying attention. They were missing a member. Where was Asher?
I spent ten minutes trying to forget it, but the thought that he could be in trouble wouldn’t fade. But I’d guaranteed he’d be safe with the awful deal I’d made, hadn’t I?
“What kind of deal?” I asked Trevor suspiciously, crossing my arms over my chest. The loud sound of Spencer’s gorilla snores made the situation less surreal than it had been, and it was starting to sink in that I was alone in my bedroom with a gangster/mafia member/ loan shark. Who knew, Garibaldi could be a combination of them all.
“You’re small and innocent. Those big hazel eyes and pale cheeks could make Al Capone play with Barbies,” Trevor said nonchalantly, fingers twitching.
That might just be the strangest thing someone had ever said to me.
“I found myself thinking, I’m getting to be a tired old man. My employees are all male or hardened women. Do you know how many times an exchange has turned sour on me, kid?”
“Uh…no.”
“A lot. Some young wise guy thinks he can get the jump on me, and things get ugly. Or an old rival pulls a dirty trick. You know what I’m saying?”
I stared at him blankly.
“What I’m saying is, if you want to protect your boyfriend-and believe me, with Derevko getting more and more impatient every day, he’s gonna need it- I want you to come with me during my deals.”
“Deals?”
He snorted at my befuddled expression. “You’ll be perfect for it. You’re too young and cute-looking for anyone to dare trying any foul play. They won’t want to hurt you because you’re a civilian, and a child.”
Excuse me, I was eighteen. And I wasn’t sure whether to be super creeped out that this old guy wanted to use me as his virtual bullet-proof vest because I was apparently “innocent” and “cute-looking”.
Don’t I feel womanly.
Gritting my teeth against the roiling of my thoughts, I wrung my hands. The decision had already been made for me when I started to care for Asher. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him when I could’ve prevented it. I’d have to make sure he didn’t find out. He would go ballistic, and I’d have to wipe up the splatters when his head exploded.
I glanced up, meeting the gaze of the greedy loan shark.
“Fine. You’ve got yourself a deal. But if anything happens to Asher…”
A slimy smile I didn’t trust one bit spread over his face.
“We’ve got a deal.”
I shook my head, clearing it. Now wasn’t the time to wonder if I’d made an extremely misguided decision. Palming my phone, I wondered if I should call him. I excused myself to the bathroom, turning down Dana’s offer to come with me. Caleb asked for, possibly for the millionth time, why it was proper girl etiquette for girl’s to go to the bathroom in groups.
“You don’t all pee in one stall right?” Caleb asked, looking morbidly fascinated.
Dana shot him a disgusted look. “You’v
e really got to lay off the cabbage.”
The halls were empty, only a few students slumped in the corners, preferring the cold tile floors to the arena of cliques inside the cafeteria. I headed to the bathroom and leaned against the sink, scrolling for Asher’s number. I was ready to call when the bathroom door swung open and Brenda Curtis sashayed in, followed by her three lapdogs, Kelsie, Hannah, and Random Chick (I could never remember her name).
Great. As if my day wasn’t bad enough.
I shut my phone and prayed she’d move along. Honestly, with the stuff going on in my life right now, a vindictive Queen Bee was the least of my concerns. My emotions and reactions were completely off-kilter, and I didn’t trust myself. I wasn’t the same meek girl who’d escaped the locker rooms every day from fear of being ambushed.
But, since this day was horrible and it would be too nice of the universe to give me a break, Brenda and her cronies stopped in front of me. Brenda was blocking the way to the door and her three crones circled me.
They could totally make an Animal Planet documentary on this.
Look! Bitches in their natural habitats.
I cracked myself up.
Brenda must have grown impatient with my dopey grinning, because she jeered. “What are you smiling at, slut?”
Stay calm Ivy.
“Listen, I don’t want any trouble,” I tried, holding my hands up to pacify her. “Whatever it is I did to you, I’m sorry.”
“What you did to me?” she sneered, any trace of pretense gone. “You stole my boyfriend. He’s always had a soft spot for damsels in distress, and you’re just the perfect candidate, aren’t you? Poor damaged little Ivy.”
Remember Gandhi. He didn’t give in. Brenda is a lot less intimidating than British officers.
“I didn’t steal anything. Asher isn’t an object. I couldn’t steal him if he didn’t want to be stolen,” I concluded logically, not realizing I’d said the wrong thing.
Brenda’s face reddened, and she got in my face. “Are you saying I couldn’t hold on to my man?”
“Um…no?”
Suddenly, a downright mean glint appeared in Brenda’s eyes, and she shoved my shoulder once. “Does he treat you better than your last boyfriend?”
She wouldn’t dare. She. Would. Not. Dare.
“The court case was supposed to be hush hush because you were a minor, but my dad is an important attorney, he had access to the files. I know all about how you wouldn’t testify against him until they forced you to. How they found you in the hospital, how you wouldn’t tell anyone how your boyfriend landed you there.
“There was nothing wrong with Jared until he met you. Everything that happened to him was your fault. God knows how you toyed with his mind. You drove the poor guy literally insane. And I’m just telling you right now, I’m not letting a crazy whore hurt everything Asher’s worked for.”
I paused. My blood cooled, and the details of Brenda’s face sharpened, twisted into ugly hate.
She dared.
The stress and emotion from the past few weeks snapped like a rubber band, and my body flushed hot, then cold. There are a few things about me that I hadn’t talked much about with Asher. Such as the fact that after Jared was arrested, I’d learned almost every martial arts program there was. I’d been driven to make sure I was never the defenseless victim again. That my own body wouldn’t be used against me. It was probably why Calvin from the club wouldn’t have any children.
Dr. Paxton liked to say that I was a mellow person, but I kept my emotions bottled up. She had this idea that if I let too much build up, unnoticed, it would burst, and the consequences wouldn’t be pretty.
Who would’ve thought she was right? Because right then, any logic, any calm, any semblance of control I had vanished, and one thing was flashing in my mind like a neon sign.
She is going down.
My hand darted out, wrapping around Brenda’s throat. Her cronies reacted a minute too late, because before they could reach for me, I’d hurled Brenda from the bathroom door, and we were in the hall.
I swung, my right hand making contact with her cheek. She flew back, slamming into a wall of lockers. She touched her face dazedly, but don’t be fooled. Mean girls can have as much bite as they do bark.
Brenda’s legs snaked forward, and I landed on my back with her on top of me. “You…gave…me….a…black….eye!” she screeched, slapping and pulling my hair.
With a growl, I hooked my ankle around her thigh and grabbed the hand that was slapping me. I flipped us over. Warm liquid trickled down my forehead, but I was too intent on besting her to care.
A crowd had gathered, and Brenda’s cronies had run into the cafeteria, presumably to get the Plastics, although history had proven they had the balls of a fruit fly when it came to intervening in fights.
I grabbed Brenda by the throat again, squeezing tightly and slamming her head down into the tile. She writhed, trying to buck me off, her hands clawing at me. I leaned down, my fingers constricting as I spoke. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Think you’ve got everything figured out. News flash: you’re an idiot. You have no idea what you’re talking about, and if I were you, I wouldn’t stick my nose in other people’s business.”
“Ivy!” Dana and Caleb broke through the crowd and tried to pry me off Brenda, but I was being fueled by determination and rage. I threw them off, but it cost me. Tristan dove forward, tackling me to the tile. Brett and Kyle joined the fray, with Caleb and Kyle pushing a few Plastics away from me, while I dealt with Tristan and Brett.
I tried to push past them, to get to Brenda, but it was no use. Her lapdogs had circled her protectively, and Tristan and Brett were glowering at me, daring me to try to break through their barricade.
Challenge accepted.
I lunged forward, surprising them with my suddenness. With both arms, I slammed my elbows into their jugulars. Before they had a chance to recover, I shoved Brett into a locker at the same time I swept Tristan’s feet out from under him.
“You-” Brett spat, and swung. I barely managed to duck in time, but I used the opportunity to run and him like a bull, crushing my head against him belly and propelling us both to slam into the lockers.
Tristan yanked me to him and reared back, punching me so hard in the nose I saw stars. “Dude!” I heard Brett gasp. “You don’t actually hit a girl!”
“It’s either that or she’ll hand us our balls!”
I staggered a bit, but quickly regained my equilibrium, faster than Tristan thought I would.
Making for Tristan’s crotch, he stopped me by grabbing my leg and using it to throw me into the lockers. The handles dug into my spine, and I inhaled sharply. Tristan hoisted me to my feet by my collar and I closed my eyes in anticipation.
When the hit never came, I peeked.
Asher literally picked Tristan up by his shirt and threw him down. I winced as a heard something crack, and by the terrifying expression on Asher’s face, he wasn’t done yet. I leaped on him at the last second, halting his fist. I shoved him back, away from Tristan.
“That’s enough!” I shouted, my voice echoing in the halls. The fights ceased, and everyone glanced at me. Where were the teachers in all this? I wondered idly.
I looked behind me to see Brenda on her feet, making a beeline for Asher. She threw herself in his arms, clutching her cheek pathetically. “She hit me! She’s crazy, Asher!”
I laughed manically, and right then, I felt pretty crazy. “The hoe is right, you know,” I chuckled humorlessly. “I am crazy. So keep your girlfriend away from me.”
I focused my attention on Brenda, and was it my imagination, or did she flinch? “If you come near me again, I’ll rip out your intestines and feed them to you from your nostrils,” I said calmly.
I spun on my heel and left.
It was when I was halfway across the parking lot that Dana and Caleb finally caught up with me. No one said anything as they waited for me to get my rage under control.
Dana and Caleb exchanged a glance before simultaneously rounding the car and climbing in. When I arched a brow at them, Dana merely shrugged. “I’m out of chocolate, and you’re at an unhealthy level of pissed off.”
“Yeah, what kind of friends would we be if we left you to stew alone?” Caleb added.
Now I felt like dog dung. Steaming piles of unfriendly dog dung on the heel of a shoe. “I’m sorry I dragged you guys into that. I know your Coach could’ve benched you for your game, Caleb,” I sighed.
Caleb waved a hand uncaringly. “Kyle was throwing as many punches as I was. There’s a limit to how much shit those Plastics can pull, and we weren’t going to let them get near you. Screw the game.”
“Did you see how she beat the crud out of Brett and Tristan?” Dana told him excitedly. She threw her arms in the air. “Our best friend is a ninja!”
I giggled as Dana went into detail about my throwdown, exaggerating of course. My anger ebbed until it was mostly gone by the time I parked in front of my house. What would I do without my best friends?
“My parents are at work, so we can go in,” I told them, locking the car as we made our way to the front door. I unlocked the front door and pulled it open. The house was silent, and I felt myself relax until Dana released a shriek.
Standing there in nothing but a ratty pair of boxers was Spencer. It appeared as if he’d been heading back to the couch from the kitchen, because a bowl of cereal was in his hands, a spoon poised halfway to his lips.
“Oh, gross!” I bellowed, throwing a hand over my eyes. “Put some freaking clothes on!”
“What are you doing home?!” he yelled, and I heard rustling as he tugged some pants on from the same closet he hid in from Mom. “You’re supposed to be at school!”
Lowering my hand when I was sure the coast was clear, I scowled at him. “So you prance around the house in your underwear everyday when we leave the house?” I avoided his question.
Spencer chewed a spoonful of cereal. “Pretty much, yeah,” he garbled.
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