by Gemma Weir
He blinks at me, as if he hadn’t been expecting me to speak. “What?”
“Do. You. Need. Me. To. Say. It. Slowly. So. You. Can. Understand?” I say, sounding every word out just like he’d done to me earlier.
His smile is chilling.
“You have to be invited to sit with us. Normally family is always welcome, but as you’ve very publicly and now more than once, told everyone who will listen how repugnant you find my company, I suggest you go find somewhere else to sit,” I say, my tone dismissive; not giving away how angry I am.
“That’s not very friendly, Princess.” he growls, his eyes alight with anger.
“I tried to be friendly. You weren’t interested. I’m dumb and spoilt, right? So why don’t you and your opinions go sit somewhere else?” I say, shooing him away with an obnoxious flick of my hand.
“You’re starting to piss me off,” he warns, his tone lethal.
Locking my gaze with his for a minute, I flash him a self-satisfied smirk then dismiss him, focusing all of my attention back onto my cell phone.
I hear the scrape of his chair as he stands up, and then listen as he walks away. Only instead of leaving, I feel his hot breath on the side of my neck as he leans down and plants his hands on either side of me on the table, caging me in with his chest to my back. “See you soon, Princess,” he whispers menacingly into my ear.
I fight it, but I know he feels the tremor that runs through my whole body. Then slowly, he drags his hands back and the heat of his skin leaves mine. I don’t breathe, my eyes firmly fixed on the table in front of me. He runs his finger along the back of my neck and tugs lightly on a strand of my hair before he finally walks away.
“Holy crap,” Brit whispers. “That was so intense. I’m a little turned on right now.”
Turning, I look to Emmy and find her book lowered to the table and her eyes wide. “Are you okay?” she mouths.
Shakily I nod, then push my lunch away and look to Brit. “He’s a dick,” I say, willing my voice to be strong, but instead it comes out as a weak, breathy gasp.
“Yeah, but a seriously hot one,” she says, turning to scan the crowd.
When the bell rings signaling the end of lunch, I’m grateful. My next class is my only one with Emmy and right now I need her silent strength. My mind is in a frantic tornado of fear and desire and anxiety. How can one person reek so much havoc in me?
Waving to Brit, I lead the way to our lockers, my head held high, my shoulders pulled back, never letting my mask slip no matter how much of a mess I am inside. Loading all of my new books into my locker, I close the door and look up, only to find Valentine’s angry eyes on me from across the hall.
Our school is small, but somehow Valentine Miller is everywhere. I can feel him judging me from across the hall and I don’t understand what I could possibly have done to provoke his ire. Unable to move, I stand, my gaze locked with his and wait for him to come to me. Only he doesn’t and a moment later he smirks, turns and walks away, completely unaffected.
Inside my legs are quaking and my stomach is full of nervous worry that gnaws at me, making my mouth fill with saliva as the need to throw up builds.
“You ready?” Emmy asks. I nod, my hand pressed to my churning stomach as I follow her to our next class. We endure another welcome back speech, then the teacher drones on about something, but I don’t absorb a word. All I can think about is Valentine and the way his black eyes had looked inside of me, into the small, scared core of me. He hates me and for some reason this bothers me more than I’m prepared to admit.
When the last bell of the day rings, I jump up from my seat and rush out of the classroom, eager to get the hell away from this school. Today more than ever, I’ve felt every envious, angry, intrigued, nosy look the kids have flashed my way and I’m done. I can’t take anymore.
When I reach my block of lockers, the people around me clear a path and I walk forward, reaching out to unlock the lock. A huge palm slams into the door, making me jump in surprise.
“Baby, why haven’t I seen you yet today?” Cade asks, his full lips spread into a beautiful smile.
The familiar voice dissolves some of my anxious energy and I can’t help the grin that takes over my lips as I turn, resting my back against my locker and looking up into the handsome face of my ex-boyfriend. “I don’t know Cade. Maybe it’s because we broke up and you have a new girlfriend who you should be spending time with?”
“It was your idea to break up, baby. Say the word and Natasha’s history. You know how much I want you,” he says, stepping forward until his body is pressed against mine. “Feel what you do to me, babe. You know you want me just as much as I want you. Let’s get out of here and we can start our senior year with a bang.”
Biting at the corner of my lips, I try to hide my amusement, but a giggle escapes when he winks at me, lifting his hips and pushing his hard dick into my leg. Shaking my head, I lift my hand and push at his chest. He reluctantly moves back, a resigned twist to his lips showing that he didn’t really expect me to agree.
“Baby,” he whines.
“Cade, you know this isn’t going to work. We broke up because you couldn’t keep your eyes and your hands to yourself. I’m not mad; we were over anyway. But I’m also not interested. So why don’t you take that,” I vaguely point to his crotch. “And see if Natasha is interested in doing anything with it. Although by the way she’s throwing death stares your way from her locker over there, I’m thinking you might be on your own.”
Cade spins to look over his shoulder to where his girlfriend is standing with two of her friends. Her eyes are narrowed and her hands clenched into tight fists.
“Baby,” Cade cajoles, walking across the hall, his hands held out in a pleading motion.
“You are such a dick,” Natasha screams.
Enjoying the fact that for once the attention isn’t on me, I turn my back on the rapidly escalating argument and grab my books from my locker, shoving them into my purse and leaving the school, my ex, and all of his drama behind.
When I reach the parking lot, Emmy is nowhere to be seen, but Zeke is leaning against his car with Griffin, the twins, and Valentine stood around him.
“Hey,” Zeke calls, walking around his car and toward me. “We’re gonna order in a pizza then hang out and play video games. You in?”
Looking up, I catch Valentine staring at me and immediately look away. “No, I’m good.”
Zeke walks me to the other side of the car and leans in, talking to me in a hushed tone. “You okay?”
My eyes drift behind him to Valentine, and Zeke follows my movement. “Is Valentine the reason you don’t want to hang out with us? What happened?”
“Nothing really. You saw how he was this morning in homeroom and he was a dick to me at lunch too. He’s making it obvious he doesn’t like me, and I don’t want to deal with his bullshit.”
Zeke’s eyes narrow. “I’ll talk to him again. I thought he understood after I spoke to him this morning, but I’ll have another word and make sure he gets the message. Come hang with us. You know Griff loves it when you kick his ass at Call of Duty.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m good. I think I’ll see what Emmy is up to.”
“She’ll be doing her homework, or reading ahead in her books. You know what she’s like. I fucking love the girl like a sister, but she’s not exactly fun,” Zeke says with a laugh.
“Wow, thanks,” Emmy says, when she rounds my car, her eyes wide and full of hurt.
“Em,” Zeke says, immediately full of regret.
“Can we go?” Emmy asks me, and I nod, unlocking my car. She immediately climbs in and I scowl at Zeke and motion for him to go talk to her.
“Fuck,” Zeke hisses, then darts to her door, pulling it open and sinking to his knees beside it.
Wanting to give them some privacy, I step away from the car and catch Griffin’s eye.
“Shit, Nova, you get hotter every time I see you,” Griff says with a laugh,
sauntering toward me and throwing his arm across my shoulder playfully. “I think I’ll even let you sit on my lap while you kick my ass on the Xbox this year.”
Rolling my eyes at him, I push him off. “Eww, Griff that’s disgusting. You’re like my brother and you practically live at our house. You even have your own room Dad built for you.”
“Echo loves me,” Griffin says, with an easygoing grin.
Griff is the only one who doesn’t refer to all of our club family as aunties and uncles. I think it’s probably because he didn’t move here until he was like seven or eight. His older brother Duke came to the Archer’s Creek chapter of the Sinners to prospect before I was born. Years later Griff and Duke’s parents tragically died and so Duke became Griffin’s guardian. I think it was fate that Griff and Zeke met because they’ve been practically inseparable ever since. Griff’s family, simple as that.
Ignoring him, I glance at Valentine, then to my brothers. “How was your first day at high school?” I ask them.
“The usual. Got dropped off by bikers to make sure no one messed with us, which is just…” Leo says.
“Completely unnecessary, but kind of cool.” Dill finishes for him.
“Do you have the same classes, or have they split you up?” I ask.
“We’re split for almost everything,” Leo says.
“Suckers,” Dill laughs.
“Don’t tell me you guys switched places already? It’s only the first day,” I exclaim, narrowing my eyes at my far-too-clever-for-their-own-good little brothers.
“Only for algebra,” Dill says, with a shrug.
I open my mouth to reply, but Zeke appears at my side, his mouth dropped into a frown.
“You okay?” I ask.
Zeke shakes his head and doesn’t speak. Whatever conversation he had with Emmy obviously didn’t go well and I know he’ll feel awful about upsetting her. Sighing, I head for my car and find a tearful Emmy sitting with her bag on her lap, hugging it to her chest. “Do I need to kill him?” I ask quietly, turning the key and putting the car into gear.
As I reverse out of the space, I ignore the now familiar feeling of Valentine’s icy glare and drive away while my best friend sniffs and discreetly wipes away tears.
“Do you think I’m boring too?” She asks, her voice small.
“Never,” I say, needing her to know that what I’m saying is the truth.
She doesn’t speak again, and I don’t push her. Worry claws at my throat. I’ll kill Zeke if this pushes Emmy even further away when she’s already starting to drift. When I pull up outside her house, she reaches for her seatbelt and I twist in my seat and place my hand over it, stopping her. “Please don’t listen to Zeke. He’s a stupid jerk, you know that. But he loves you, almost as much as I do. You’re our sister, you’re my sister and I need you. I really don’t want to lose you, Em.”
Emmy’s eyes soften and she leans across the seat and hugs me. “You won’t lose me, you idiot,” she says, her voice stronger than before, but still full of emotion. “Do you want to stay for dinner? I think Mom’s cooking so you should be safe.”
“Yes,” I say, not letting go of her and prolonging the hug.
“Come on, we can plot revenge on Zeke,” Emmy says with a laugh and I release her and climb out of the car.
Hours later, I pull my car into our driveway and kill the engine, dragging my purse from the backseat. Closing the door behind me, I press the button to lock the door and make my way up to the house. When I called Mom to tell her I was eating at Emmy’s, she’d said that her and Dad were going to the club tonight. As I walk into the family room, it’s empty and I can hear the guys down in the basement.
Dropping my purse onto the table I head downstairs and push open the basement door. The couch is full of boys and the remnants of pizza boxes, soda bottles, and chip packets litter the coffee table.
“Hey,” Zeke calls when he spots me, dropping the controller he was using and bounding toward me. “She okay?”
“Yeah,” I say sadly. “She’s pissed and hurt, but she’ll get over it.”
“I’ll talk to her again tomorrow. I’d go over there now, but if she cries and Pres is there, he’ll kick my ass.”
Nodding, I look away from my brother and scan the other people in the room. The twins, Griffin, and… Valentine. The moment I spot him I look away, not wanting to deal with him being an asshole again. “I’m going to bed,” I say.
“Stay. You know you want to kick all of our butts. You love proving how much better than us you are,” Zeke says with a playful smile.
“Not today,” I say, allowing my eyes to drift to Valentine for the barest of moments before looking away again. “I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Zeke shrugs, his attention already drifting back to the game. “Okay, night.”
“Night,” I say, turning to pull open the door and climb back up the stairs. I grab a bottle of water from the kitchen, and my purse, and then head for the sanctuary of my bedroom. I really want to go back downstairs and demand to know why Valentine is here. In the past, Zeke would have kicked his ass for the way he spoke to me in homeroom, but instead, Valentine freaking Miller is in our basement playing video games with my brothers like he’s part of the family.
As I push open my bedroom door, it dawns on me that Valentine is part of our family now, or at least he sort of is. Auntie Brandi and Uncle Sleaze will think of him and treat him like he’s their son, so it makes perfect sense why my brothers are trying to make friends with him. If he was a girl, I’d be doing exactly the same.
But the guy is an aggressive douchebag and even knowing he’s a foster kid and now part of our extended family, it still doesn’t excuse the way he’s behaved toward me today. Maybe I was a little mean to him at lunch, but he’d attacked me first. I’d merely retaliated in the way everyone would expect me to, with cold indifference.
Closing the door to my bedroom behind me, I strip out of my clothes and take a shower, letting the relaxing drone of the water hitting the tile melt away all of the day’s stresses. Some people prefer a bath to decompress, but for me the way the water drowns out everything around me is the perfect meditation.
With my body wrapped in one towel and my hair twisted up into a turban with the other, I pad back into my bedroom and shriek when I find Valentine lounging on my bed, scrolling through something on my cell. “Get out!” I cry, clutching at my towel. “What the hell are you doing in my room?”
“Make your mind up, Princess. You either want me to get out, or answer your question,” Valentine drawls, dropping my cell to the comforter and swinging his legs off the bed to stand up.
I back away when he takes a step toward me. For the very first time, I feel incredibly vulnerable in my own home. This guy, who seems to hate me, is in my bedroom and I’m only wearing a towel. Clutching the material around me, I retreat toward the bathroom, ready to run inside and lock the door.
“Are you scared, Princess?” Valentine asks, a smug smile twitching at the corner of his lips.
“N- no,” I say, unconvincingly.
“I’m not going to touch you, don’t worry. I just thought I’d come up here and say hello, seeing as you didn’t bother to say hello to me when you were downstairs.”
He takes another step toward me and in my haste to get away, I stumble, losing my balance and falling backward, landing in a heap at his feet.
“Well, look at you,” he says, his eyes dipping down and his tongue bobbing out to lick at his lower lip. “At my feet and half naked, maybe we could get along if this is the kind of friendship you’re looking to offer me.”
I follow his gaze and realize that when I fell, the towel dropped and my breasts are on display. Gasping, I pull the fabric back up covering myself, my skin blushing hotly. “Get out,” I cry, scrambling to get to my feet while I clutch the towel, trying desperately to keep it in place.
“You’re on quite the little pedestal at school, aren’t you, Princess? Top of the
food chain, the queen. Looking down on all your adoring fans like they’re the scum beneath your pretty little shoes.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I argue.
“I don’t need to know you. You’re transparent, predictable, boring,” he says, with a sneer.
I open my mouth to argue and then think better of it. Valentine thinks he has me figured out; he couldn’t be more wrong. He sees what I allow everyone to see and he thinks he knows me. He thinks I’m shallow and vapid and mean. I’d rather him believe the lie than actually see what’s beneath the act.
Pulling on the mean girl mask I wear to school, I straighten my spine and take a step toward him for the first time since I found him in my room. “Think you have me all figured out, huh?” I ask mockingly. “You have absolutely no idea. But hey, if we’re going for character assassinations then why don’t we talk about you?” I pause, smiling pityingly at him. “You’re so obvious, it’s painful. Tortured bad boy, rebelling against his shitty upbringing where nobody loves you.” I smirk. “Tell me, am I close?”
His brows pull together and the smug smile falls from his face.
“Yeah, it’s not fun when it’s someone picking at your character is it? How about we just agree to ignore each other from now on? I don’t want to know you and you clearly don’t want to know me, but while you’re living with my aunt and uncle we need to at least pretend to be civil to one another. At school we can hate each other at a distance, then play nice around our families or whenever we’re together at club events. The rest of the time you can be an asshole and I’ll be a princess, and nobody steps away from their assigned roles. Now I’m going back to the bathroom to get dressed. Make sure you’re gone by the time I get back out.” Turning, I sashay my way back into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind me.
The moment I click the lock into place, I sag against the door and hold my breath until I hear the sound of my bedroom door opening and closing. Only then do I sink to the floor, bury my face in my knees and pull in a ragged, shaky breath.
The next morning all three of my brothers gush about how cool Valentine is, how good he is at computer games, how he played on the football team at his old school. Blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to hear about how fucking wonderful Valentine Miller is, when to me he’s the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.