Crowd of Lies (Kingsley Academy Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  I hear him groan, but before I can say anything, she’s grabbing my hand and pulling me through the door.

  “Art major, right?” she asks.

  I shake myself out of it, looking at her in wonder. “I am. How did you know? And, um, what was that back there? You totally handled Lucca.”

  She laughs, throwing her head back. “No one could ever handle those boys.”

  “Have you two gotten together?” I ask. I felt a sense of sexual tension between them.

  “God no. Have you heard the rumours?”

  I nod, wondering if I should say that it isn’t true. “Yeah.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t give a fuck if people thought I had them both—they’re hot—but they annoy the hell out of me. I’d end up gagging one of them.”

  “Knew you were into kinky shit,” Lucca murmurs, and Clary and I jump back, screaming.

  “Bloody hell,” she yells, laughing when she catches her breath.

  “I hate you,” I pant out, pushing his chest. “I’m buying fucking bells.”

  Through laughter, he manages to say, “I’m going to class. Try not to fantasise about me too much.”

  “Bells,” I mutter, turning and bumping into a hard body. I look up, growing tense when my gaze locks with Kaiden’s. I lick my suddenly dry lips and his gaze shoots down, following the movement, and I become aroused.

  Shit!

  “Bells?” he asks, his eyes twinkling.

  “I warned you all to stop sneaking up on me,” I tell him, feeling breathless.

  “Hmm, so you did,” he says, his gaze flicking to the side, to where Clary is waiting. “I’ll see you soon, baby.”

  I give him a sharp nod, watching as he leaves, pushing through the double oak doors. The second he’s gone, chatter resumes around me and I come out of my fog.

  “Girl, you have it bad,” Clary mutters. I open my mouth to deny it, but the words won’t come out. “Just be careful with that one.”

  “I thought you liked the Kingsley’s?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder once more.

  “I said I liked the twins. Kaiden, on the other hand, can be a big jerk.”

  My lips twitch. “And yet, that’s probably the nicest insult he’s ever had.”

  She laughs. “True. There’s no denying he’s smoking hot though.”

  “True,” I repeat, making her smile. “So, how did you know I have art?”

  “The teacher, Mrs Swansea, had me help go through applications. And I’m guessing no one told you before, but Danielle is in this art class. It’s basic draw and design. She’s taking fashion and uses this lesson as a way to come up with new designs.”

  Art just got a lot less interesting for me. “You are kidding?”

  “Sorry, I’m not. It’s only this one class. It’s broken up into three sections, but the teachers combine projects so you aren’t overrun with work the first year. I didn’t take it last year as I was in and out of school due to personal reasons.”

  Seeing sadness lurking in her eyes, I don’t question her on why. Instead, I bump my shoulder against hers and give her a bright smile. I can see us being friends. She doesn’t look or act like the other snobs I’ve met at this school. She’s down to earth and not as nutty as Selina.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I command, inwardly preparing myself for Danielle. It’s not that I can’t handle her, it’s just that I don’t want to.

  We step into the classroom and I take in the art around me. Tons of paintings, drawings and framed work are hanging on the walls. There are shelves and shelves of supplies scattered around the room.

  My eyes bug out at the huge work benches, with two stools at each station. There’s four at the front of the room, each having drawers on the side of each station. Towards the back of the spacious room are drawing tables, each one with its own stool and a mini cabinet with what I would guess carry more supplies.

  Something knocks into my shoulder, pushing me forward, further into the room. I face the culprit, finding Danielle standing there with a smug look on her face.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she offers sweetly. I roll my eyes because there was no way she missed me standing in the doorway.

  “Whatever,” I snap, glancing at Clary for guidance. I’m not sure where I’m meant to be sitting.

  “We’re at the work stations today,” she explains.

  “Aww, look at the two of you, already best buddies. Being a loner must have been getting to you, Clary. You’d make friends with anyone.”

  Clary puts on a full watt smile, and I can’t help but be taken aback by her beauty. She’s beautiful anyway, but when she smiles, she’s something else.

  “Careful, you’re making me believe you want to be my friend—you know, showing all of this interest and all,” Clary replies.

  “You wish. The only friend you can get is her,” Danielle remarks.

  Clary’s smile gets bigger as she places her hand over her heart. “Isn’t she the best. I can sleep at night knowing I’ve got one friend in this God forsaken school.”

  “Freak,” Danielle sneers, walking over to one of the drawing tables.

  Thank fuck she isn’t near me.

  A woman with ash-blonde hair tied into a bun on the top of her head walks into the room, immediately stepping up to the desk at the front.

  She looks up, scanning the room until her eyes land on me. “Ivy Monroe?”

  “Yes,” I answer, dropping my bag to the floor and taking a seat next to Clary.

  “Welcome to Kingsley Academy. I’m looking forward to seeing some of your work,” she tells me. “Let me get everyone settled and I’ll get you up to speed on what we’ve been doing.”

  “Okay.”

  A young lad steps up to her, whispering something so the rest of us can’t hear. She nods then glances at Clary. “Clary, can you get Ivy started? I just need to step out for five minutes.”

  “Of course, Mrs Swansea.”

  Once she’s gone, Clary leans in closer. “She has a son at the school who likes to get into trouble. Her husband, his dad, is on the schoolboard, so he gets away with a lot of shit.”

  Before I have chance to reply, a bad smell looms around us. I huff under my breath, peering up at Danielle. “I’m starting to think you are in love with me.”

  She smiles, resting her palms on the edge of the work station opposite me. “It’s a shame about you and Kaiden.”

  “I bet,” I mutter, not commenting further.

  “It’s okay, he’s in good hands. I’ve been taking really good care of him.”

  I grip the edge of the table, ready to end this, but Clary rests her hand on my knee, stopping me.

  “You know, I’ve always wondered something, Danielle.”

  Slowly, Danielle glances at her, her lip curled. “What? How to do your hair?”

  Danielle’s friends chuckle. Clary doesn’t seem fazed, clearly used to their insults, yet I’m gritting my teeth, wanting to put the bitch in her place.

  “No, I’m just curious; I thought Barbies couldn’t bend their knees, but you clearly spend a lot of time on them. How is Mr Hackett?”

  I gag in my mouth as I stare up at Danielle with wide eyes. Her face reddens as she leans across the bench, her hand raised. “You bitch!”

  Clary stands quickly, grabbing her hand and shoving it against the hard wood. “Ever raise your hand to me again and you’ll regret it. Your sheep might be scared of you, but I’m not.”

  “You’ll regret this!” Danielle spits.

  “What, are you going to get the girls here to trash my room, take my clothes and put them all over the courtyard? What are you really going to do? Look around you, Danielle. No one likes you. No one cares for your bullshit. Not every girl will fall in line with you,” she snaps, then pointedly looks at the girl standing next to her. “Not all are scared little sheep.”

  “We will see,” Danielle snaps.

  “Yes, we fucking will.”

  Danielle turns her ange
r on me. “I told you Kaiden would come running back to me. He’s mine. Stay away.”

  “Scared he’ll want me still?” I goad, smiling now.

  She snorts, shaking her head. “He only fucked you to prove he could to all his friends. I’m the girl he’ll marry.”

  I lose the smile, shaking my head sadly at her. “You have all this wealth to do something with your life, yet you are determined to have a man who will provide for your materialistic things. You don’t want Kai. You hardly fucking know him. You just want what his name can give you. And if you think he’ll ever fall for that, you are mistaken.”

  “I know Kai better than you. Trust me, we’ve come to learn each other very well over the years,” she explains suggestively.

  “Yes,” I retort, “you had great sex, but did he ever talk to you, tell you his likes or dislikes? Did he tell you his secrets, cuddle you while you watched movies or hold your hair while you threw up? No, because you were nothing more than a warm body he fucked.”

  The corners of her eyes tighten as her lips curl into a sneer. “You think you are special, but you aren’t. I’ll show you,” she snaps, her voice low. “I’ll show you all.”

  I wait for her to leave before turning to Clary. “She won’t sing, will she? I mean, I’m all for a musical, but her voice already grates through me. Hearing her sing will kill me.”

  Clary throws her head back, laughter pouring out of her like music.

  “We are going to be great friends,” she tells me, leaning into me.

  “We are,” I agree before turning serious. “Do Barbies really not bend at the knee?”

  She laughs louder, and the few students in the room stop to listen. Hearing her laugh helps ease my tension after what just happened.

  I’m not bothered by what Danielle has to say. I couldn’t care less about her full stop. But what has me worried is her infatuation with Kaiden. It’s not healthy. She’s delusional and that’s dangerous, especially when his rejection isn’t registering, not even when he’s a wanker about it.

  But I can’t fix that for him. I’ve got my own issues with Danielle and fighting over Kaiden isn’t one of them.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  KAIDEN

  The locker room smells of sweat as me and Kyle walk into the changing rooms. We stayed behind to talk to our cricket coach and umpire. Our team have a big game coming up, and although it isn’t something I’ll pursue after I finish here at the Academy, a few members of the team are counting on being picked up by a manager after. They are pushing themselves to be the best, but some aren’t taking it as seriously as others and it’s showing on the pitch. I don’t want to get involved, but Kyle thinks they’ll listen to me.

  I walk over to Zac and Neil, two of the best players the Academy has seen in years, to fill them in. Zac is one of the kids who won the funding for his place here. He’s a good kid and fits in well. Usually when outsiders come, they find it hard to fit in. Neil’s father was once a cricket player and was a legacy here.

  “Coach is going to have a word with the rest of them. If they aren’t doing their part, they’re off the team, but I’ll have a word with each of them myself.”

  “Thanks, man. I’m counting on this game. I need someone to pick me up or all of this will have been for nothing,” Zac informs me.

  “It will get sorted,” Neil tells him.

  I give them a chin lift before grabbing my towel off my peg and heading into the showers. It doesn’t take me long, and when I come out, a towel wrapped around my hips, the guys are still finishing up, chatting amongst themselves.

  “I’m going to fuck her,” Jason, a scrawny kid who doesn’t know his left from right, comments.

  I inwardly snort, wondering if he’s ever fucked anyone.

  “I bet her cunt is tight,” another comments.

  “Don’t care. Her arse is good enough for me. Have you seen it?” Simon groans, holding his hands out as if emphasising the size of the arse.

  “I heard her mum was a slag, went through a lot of men and caused shit between families before she ran away, pregnant. If she’s like her mum, we could all have a go,” Derren hoots, and the guys cheer.

  I stop reaching for my shirt when I register what they said. “Who are you talking about?”

  Simon swallows nervously, which is further proof of who they are talking about.

  Jason, clearly dense enough not to know when to stop, grins. “The new chick. Eve or Ivy. Who cares. Every hole’s a goal, right? Am I right?” He holds his hand up for a high five, and I stare blankly at him. He looks around, still grinning. “You don’t think she’s hot?”

  “Jason,” Derren warns.

  Jason’s gaze flicks to Derren, and he frowns a little. “I’m going to ram her so fucking hard she’ll be begging for seconds.”

  I grip his neck, slamming him against the locker.

  “What the fuck?” he croaks, his fingers digging into my wrist.

  “If you ever, and I mean ever, look in Ivy’s direction, I’ll fucking end you,” I snap, slamming his head back against the locker. He falls to the floor, gasping for breath. “That goes for any of you. She’s off limits. She’s mine.”

  “Sorry, mate, we didn’t know,” Derren affirms.

  “Now you do. Spread it around. If anyone tries anything, they’ll answer to me,” I warn him, and he gives me a sharp nod.

  “And me,” Grant says, stepping into the changing rooms. He looks around at the guys, glaring. “Go! Don’t you have lunch?”

  The guys scatter from the locker room as I take in Grant. He looks better than when I left him this morning.

  “I thought you were staying at home?” I head over to my locker, pulling out my uniform.

  “I was, but I got bored. Idle hands and all that.”

  “This three-sixty you’ve done with Ivy—Is it real?” I ask, still wary of his intentions. He’s lost a lot, and he blamed her before with less evidence. We all did.

  “Yeah,” he grits out. “I wish you’d stop questioning me. I’ve fucked up a lot but it’s going to change. I don’t want to have to keep repeating myself.”

  I finish pulling my trousers up then look at him, seeing sincerity. “All right. But one wrong move and we’re done. You do know that, right?”

  He laughs. “You are so fucking in love with this chick and you can’t even see it. You didn’t even think on what I said last night, did you?”

  “I’m not in love with her!” I bark.

  “Yeah, mate, you are. You’re willing to ruin a lifelong friendship over her.”

  I glare at him, gritting my teeth. “We’ve put her through enough. She deserves to be protected, Grant. You of all people should see that.”

  Disappointment flickers across his face. “You’ve done worse to others who didn’t deserve it. Hell, you’ve unintentionally treated Danielle like crap for years. You’ve never cared what happens with her. You’ve never stuck up for her.”

  “Ivy’s different. I can’t explain it to you. The first time we met, she didn’t even react. She didn’t swoon. She doesn’t lie or manipulate to get what she wants. She’s a slap to reality, a taste of the real world, and I like it. I like how she makes me feel.”

  “Because you love her,” he comments.

  I take in a deep breath, trying to calm the anger simmering inside of me. I don’t know how I feel. I just know she’s more, more than someone I fuck, more than a willing body. She’s a lot more.

  “I don’t fucking know how I feel.”

  “Feel about what?” Ethan asks, stepping into the room.

  “Aw, are we having another heart to heart?” Lucca asks, walking in behind him.

  “Fucking hell,” Grant groans, sitting on the bench. “I’ve had enough of you two already.”

  “Aw, did me fucking Morgan last night keep you up?” Ethan asks, and I shake my head. They need to stop sleeping around before they get some chick pregnant.

  “Morgan?” Lucca questions.

  Ethan
grins. “Yep. I might even fuck her again.”

  “Why are you two here? Shouldn’t you be at lunch?” I snap before he goes into detail.

  “We were on our way when we received this,” Lucca says and walks over to us, holding his phone. He presses play on a video, and I take note of the room before taking a closer look.

  “Is that the art room?”

  “Yes, just watch.”

  “You know, I’ve always wondered something, Danielle.”

  The video only shows the back of the two girls sitting in front of Danielle, but there’s no mistaking Ivy. The other girl is Clary Whitmore, the daughter of a rock star.

  “What? How to do your hair?” Danielle snidely remarks, and her friends chuckle beside her.

  “No, I’m just curious; I thought Barbies couldn’t bend their knees, but you clearly spend a lot of time on them. How is Mr Hackett?”

  The twins laugh, pausing the video. “Barbie,” Lucca repeats, chuckling. “They didn’t record it from the beginning, but Marcus said she insinuated she’s been sleeping with you. The remarks go on for a while, but you should hear this bit.”

  He presses play once more, and I peer down at the phone, listening to Ivy fire back at Danielle at how better she knows me. The video clicks off and I look up at the twins.

  “What happened after?” I demand. I’m getting sick of Danielle thinking she owns me. What would normally work to get a girl off your back hasn’t worked with Danielle. She’s persistent as ever.

  “Danielle tucked tail and went back to her workstation, spent the entire lesson glaring daggers at Ivy.”

  “Even Ivy subconsciously knows you love her,” Grant mutters.

  The twins give him a dirty look, but it’s Ethan who replies. “You’re a little late to the party. We figured out he loved her when we found out they were sleeping together. A vendetta as strong as Kai’s couldn’t be forgotten for anything less. It was obvious.”

  “Fuck off!” Grant remarks, rolling his eyes.

  Lucca grins. “Next time we’ll keep you in the loop.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” I bark, handing him his phone back. “Where is she now?”