Crowd of Lies (Kingsley Academy Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  They shrug, glancing at each other and rolling their eyes. “We aren’t her keeper, but if I were to guess, it would be at lunch.”

  I grab my bag and leave, hearing them chuckle amongst each other.

  “Whipped,” Ethan chuckles.

  *** *** ***

  The dining hall is loud when we step inside, the sounds of chatter and cutlery clinking against plates echoing off the walls. We usually eat in the rec room, but since this is where Ivy is eating, it’s where we will be until she’s back into the fold completely.

  I take a seat with Kyle and the rest of the guys we hang out with, scanning the room for Ivy as I do.

  “Hey, I heard Clary Whitmore is into some kinky shit,” Rome comments, another long-time friend of ours. He’d been on vacation with his family over the holidays, so it’s good to have him back.

  Lucca leans forward, looking around Ethan to stare at Rome. “Fucking hell. Are the kids here in middle school? It’s like Chinese whispers.”

  “What’s up your arse?” Rome comments, giving Lucca a side eye as he shoves a sandwich in his mouth.

  “Nothing. I made the joke earlier about Clary, but it’s not true,” he says, sitting back as he shrugs. “Just think it’s pathetic how easily people repeat shit.”

  “You banging her?”

  Lucca arches an eyebrow. “No offence, but you don’t have a chance. She doesn’t like morons.”

  Rome smirks. “Touché.”

  A set of hands stroke over my shoulders and down my chest. Warm breath tingles at my ears and I grow tense at the expression and vibe coming from Ethan as he stares at who’s behind me.

  “Hey, baby, want to go somewhere quiet for lunch?” Danielle purrs.

  I push her hands off me, growling under my breath. I don’t give her the attention she wants, instead staring right ahead. “Danielle, the desperation isn’t becoming.”

  “Yeah, I thought I could smell something bad,” Ethan chirps.

  “You always come back to me. Why put off the inevitable?”

  I grit my teeth and refrain from saying something that will truly embarrass her. I’m not bothered about her feelings, just what she’ll do to Ivy in retaliation.

  “Danielle, unless you want to cause a scene, I suggest you go, ‘cause I’m barely holding back on what I truly want to say to you,” I caution.

  She leans back down; not as close, but close enough that I can smell the stench of her perfume. “Why, because of her?” she asks, then begins to cackle.

  The second I look up, my gaze lands on Ivy. She takes a seat with Selina and Clary at a table of Selina’s friends. She scans the room, biting her bottom lip, and I know she’s trying to hide how overwhelmed she feels right now. The hall is packed with our lunch group.

  My gaze narrows as Krysten and Jenny make their way through the tables, a plate of food in hand. Jenny turns back and says something to Krysten before they both start laughing.

  The tightness in my gut expands as I read the expressions on their faces. I shove back my chair, almost knocking Danielle over in the process, and get up.

  I clench my fists as Ivy shoots up from her seat, wiping hot bolognaise from her shirt and skirt. I might have missed exactly what happened, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Krysten covers her mouth with one hand, pretending to be shocked, but I can see the amusement in her eyes. With her other hand, she holds the empty plate that once held her food.

  Danielle cackles, and I slowly turn to face her, feeling a dark, red rage swarm through me. “You think that’s funny?”

  The laughter dies, and I watch with glee as a spark of fear flashes behind her eyes. She should be scared.

  She gulps, straightening her back as a spiteful look fills her expression. “Hopefully someone takes the trash out along with the food. She doesn’t belong here, and the quicker you see that, the better. She’s making a joke of you,” she chides, stepping closer. “How long before your status is revoked? People are already laughing at you.”

  She eyes me up and down once, shaking her head as if she pities me.

  I lean forward, getting in her face, ignoring the commotion behind me. I know the twins will have Ivy’s back until I get there. “I warned you. I gave you a chance I don’t give others and you didn’t heed. You won’t see me coming, Danielle. I’m going to take everything precious from you,” I promise, taking another step closer. “You ridicule Ivy for her past, but she’s stronger than you’ll ever be, holds more power than you ever will, because she can survive with nothing. What will you do when you have nothing? Because when I’m finished with you, that is exactly what you will have. Nothing.”

  I take a step back, enjoying the way her expression falls and her face pales.

  I leave her to stew on my words and start my way over to Ivy. As I pass Rome, I pause, turning to him. “Find out everything you can about her, every little secret she holds dear. Start with Mr Hackett and her. Get everything on her friends too. I’m going to make sure she’s alone when I take everything from her.”

  He nods. “You got it. I’ll get on it now,” he promises, leaving to do what he does best: hack and find hidden things.

  I walk towards Ivy, smirking when I find her gripping the back of Krysten’s neck, pinning her to the table.

  “Teacher,” Ethan calls out, and I see Selina whisper something to Ivy.

  Ivy lets go, shoving Krysten to the floor. I can see the anger simmering in her eyes, and I know she held back.

  I follow them out, giving a chin lift to the twins to let them know I’ve got it.

  “That cow!” Selina curses. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m good. I’m just pissed I have to wear these all fucking day. I don’t think Mr Hackett will be pleased if I leave before the day’s over to go get changed.”

  “I have a few spare uniforms in my room. I’m sure I’ve got your size,” Clary offers.

  Ivy watches her for a moment. “They’ve done this to others?”

  Clary nods. “Yeah, mostly to the underprivileged kids who probably had to sell all their belongings to buy the damn uniform. It’s a requirement here at Kingsley Academy, and you can’t be in attendance without one.”

  “I didn’t know,” Selina whispers, her lips turning down.

  “Why would you? You’ve only been here a few weeks. And at school, you always had your head in a book. When I noticed it happening last year, I got my dad to buy one of every size of the uniform and kept them in my room. I can’t stand bullies and that’s all Danielle and her friends are. The others do it because she says so, but she does it for the satisfaction. She gets off on it. I won’t be like most of the others in this school who stand by and laugh.”

  Ivy laughs. “You look so rock chick, but you’re a big softie.”

  “Tell people and I won’t give you any more clothes,” Clary snaps, making Ivy laugh harder.

  Realising where they’re going, I keep my head down and make my way to my car. Clary has a room at Kingsley Hall. I want to get Ivy alone, and if Selina sees me, she’ll refuse to give us privacy. My best bet is to wait and see if I can catch them off guard.

  By the time I reach the building, the girls are already here. I quickly log in to the school system, finding her floor and room number. I rush up the stairs, taking two at a time until I hit their floor. I pull my phone back out, ready to call the twins to come and distract Clary and Selina. But Selina’s voice stops me.

  I quickly move back into the stairwell, leaning in so I can hear what they’re saying.

  “We’ll give you some privacy and go put these in the wash,” Selina calls into the room, giving me the privacy I need.

  “Do you remember where the T.V. room is?” Clary asks.

  I don’t hear Ivy’s response, but whatever she says has the girls leaving, walking down the hall towards me. I quickly duck behind the door, knowing they’ll take the elevator down to the basement where the washrooms are kept.

  The second I hear the e
levator ding its departure, I go get my girl.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  IVY

  The long hallway is lined with dark oak doors on either side, the carpet wine-coloured, and gold-framed landscape pictures hang on the walls. The only modern decorations are the lights; double drum chandeliers. They fit into the hallways, though, since the tea light candle effect gives the space warmth and that old age feel the rest of the building has. That’s not saying the building is old, it’s not, but it’s decorated with warmth. It has up-to-date features; the living area—or T.V. room, as Clary called it—is a prime example of that with its large T.V. system and added surround sound. The comfy furniture and the knick-knacks that decorate the room give it that modern feel. I only got a small glimpse of the room before we piled into the elevator, but not before I saw the wall-length, stone fireplace. It was beautiful.

  “I don’t get why you don’t like staying here. It’s sick,” I murmur to Selina when we come to Clary’s room.

  She gives an undignified snort. “You’ve never stayed here. Most of these girls have had a strict upbringing, had rules on how to behave, how to sit, how to speak. Here, they are free and free is how they act. It’s a mad house.”

  “I forgot you stayed here when you attended school,” Clary comments, pushing open her door.

  “Yes. Doing my A-levels with the racket going on was a nightmare. I was lucky I had Nova, but there were times my mum made me stay here to save face. She hated it when it got back to her friends that I was staying with my aunt.”

  “My dad hates that I stay here surrounded by snobs who think their shit don’t stink. But it was the only place I was safe.”

  “Safe?” I repeat, watching her.

  “My dad’s a rock star. He’s on tour more often than he’s home. The second someone finds out who I am, I get attacked by the press and fans who think they can meet him through me. Here, the people don’t care. I’m just a girl.”

  “Holy crap, you have girl stuff,” Selina blurts out, spinning to face Clary with wide eyes.

  Clary takes it all in good faith, laughing. “Just because I dress mostly in black and have tattoos and piercings, it doesn’t mean I don’t like girl stuff. Put pink in my face and we won’t be friends,” she warns Selina.

  I head over to one of the shelves that has rows of snow globes on. “These are beautiful,” I murmur, picking up the one that has Mickey and Minnie Mouse inside.

  She walks over to see which one I have. “That’s what I got when I went to Disneyland Florida. I collect them. It was a thing my dad started whenever he went on tour. The ones with a circle on the bottom are the ones my dad bought. The ones without are the places I’ve visited.”

  “It’s beautiful,” I tell her, wishing I had a memory like this I could share about my mum.

  Not wanting to bring up those memories right now, I put the snow globe back and turn to the girls. “I can’t let her get away with it. I’m pretty sure she’s the reason, or the cause, of the tent being set on fire. She’s getting away with it, and because of that, she’s going to keep doing it. I hate bullies, loathe them, but I won’t standby and do nothing. I’m not wired that way.”

  Selina doesn’t seem that upset. “I know. I heard you lot talking in the hospital room and again at home one night. It wouldn’t have taken long for me to figure out. Honestly, before they put me to sleep, I thought it was Kaiden, but then you two revealed you were together.”

  I run my hand down her arm. “She won’t get away with it.”

  Selina smiles before giving me a short nod.

  “I heard about the fire,” Clary says. She seems to think about it for a moment, before her eyes spark with an idea. “We have the music festival. This place is so dull, with very little to offer, so they rent the field space out for them to have the festival. It brings in tourists and business. We’ll think of something for then. She only goes because she doesn’t want to be left out. She actually hates the place. God forbid she get her nails dirty.”

  “We aren’t staying there, are we?” I ask, remembering the girl in my old school who mentioned she fell asleep in the wrong tent when she went to one.

  “No. People do camp out there and some of the guys stay to hook up with girls, but most of us just head home. It’s not like it’s far.”

  “When is it?”

  “Saturday through to Sunday morning.”

  “This week?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I can’t go. I’m helping someone Saturday morning, so I won’t have time. What about you?” I ask, looking at Selina.

  Her gaze flicks over my shoulder. “I’m busy Saturday morning, but I might be able to fit in the night.”

  “Come the night then. Most of the people don’t show until then, anyway. I go on the night; the music is better.”

  “All right, Saturday night it is.”

  “Here,” Clary calls, placing uniform on the bed. I peek around her, into the large walk-in wardrobe, and my gaze widens. One side has racks of school uniforms. She blushes for a moment before glaring. “Tell anyone and I will kill you. If anyone knew I had these, Danielle would destroy them and I wouldn’t be able to help anyone. Hopefully, she’ll believe you went home to get a spare set.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Go get your stuff off and we’ll take them downstairs to be washed,” she orders, pointing me to the door on the left.

  I peek through the door and smile at all the perfumes and girly bath stuff on the side. I step inside and quickly strip the soiled clothes off me, leaving me standing in my underwear. I cringe at the smell as I pick them up off the floor.

  Pulling open the door enough to lean my arm out, I throw Clary the clothes.

  “We’ll give you some privacy and go put these in the wash,” Selina calls, and I push my head out further, seeing her standing in the doorway.

  “Do you remember where the T.V. room is?” Clary asks, handing the clothes to Selina.

  “Yeah. Thank you for this,” I tell her, and she nods. “I’m going to think of ways I can get Danielle back for this. I know this was her doing.”

  Clary laughs. “We’ll get her.”

  When the door shuts, I breathe in a ragged breath. Danielle and her friends are going to push and push until I snap. And when I snap, they’re going to wish they hadn’t pushed. I mean, how childish could adults be? This is something high school girls would do.

  I groan when I realise I left the fresh clothes on the bed. Heading back into the room, I let out a startled scream at the figure standing by the door. Quickly, I pull the wool blanket off the large oak poster bed and cover myself.

  “Kaiden, what are you doing here?” I snap.

  His pupils dilate and his irises darken as he takes another step into the room. “I came to check on you.”

  “Well, you can see I’m fine, so you can go,” I tell him, glancing at the door.

  “Why? I have you right where I want you.”

  I shake my head at him. “We can’t do this, Kaiden.”

  He circles me. “Why not? You want me, I want you. Fuck everything that has happened in between.”

  “Clary and Selina will be back any minute,” I warn him.

  His deep chuckle sends a shiver through my spine. “No, they won’t.”

  “Kaiden, we can’t do this. I’m having a really bad day already.”

  “Did they burn you?” he asks, stepping closer, standing right before me.

  “No. I’m fine,” I tell him, my voice shaky as he cups my cheek. I close my eyes, tilting my head into the palm of his hand. His skin is so warm and soft. This… this feeling, only he can evoke. I’ve missed it, craved it. He wormed his way under my skin the day I arrived and is so deeply embedded inside of me, I can’t let him go.

  How can something so wrong feel so right?

  I slowly open my eyes, blinking up at him. He stares down at me, the intensity of the situation burning through me, igniting the blood running through my veins, and
my entire core heats.

  “Ivy,” he whispers, and the chains keeping him locked out, break—and I throw myself at him.

  The kiss is rough, wet, and in seconds, Kaiden is gripping me behind my thighs, lifting me up his body. The sheet falls as I wrap my legs around him, my fingers running through his thick, coarse hair.

  I moan, grinding down, needing that friction so badly I could weep.

  In the back of my mind, a small voice is screaming at me that this is a bad idea. And the part that is still in the moment, knows that. I just don’t care. It’s been a crappy few weeks and all I want is a release.

  I accidently whack Kaiden with my cast, and he groans, spinning me around and laying me down on the bed, pinning my arms above me.

  A guttural noise escapes his throat as he stares down at me, looking at me like he can’t quite believe I’m real, that we’re doing this, before sliding my thong over my thighs and down my legs. He throws it somewhere behind him.

  I pull his blazer over his shoulders and lean up, kissing him once more, needing that contact. Wetness seeps between my legs as I struggle to undo his buttons.

  He swats my hands away and undoes them, ripping his tie and shirt off once he’s done. His trousers are next, and the hungry look in his eyes has me biting my lip to smother the moan threatening to escape.

  His boxers are last, and it’s my turn to be hungry, eyeing his fine specimen of a body with a craving so dear, it’s almost my undoing.

  Lifting up, I trace my tongue over his hard abs, looking up at him through my lashes when I hear him groan. Reaching behind me, he unclips my bra, letting it fall down my arms and onto the floor. The tension in the air thickens as he lightly pushes me back, looming over me with a dark need.

  “I’ve missed you,” he croaks, his voice husky and filled with arousal.

  I place my finger over his lips. “No talking. Just sex, Kaiden. It can only be sex. For now,” I explain.

  I grow dizzy with passion when the corners of his lips pull up into a smirk.

  “You’re mine.”

  “Then show me,” I demand, gripping the back of his neck and pulling him closer. Our lips smash together in a fiery kiss.