She sneaks a quick, nervous glance around at the people flooding the hallways. “The politics in this town. Sadly, the more money and power your family has here, the more shit you can get away with at this school. It’s so bad that teachers will literally look the other way, even when someone is getting their ass kicked by some pretentious, rich, spoiled brat. And don’t even get me started on the sexual assaults that get dusted under the rug.”
Jesus, is she being serious? She sure looks like it, but …
“Doesn’t anyone report that kind of stuff to the police?” I ask. “I mean, sexual assault cases don’t really seem like they should be handled by school administrators.”
“The police are just as bad at looking the other way, because they get bought off. And if they do try to do something about all the illegal crap going on in town, they end up like old Sheriff Bethrtor, may he rest in peace.” She draws a cross over her chest. “Although, I heard a rumor that we have a new sheriff in town, so maybe that’ll change. Doubtful, though.”
Yeah, I doubt so, too, since my uncle isn’t the type of do-gooder guy who will turn down cash to do the right thing. Obviously, since he has a huge-ass stash of stolen drugs. But I’m not about to tell her that.
“Yeah, maybe,” I mumble.
She bobs her head up and down, dazing off for a minute. “But yeah, anyway, if you want to be smart and stay off the radar of all this corrupt shit, I’d recommend staying as far away from Zay, Jax, and Hunter as you can.” She steps closer to me and lowers her voice. “Jax comes from one of the wealthiest families in town, and Zay is his cousin and lives with him. No one knows why he lives with him, but he’s just as spoiled as Jax. But I’ve heard rumors that his dad’s straight up crazy. And Jax’s dad is a total asshole. He owns a huge part of the town, so a lot of people have to do what he says. It’s really weird.”
I attempt to process the information she just gave me but, holy crap, this is weird. “Well, what about Hunter?”
She goes all doe-eyed for a moment before hastily blinking away the look. “Hunter lives with Jax and Zay, too. His dad works for Jax’s dad as his”—she makes air quotes—“ ‘business consultant.’ But everyone around here is pretty sure he basically makes sure anything ugly that could potentially tarnish the Capperellie name gets wiped clean.”
That sounds … sketchy. “Wiped clean how?”
“I’m not sure, but there’re a few theories. One being …” She drags her finger across her throat. “So, yeah, if I were you, I’d stay away from them. Especially Hunter.”
Does she really believe that? That Hunter’s dad kills people? Or does she just like to spread rumors?
“Really? Because Zay seems scarier.”
“Oh, Zay is completely fucking scary,” she assures me. “He’s also into some really weird shit.”
I adjust the books in my hand as we near my locker. “What kind of weird shit?”
She lifts a brow. “What sort of weird stuff do you think I’m talking about?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
She gives me a look like I’m an idiot. “Sexual shit.”
“Oh.” Now this is a topic of conversation I’m a bit unfamiliar with, being a virgin and all. Not that I’m some sort of prude who’s going to blush over this or something. And it’s not like I’m saving myself for marriage or anything like that. I’ve just never had the opportunity to have sex. I’ve never even been out on a date. I did get kissed once, but it was a stolen kiss that I refuse to ever think about.
“I’m not positive how true the rumors are since I haven’t, and never will, go near Zay,” Katy continues, “but I’ve heard he’s into some really twisted stuff. And he never kisses anyone on the mouth and rarely touches anyone when he’s messing around with them. And I’ve heard he likes it rough.”
Okay, I may be a little naïve when it comes to sexual stuff, but that seems a bit weird to me.
“Why’s he like that?” I wonder, telling myself I’m only curious, not interested. But it might be a little bit of both.
She shrugs. “Who the hell knows? I’ve heard, like, a ton of rumors about it, but the only people who really know the truth are Zay, Hunter, and Jax.”
“They’re, like, best friends, right?” I stop in front of my locker and start to spin the combination.
“No. They’re more than that,” she tells me. When she notices the confusion on my face, she adds, “It’s kind of hard to explain, but the three of them are like some sort of freaky, human wolf pack or something. When I first moved here, I thought they were brothers, but I quickly learned their relationship is tighter than that. They aren’t friends with anyone else, they never bring in outsiders, and they make no effort to associate with anyone, yet they always get invited to every party. It’s partially out of fear and partially because I think a lot of people are hoping they’ll be the lucky asshole who gets brought into their group.” She shakes her head with a disgusted look on her face. “I don’t know why they consider it lucky, though. They’re jerks. And crazy. And just …” She shakes her head again.
“Sounds like you got a beef with them,” I say as I pull open my locker.
She chews on her bottom lip. “Well, I hooked up with Hunter once. It was the biggest mistake of my life, something I realized right after, when he told me to take care and left me lying in bed naked. He didn't even wait for me to get dressed before ditching me. And we were at his house, and he just took off, and …” She clears her throat. “But anyway, I should’ve known better, because that’s what Hunter does. He uses girls and everyone knows this, yet I somehow convinced myself that I’d be the one to change him.”
“I’m sorry … I can kind of see how you fell for him, though. He seems really …” I waver for the right word. “Charming.”
“You’ve talked to him?” she asks, and for the strangest second, I detect a hint of jealousy in her eyes.
I nod, my guard going up even more. If she is jealous, then that means she’s not over him, and I don’t need any jealous girl drama on top of the drama Dixie May is going to cause for me.
“Yeah, he was in the main office this morning when I picked up my schedule.” I choose my words carefully. “He just said hi, but I wasn’t really that interested in him.”
Her brows elevate. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“How? I mean, you did see him, right?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
She gapes at me. “And you didn’t think he was hot?”
“No.” Not a total lie. Yeah, I thought he was pretty. Honestly, all three of them are. But I’m not about to tell her that aloud.
She shakes her head, her jaw practically hanging to her knees. “You really are crazy, aren’t you?”
I bump my locker shut. “I think we already established that, didn’t we?”
Grinning, she points a finger at me. “You know what? I think you and I are going to be good friends.”
That’s the second time someone has said that to me today, but that doesn’t mean I’m hopeful. No, I’ve had friends before. However, they ended the moment my parents died. For anyone else who thought to be my friend, they quickly reconsidered after they found out the truth. And I know it’ll always be that way, because no one wants to be friends with a murderer.