Kim nods without saying a word.
“That was nice of you, Mr King.” Mrs Stone offers him a smile. “Both of you take a seat.”
My jaw is probably dropping to the floor. I can’t believe this.
The dark hole from earlier expands until I can hardly breathe.
He must’ve done something to Kim, and now, he’s making everyone believe he was helping her.
I search his face for any signs.
He’s smiling, mask firmly in place, appearing every bit of the golden boy everyone envies.
The girls want him. The boys want to be him.
But none of them sees that emptiness inside him.
The void.
The… nothingness.
They only know this Aiden. The one he puts on for show. The image he projects their way. They're too blinded by his fake light to see the shadows.
But isn’t that better? Isn’t the lie better than the truth?
After all, the truth destroys before setting anyone free.
My heart hammers with each step he takes. This time, it’s not fear for me.
It’s for what he’s done to Kim.
I knew that kicking him would come back to bite me, but I never thought it would be this fast.
Or this lethal.
I never thought he’d go after Kim.
My lips tremble as I try to meet my best friend’s gaze and make sure she’s okay. Her head is bowed. Curtains of her mint-coloured hair camouflage her expression from me and the world.
Aiden stops beside me. I catch a glimpse of his hand slipping in his pocket before I concentrate on my notebook, gripping the pencil so hard, it almost breaks.
His body looms over mine like a grim reaper and his eyes burn holes at the top of my head.
A part of me wants to look up and glare back. Like I’ve done for the past two years.
But back then, I didn’t have the slightest clue of what he was capable of.
Now, I do.
After what seems like forever, he saunters to the vacant seat behind me. The seat I was saving for Kim.
She fidgets beside the only empty seat in the class. In front of Xander.
The latter gives her a taunting look as if daring her to sit.
“Ms Reed?” Mrs Stone’s impatient tone calls. “Is something the matter?”
“No,” Kim whispers.
“Then please take a seat so we can continue the class.”
Kim slides into her seat slowly as if afraid there’s a bomb waiting there.
Cole flashes a look behind him to Kim and Ronan winks at me from in front of me.
We’re surrounded by the enemy.
Chapter Eight
I try.
I really try to concentrate during class.
It’s impossible.
For one, Kim seems out of it, barely taking any notes. And it’s worrying me shitless.
For two, RES’s football team’s forward line surrounds us like a pack of wolves with the big bad wolf right behind me.
Aiden hasn’t said a word, but he doesn’t have to.
His presence can’t be mistaken even if he remains silent. I can feel his eyes digging a hole in the back of my head and feasting on my brain.
Mrs Stone starts talking about a preparatory test. I concentrate on her for the first time since the class started.
“You’ll perform a known script and add your special touch to it. The more creative you are, the more bonus points you will get.”
I love bonus points. It’s my perfect chance to build up my record for Cambridge.
“Can we pick who we perform with?” A girl at the front of the class asks.
“Partners will be chosen at random,” Mrs Stone says. “Swapping partners is prohibited.”
“Can we go solo?”
“Absolutely not,” Mrs Stone says. “This is to teach you team spirit. ”
Some whine softly while others snicker.
I spend the rest of the class trying to take as many notes as possible to occupy my mind.
But one can’t erase how Aiden looms like the devil in the corner, waiting to steal my soul.
As soon as the class ends, Kim shoves her things in her bag and takes off out the door.
I’m about to follow her when my pen falls, rolling on the floor.
A tall frame bends over and picks up the pen.
I cease breathing when Aiden stands to his full height. His focus is on me as he twirls the pen between his index and middle finger.
That pen can go to hell for all I care. Call me a coward, but I can’t handle another face-off with Aiden right now.
Besides, Kim is my priority.
Without sparing Aiden a glance, I bolt out of the classroom while it’s still full of people.
New resolution: never get myself trapped alone in the same place as Aiden.
That’s my best bet to survive.
It takes me a few minutes to find Kim. She’s lurking by the corner of our next class, earbuds in, and her gaze lost somewhere out of reach.
I run to her and clutch her shoulder. “Kim! I was so worried about you. Why didn’t you call me back?”
Her face is pale as if she’s seen a ghost while she removes the earbuds. “Ellie…”
“What? What is it? Did Aiden do something?”
“Aiden?” Her brows furrow. “What does he have to do with anything?”
“Uh… Kim? You came to class with that arsehole.”
“He found me in front of the nurse’s office and told me to walk to class with him.”
My blood boils. “Did he hurt you? Force you?”
“What the hell? Why would he do that?” Kim plays with the straps of her backpack. “He asked nicely. Almost…”
“Almost what?”
Something nostalgic flashes in her eyes. “Friendly.”
“Whoa. Kim. Are you hearing yourself? Aiden isn’t friendly. He can’t be friendly.” He’s a fucking psycho!
Please don’t tell me he’s playing with Kim’s mind, too. Is this a ‘fuck you’ to me? Or am I being too dramatic?
But then again, Aiden is the type who calculates his moves before making any.
Kim scrunches her brows, lips tightening. “Why are you so tense?”
“I’m sorry,” I smooth my voice. “It’s just that I’m worried about you, okay? Aiden has never been friendly to you so why would he start now?”
“King was never mean to me either. We go way back, you know.” Her lips tremble.
Way back?
I know Kim studied at Royal Elite Junior with the rest of the horsemen, but I’ve never gotten the impression that she was friends with them before.
I mean, Xander bullies her at any chance he gets. Why would the others be friends with her?
Especially Aiden.
“Why were you at the nurse anyway?” I ask.
“Just a headache.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I went to pick you up but your uncle said you already left.”
“Sorry about that. Aunt picked me up and I forgot my phone at school.”
She’s silent for a second, chewing on her bottom lip.
She’ll eventually tell me whatever happened. For now, I rub her shoulder and speak in a light tone. “Senior year, senior resolutions, right?”
“What resolutions?”
“You know, we’ll nail this year, too.”