She stares at me, appearing lost. “How? How can we do that? Because your empty optimism never brought us anything.”
“Kim…?”
She doesn’t seem to have heard me and continues in rapid-fire. “We can’t stop them. We can only stay under the water while it’s being poured on us and pray they don’t miss so we don’t have to endure it again. We can only bow and let them strike, hoping this will be the last.”
“Kim!” I shake her. “Don’t say shit like that again. We weren’t born to be stomped on. Do you hear me?”
“I’m not all strong and put together like you, Ellie.” Tears shine in her eyes. “I can’t freeze the world out as you do. It hurts. All of it hurts. I’m tired, okay? I’m just so fucking tired of this shit. It was ten years ago. Ten fucking years. Yes, I fucked up, but I’m only human. I deserve a second chance.”
I remain rooted in place as Kim wipes her eyes and storms around me to enter the class.
She… snapped.
Kim isn’t the type who snaps. She’s so kind and quiet and… bullied.
What happened to make her snap? And what the hell did she mean by saying that she deserved a second chance?
A second chance from whom?
Maybe I don’t know my best friend as much as I thought I did.
Something prickles at the back of my neck and my stomach tightens with strange awareness.
I turn around only to be captured by the smoky eyes of the devil king.
And he’s smirking.
For the rest of the day, we’re so preoccupied in our classes that I can’t find a chance to talk to Kim.
I’m fidgeting, my legs won’t stop bouncing, and I keep biting the cap of my pencils.
There’s also the fact that the pack of four horsemen surrounded us in every class. Every. Freaking. Class. Aiden always sat behind me like a looming threat.
If anyone took the seats on either side of me and Kim, all they had to do was stand there and anyone who occupied that seat scrambled away.
Aiden didn’t make a move to talk to me or even acknowledge my existence since the smirk he flashed earlier.
His silence is scarier than his words. I can react to his words. How can I react to… nothing?
In the span of a day, he made my head about ready to explode.
When Kim bolts out of class, I run after her.
I spend five minutes searching for her around the school’s perimeter. She’s not at the cabin or the library.
My head hangs as I step into the school’s ninth tower — where we have our last class.
My head collides against something hard.
Ow.
Xander stands right at the entrance, blocking it.
He’s staring ahead, fists clenching.
I follow his field of vision, and something dies in my heart.
Kim is crying against Aiden’s chest and he’s rubbing her back.
Chapter Nine
There are a few things no one wants to imagine.
Your parents having sex.
Your pet’s death.
The end of the world.
Kim crying in Aiden’s embrace is one of the things I never wanted to imagine.
My best friend is seeking comfort in the one person who’s been actively ruining my life.
A sense of betrayal hits the bottom of my stomach and shoots straight to my chest.
The logical part of me recognises this as Aiden’s form of revenge. He knows that Kim is the only one I have in RES and he’s using that against me.
That part also knows that he’s an opportunistic psycho.
But I can’t suppress that other part. It’s tiny and barely noticeable, but it’s there.
The anger. The bitterness.
For what, I don’t know.
Xander storms in their direction, a fist clenching at his side.
He might be nicknamed War, but he’s not violent. Xander Knight is the type who kills you with kindness and with that dimpled smile.
Playful, albeit hateful.
This might as well be the first time I see him exhibit any sign of violence.
The hall is filled with countless onlookers – including the president of the school’s photography club who’s taking pictures of Kim in Aiden’s embrace.
Whatever happens now will be broadcasted all over RES in a matter of hours.
Wait.
Is this what Aiden wants? He planned this entire show, didn’t he?
Xander stops in front of both of them. His face is stone cold and his rigid shoulders strain against the uniform’s jacket.
His glare falls on Aiden’s hand around Kim’s back.
I find myself glaring at it, too.
I want to break that hand.
I want to burn it and feed it to dogs.
Neither Aiden nor Xander say a word. They stare at each other, having a conversation without words.
Conquest and War complement each other, but right now, they look on the verge of destroying one another.
Xander looks two seconds away from blowing up while Aiden wears that infuriating poker face.
Everyone else falls silent, barely breathing as if they’re waiting for a bomb to drop.
Xander hooks his fingers in Kim’s jacket and yanks her back. Her teary eyes widen when she meets Xander’s murderous gaze.
I run towards her, but before I reach them, Xander lets her go and she sprints in the opposite direction.
I should’ve followed her. Instead, I stop in front of Aiden. He’s watching me with keen interest even though Xander is almost throwing daggers into his face.
Aiden leans in to whisper so only I can hear him, “I’m still waiting for you to show me the mark.”
“You did all of this for that?” I hiss.
Poker face.
“I don’t even have words for you,” I whisper-yell.
“Say no, sweetheart.” His hot breaths send shivers along my skin. “I dare you.”
“After school,” I deadpan. “Meet me after school.”
Aiden raises an eyebrow as if wondering where I want to go with this. I don’t know either, but I need to stop him somehow.
From here to then, I’ll figure something out.
I leave him and a tense Xander.
Cole and Ronan, who missed the show, saunter out of the cafeteria.
“I’m telling you, Nash,” Ronan speaks animatedly to a calm Cole. “I’m having those bunny cake hookers for my birthday.”
Cole raises an eyebrow. “I thought that was last year’s fantasy?”
“Captain Levi killed my vibe last year.” Ronan hits his chest, laughing with mischief. “He won’t stop me this year.”
“Well, I’m your captain this year and I’m telling you that there won’t be any hookers.”
“Mais non!” Ronan’s face falls with dramatic disdain. “I thought we were friends, fucker.”
“The jury is still out on that.”
“That’s it. You’re crossed from my friends' list. Best of luck finding where to party because I’m banning you from my house and...”
Their chatter dies away as they reach the other two.
The reason I focused on their conversation was to distract myself from the unwanted attention at my back.
And it’s not from the gawking students.
No.