Now it’s impossible to shake it off.
“Ignore them,” Hadley says under her breath, clutching my hand tightly and gently tugging me toward a row of lockers.
But three girls—cheerleaders, if their outfits are anything to go by—intercept us.
“Who’s your new friend?” the ringleader asks with a saccharine smile.
“Leave it, Lylah.”
“What?” She frowns. “I’m just being nice.”
“Sure you are,” Hadley grumbles, and I sense there’s some bad blood between the two of them.
“I heard they were letting more Heights trash into the school,” one of the other girls sneers, looking me up and down.
I bristle, my spine snapping straight. Hadley shifts slightly, putting herself between me and them. Everyone is watching now, waiting to see what the new girl from the Heights will do.
“Don’t be a bitch, Marissa,” Hadley snaps.
“Me? You’re the one slumming it with—” Her eyes widen a fraction as something catches her attention behind us.
I don’t need to turn around to know Cole and Conner just arrived. I can feel him, feel the invisible thread linking us, pulling taut.
Remi steps up beside me, drawing a line between us.
Us and them.
The Heights and the Bay.
The air crackles with anticipation.
“Walk away,” she says. “You don’t want to start something you can’t finish.”
Lylah and Marissa glower at us, weighing up their options. For a second, I think they’re going to go all in, but then Lylah lets out a strained laugh.
“Come on, girls,” she says, flicking her hair over one shoulder. “They’re not even worth it.”
Indignation trickles in my veins, but I don’t move. I don’t do anything. Because if I do, I know I’ll only prove them right.
Not that I give a fuck what they think about me.
As if she’s waved some magic wand, everyone disperses, and I release the breath I was holding.
“You good?” Remi asks.
I nod. “Thanks for that.”
“Lylah Donovan is a grade-A bitch.“
“Remi,” Hadley warns.
“What? It’s true.”
Ace swaggers over to us, slinging his arm over her shoulder. “Making yourself at home already?” A hint of amusement plays on his lips.
I flip him off. “She started it.” It’s a petty comeback, but it’s not even first period and I already feel like I want to scratch my skin off.
I don’t belong here.
I’m not sure I belong anywhere anymore.
He pulls Remi off down the hall, leaving me with Hadley. Conner and Cole are nowhere to be seen, and I’m relieved he’s giving me space.
“So what’s their story?” I ask Hadley, waiting as she trades some textbooks.
I don’t have a locker yet, or books, or anything really. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re transferred to a new school overnight.
I still don’t know exactly how James Jagger pulled it off, but I know there’s more to him than meets the eye.
“Who? Lylah and Marissa?” I nod and she continues. “I was on the squad with them. But we were never friends, not really. Marissa and Cole—“
“Hold up, you’re saying Cole had a thing... with her?”
“It’s complicated.” Her expression sours. “Anyway, I quit the squad and that was that.”
“Should I be worried?”
“About them?” Hadley shakes her head. “Nah, they’re all bark and no bite. Besides, they know what happens when they come after the Jaggers or anyone they care about.”
“You’re kidding me?” I fight a smile.
“I’m not.” She lowers her voice. “Michaela Fulton was the Queen Bee until she went after Remi and Ace intervened. He totally humiliated her at Homecoming, and now she spends most of her time hiding out in the girls’ bathroom.”
“Interesting.”
Conner and his brothers had been popular at Sterling Heights. Especially Ace. Everyone knew he was running for Donny Lopez. I even heard a few rumors that he and Cole had something to do with his recent disappearance. But they’re just kids... and Donny Lopez is—was—this big crime lord with a whole bunch of criminals working for him, protecting him.
“What class do you have first?” Hadley asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“AP English.”
“Come on, I’ll walk you.” She motions down the hall and I follow, ignoring the way everyone watches me.
This is nothing compared to some of the things I’ve survived.
I make it through morning classes. The constant whispers and stares soon got old. There had even been one or two suggestive notes from guys in math, but I kept my cool.
Hadley meets me right outside the door, ready to take me for lunch. Part of me wants to make a dash for it and run back to dorms, but she laces her arm with mine and starts guiding me through the sea of bodies.
“Do we have to do this?” I protest. “I’m not even hungry.”
“The sooner they get used to seeing you around, the sooner all this,” she elbows a couple of people out the way, “will calm down.”
“Why is this so important to you?” I ask as we join the lunch line.
Hadley lets out a small sigh. “Because believe it or not, I get what it’s like to be the new girl, the odd one out.”
I find that hard to believe, but whatever.
“Just because I come from money doesn’t mean I have it easy.” Her expression falls. “My family sent me here, and now we don’t talk anymore.”
“What do you mean, they sent you here?”
“It’s a long story, one I might tell you someday. But just know that the Jaggers… they’re all I have too.”
I’m about to reply when I hear a familiar high-pitched voice.
“Is it me, or did they forget to take out the trash today?” My eyes collide with Lylah’s and she smirks.
“What did you say?” Anger ripples up my spine, making my insides vibrate.
“You heard me.” She steps forward. “First the Jagger brothers, and now you.”
“If you’ve got a problem with me—”
“Kennedy, leave it,” Hadley says firmly. “She’s not worth it.”
“Of course, you would take the stray under your wing. I guess it’s true what they say, like calls to like.”
Hadley flinches. “Just leave it, Lylah. You’ve made your point.”
“I always knew there was something about you. You’re trash, Hadley,” she sneers. “We all know you were fucking both brothers. But what I can’t quite figure out is if you let them take turns or—”
I see red, and, before I know what I’m doing, my fist slams right into Lylah’s perfectly symmetrical face. She staggers back, her banshee-like screams filling the air, and then she lunges for me. We tumble to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
“You crazy bitch,” she shrieks, trying to claw my face off. She must get me a couple of times, because I feel a warm trickle of blood run down my cheek.
“Fuck you,” I seethe, grabbing a fistful of her hair as I slap her hard.