Conner wasn’t mine.
Maybe he never had been.
We’d been friends. That was all. Yet, hearing Lylah say those things... I couldn’t stand listening to them.
“What?” Hadley asks, snapping me from my thoughts.
“Nothing.” I purse my lips, giving her a little shake of my head.
“It wasn’t just about me, was it? It was Conner too.”
“It’s late, I’m tired, and I really don’t want to do this right now.”
“Kennedy,” she lets out a soft sigh, “it’s not what you think, I promise. I’m with Cole. I’ve always been Cole’s.”
But something did happen with her and Conner, I can see it in her eyes. The same way I saw it in his.
The need to know burns through me like acid in my veins. Did they sleep together? Does she know how it feels to be close to him? Skin on skin, hands touching and bodies pressed together?
It shouldn’t gut me the way it does, but it’s there, a giant pit in my stomach.
“You should go,” I say, motioning to the door.
“Okay.” Hadley takes a resigned breath. “But I’m not going to let you push me away that easily. You need a friend, Kennedy Lowe, and that friend is me.”
I’d laugh if it weren’t for the serious expression on her face. So I opt for arching a brow. “Is that so?”
“Yup. So sleep it off, and I’ll see you in the morning.” Hadley reaches the door. “Oh, and Kenny?”
It’s the first time she’s used my nickname, and I have to admit it sounds a little strange coming from her lips.
“Yeah?”
“Whatever did or didn’t happen with me or Conner doesn’t matter, because his heart... well, something tells me that belongs to you.”
She gives me a weak smile before slipping into the hall, leaving me more confused than ever.
The next day, I leave for school before Hadley arrives. It’s a bitch move, but I can’t face her, not after last night. I need time to figure some things out—mostly what she said about Conner.
It makes no sense. I mean, I know he’s always loved me—we were best friends. But something doesn’t add up.
The second I step foot in the school building, Principal Vager appears, as if he were lying in wait. “Miss Lowe,” he barks, “my office.”
With a muffled groan, I dutifully follow him down the hall. Inside his office, I sit quietly, waiting for him to rip me a new one.
“I was disappointed we didn’t get to have this chat yesterday. But seeing as you and Mr. Jagger decided to cut class—”
“That was all my idea,” I blurt out. “After the tussle with Lylah, I needed an escape route—”
“And Conner just happened to be there?” One of his bushy brows hits his hairline.
“Yep.”
“Miss Lowe,” he leans forward, steepling his fingers, “I cannot have you assaulting other students—”
“Assault?” I balk. “She called Hadley—”
“Miss Lowe.” His hand collides with the desk. “Enough. When I agreed to your transfer with Mr. Jagger, I was assured that you would blend in. You barely managed to make it through your first morning.”
I sink into the chair, feeling his disappointment from across the desk. “Sterling Prep prides itself on providing a safe and enriching atmosphere for its students. We have had enough issues with the Jagger brothers, let alone you.”
“Me?” I sneer. “You mean a girl from the Heights?”
“That’s not... I didn’t mean that.”
“Sure you didn’t. You think I don’t know what everything thinks about me? They take one look at me and cast their judgements. Nothing is going to change that.”
“You can change that, Kennedy. You can prove them wrong.”
I press my lips into a thin line, hating that he’s right.
“I agreed to this because I want to help. No one should have to—” He stops himself, and I wonder just how much James told him.
The thought makes me wince.
“But you need to play ball, Kennedy. Go to class, keep your head down, and stay out of trouble. Do you think you can do that?”
“I guess.” I shrug.
“A little enthusiasm would go a long way. It isn’t a bad school. You just have to give it a chance.”
“And Lylah and her pack of wolves?”
“Miss Donovan has been reprimanded.”
“She has?” I did not see that coming.
“A couple of witnesses came forward to give their version of accounts. They corroborated Miss Rexford’s statement that you were provoked.”
“I... I don’t know what to say.”
“Perhaps you should rethink the way you see our students, Miss Lowe. The way I hope they will rethink the way they see you.”
“Is that all?” I ask, desperate to escape his office. It feels like the walls are closing in around me, and I’m worried he might start quoting motivational words at me next.
“For now.”
I grab my bag and make my way to the door, but his voice gives me pause.
“Oh, and Kennedy?”
“Yeah?”
“Miss Jones will see you in detention after school.”
“But I thought you just said—”
“We have a zero tolerance policy for violence at Sterling Prep. I expect you to check in with her every day after class. It’ll give the two of you a chance to talk.”
Gritting my teeth together, I yank open his door and step into the hall.
Just when I thought that maybe, just maybe, this place wasn’t as bad as I thought, he goes and drops that bombshell.
Fuck my life.
Chapter Ten
Conner
The second I step foot into school, I'm summoned to Principal Vager's office. I'm hardly surprised, but everyone is talking like I killed someone, not just skipped out on a day. I wasn't even the one who hit anyone.
His door is closed, and I'm instructed to sit and wait. Only, I'm too restless to do so, so instead, I pace back and forth in front of his assistant’s desk, much to her irritation if her burning stare is anything to go by.
Nothing I did last night helped to shift the big black hole of regret and confusion that swirled around me from our conversation.
My fists clench as I think about what she said about me walking away from her. I'd never fucking walk away from her. Everything I've done has been for her. Every-fucking-thing. I ripped my own heart out, thinking that I was doing the best thing for her, and all it's resulted in is her hating me.
My teeth grind and my jaw ticks as I continue pacing.
It was all for her. All of it. And all I got in return was a message telling me to stop contacting her after all the years that had passed between us.
All I ever wanted was for her to be happy.
Vager's door opens and I pause in my pacing right as Kenny emerges. She looks exhausted. Her bruises from New Year are almost gone now, although she has fresh scabs on her cheek from her fight with Lylah yesterday. But what makes my heart sink is the darkness of her eyes. Did she sleep at all last night?