AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?”
Striding to the bed, he grabs my bag off the floor with one hand and then takes my arm with the other. “Let’s go.”
I pull against his grasp, but he doesn’t let go. “I thought you said that it wasn’t safe for me to go back to St. Bart’s.”
“Things have changed.”
Drake tries to practically drag me to the door, but I dig my heels in hard enough that he is forced to stop.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I insist. Part of me is still annoyed that we were interrupted, but his sudden change in demeanor is giving me whiplash. “I’m not going anywhere unless I know everything.”
“Look, I got distracted before,” he makes a frustrated sound as he drops my arm. “I found something at the house that I think might help us.”
I fold my arms over my chest and glare at him, belligerent to the very end. Soaked panties and a deep well of frustration aren’t enough to distract me. “Spit it out. No secrets, remember?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
Drake surprises me by pulling out his phone and showing me a grainy picture that looks like it was taken in the dark without using flash.
I squint at it for a long moment before glancing back at him. “What am I supposed to be seeing aside from your terrible framing skills?”
He zooms in on the picture with his fingers and then holds it up to my face. “Look right there in the center. What do you see?”
It takes a second for me to make it out. The handwriting is so bad that I don’t initially realize I’m looking at a list of names. I’m about to ask Drake what the hell kind of game he’s playing when I finally see it, right at the center of the screen where he said it would be:
Thomas Marcelus Pratt
My father.
Chapter Eleven
Havoc House is lit up brighter than the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. I wouldn’t have thought that the Havoc Boys would be the types to decorate for the holidays, but I guess I’d be wrong.
A light dusting of snow, the first of the season, covers the ground and crunches under the soles of my boots as I walk slowly towards the imposing front doors. Each step feels like I’m slogging through quicksand as I force myself to keep moving forward.
There is a sort of quiet that descends on snowy nights, as if the world has become insulated from itself. Most of the students have left campus for break, so I didn’t pass anyone else on the way here. All the lights are off inside Havoc House, but I know the place isn’t empty.
Just seeing the house reminds me of that night. I can practically hear the jeers and laughter as that video was projected on the wall for everyone to see.
This entire school is full of vultures, but I knew that before I showed up.
My face heats as I remember the looks they gave me. In that moment, it didn’t matter that it was really Olivia who was the object of their scorn. I was the one standing in the middle of that room while wearing the same face. The public shaming might as well have been meant for me. In the end, that’s exactly how it felt.
Now, I’m walking into the place where it happened. This is harder than I thought it would be.
It doesn’t take an armchair psychologist to figure out that I have a minor case of PTSD. Coming back to Havoc House isn’t the same as a war veteran ducking for cover at the sound of fireworks, but every cell of my body is still on high alert.
Wood creaks as I mount the stairs toward the front door. The sound shatters the wintery silence. I hold my breath, but nothing moves in the darkness.
I’m alone out here.
None of the Havoc Boys know I’m standing outside their house, at least not yet. There’s still time for me to run. I could forget all about my desire for vengeance and get the hell out of here.
No harm. No foul.
Except Olivia can’t have been the first girl to be crushed under the boot heel of a Havoc Boy, which means that she won’t be the last. I’m not just doing this for her, but also all the girls that might be coming after her.
And maybe even a little bit for me.
