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Curling on my side, I hold the pillow, letting go of the worry and planning for tomorrow.
For Clay. For the key.
And for the reality that I don’t want revenge or a fight. I want to have some fun.
I’m going to have fun on Night Tide.
“Liv?”
I stir, the fog in my brain lifting.
“Liv!” Two loud pounds hit my door, and I squeeze the pillow in my arms.
Sleep weighs heavy as I blink my eyes open, seeing a faint light stream through the windows.
Shit. I just laid down.
Didn’t I?
Turning over, I look at the clock, seeing it’s six fifty in the morning.
I shoot up, rubbing my eyes. Oh, my God. I slept in my clothes.
I clear my throat. “I’m up!”
“Can you make me a lunch to take to work?” Army asks. “Please? I’m swamped.”
Dex cries right outside the door, and I know he’s talking about the baby.
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Damn, it feels like I didn’t sleep at all. I don’t remember dozing off.
I straighten my arms, still wrapped around the pillow, and toss it off me.
The night before comes back, and I remember the deal I made with Clay.
I’m a little scared, but I’m a little excited too. And my head is clearer now. She not my enemy. She’s not that important. It’ll be an intense night, but I’ll make sure the Saints aren’t the only ones having fun.
My phone buzzes, and I grab it, climbing out of bed. I open my door, seeing Army walk with his kid down the hall. I close it again, stretching my arms above my head and feel the muscles and kinks crack in my back. I don’t think I moved all night.
My phone buzzes again, and I hold it up, swiping the screen. My toolbar is filled with notifications.
I narrow my eyes. What the hell did I miss while I slept? Damn.
I pick one and click on it, my chest immediately caving as my stomach rolls and vomit rises up my throat.
“What?” I choke out.
Clay.
No.
“HAVE YOU SEEN her?” Amy asks, swiping her lunch card.
“Do I care?”
I follow, swiping mine, tossing it on my tray, and carry my food to the lunch table. Krisjen follows, Milo stealing a handful of her fries as he passes. “Be careful, Clay,” she says. “There’s a reason Sanoa Bay has survived as long as it has. And a reason our parents don’t want us over there.”
“Please…” Amy chides her, sitting down next to Callum. “That video was priceless. Omega Chi supremacy.”
I pull my sweater vest off over my head and set it down on the table, pulling my phone out of my bag and checking notifications. Heat dampens my forehead.
Posting that video was stupid. Jesus, what was I thinking? I’d just been so fucking hot after seeing her in that car, her sweaty paws all over Megan, that I whipped out my phone and started filming.
And then I went inside Mariette’s and there was more confrontation. I can’t stop thinking about her.
I’m always thinking about her. I just want her out of my head.
“Our money doesn’t matter to them,” Krisjen tells Amy.
“True power doesn’t come from money,” I bite back, sick of Liv using that excuse, as well. “It comes from doing things others won’t. She threatened us. She challenged us. She brought this on herself.”
Maybe.
And maybe I kinda went too far. I was angry when I came home last night, so I went to Wind House and worked on Mr. Green’s makeup and watched Gates stitch a gash from a car accident victim that the morgue forgot to do.
But by one o’clock in the morning, it was still festering, so I just posted it. Fuck it. It was a reflex—a ‘close your eyes and just do it’ moment that I quickly regretted—but what did she think was going to happen? I won’t stop. I don’t know why, but I can’t, and I know she knows that. In fact, this should have gotten a lot uglier a long time ago.
What was I supposed to do? Just let her go? Just stop?
I haven’t seen her all morning, but I know she’ll show up at some point. Maybe tomorrow, with her head up, refusing to speak to me, taking the high road and not giving me the satisfaction of her attention and all that bullshit.
But then I hear Krisjen saying, “Clay.”
And before I have a chance to turn around, someone shoves me, and I stumble, nearly falling. I spin around, spotting Liv just as her palm whips across my face. I whimper, my head jerking to the side, and the tendons in my neck screaming. I tumble to the floor, shooting out my hands to catch myself.
“Ohhhhh!” someone howls.
“Bitch!” Amy shouts.
My cheek burns like it’s on fire, but I shake my head clear and climb back to my feet. Amy rushes Liv, but I dart out and yank her back, shoving Liv in the chest.
