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Tuesday was the first day of finals, and I had exams in Trigonometry and Spanish in the morning. Both went well, thankfully. Trig, I had studied for; Spanish, not so much. But languages came easily to me, so even though I was slightly underprepared, the test didn’t kick my ass.
Another bit of tension dissolved from my body as I walked out of Craydon Hall and headed across the quad for lunch. But as I approached Astor Hall, Adena stepped up in front of me, cutting off my path. She had a little posse of underclassmen with her, and they closed ranks around me, jostling me roughly as she pushed my shoulder. “Watch where you’re going, bitch!”
“You watch it!” I shot back, elbowing a girl with light brown hair as Adena stepped even closer, crowding me. “You’re the one who got in my fucking way.”
She sneered, tilting her head. “No, you’re the one who got in my way.”
“Then make me move.” I didn’t budge, glaring at her through slitted eyes.
When she realized I wasn’t going to step aside, she shot me a withering look and snapped her fingers, walking away from me with her posse trailing after her like a school of fish.
I sat with Leah, Maggie, and Dan at lunch, and when I mentioned my run-in with Adena to the Princes on the way to the gym, Elijah shook his head. “I don’t like it. She and Preston are making a play for the school. She’s fucking with you to make a point. And we know what happened last time she tried to make a point.”
“Not just the stairs.” Mason’s voice was hard. “Last year too.”
A burst of anger seemed to gather around the boys like a storm cloud, and Finn scrubbed a hand through his hair. “She’s obviously not getting the fucking message—back off of Talia.” He turned to look down at me. “Let us know if anything else happens, okay? We’ll try to deal with it.”
My nose wrinkled. “Is she really that untouchable?”
&
nbsp; I’d seen what the Princes could do—hell, I’d experienced it firsthand. The fact that Adena had been able to get away with what she had for so long was kind of baffling to me.
Unless they never actually tried to stop her, a little voice whispered in the back of my mind. But I shook the suspicion off.
I was still wary of these four boys, but that theory made no sense. Adena was going up against them in an obvious way. She’d made her alliance with Preston, and the two of them were challenging the Princes for control of the school. Why would she be working with them at the same time? How could she be?
Cole grunted, his intense blue gaze blazing into me. “There’s a reason she’s always been the queen of Oak Park. Her family is one of the wealthiest in Roseland.”
“So, yeah.” Finn sighed. “She kinda is untouchable.”
“Okay.” I shook my head, glad the semester was almost over—ready for a reprieve from all of this. “I’ll watch out. And I’ll let you know.”
I watched my back for the rest of the day, and I could tell all of the Princes did too. But Adena managed to catch me alone later that afternoon, when I was sitting by a tree in the quad waiting for Leah to get out of her last final. She was missing her usual posse this time, and instead of even pretending I’d barged into her space, she invaded mine, shoving my backpack out of the way to kneel on the grass beside me.
Her voice was a low hiss in my ear, furious and dangerous.
“You really think your little boyfriends can protect you, Idaho trash? You think because you seduced the fucking Princes of Oak Park, that’ll keep you safe? It won’t. They can’t stop me.”
I jerked away. She had leaned so close to me I could feel her breath on the side of my face, and I hated it.
“Are you still that bitter about Mason dumping you?” I asked, my blood running hot in my veins. “What, Preston isn’t working out as a substitute? Is his dick that tiny?”
Her lips pressed into a line, and she stood quickly, scowling down at me. “Keep talking, trailer trash. ’Cause I’ll remember everything you say, and I’ll make you pay for every single one of them.”
Before I could respond, she turned and stalked off across the quad. I slowly pried open my clenched fists, staring at her retreating back.
Fucking hell.
I told the Princes about the encounter the next morning, and none of them seemed happy—although none of them seemed that surprised either. I certainly wasn’t. Adena hated me more than ever, and the stronger she and Preston got, the less concerned she seemed to be about any backlash from the Princes or the admins if she went after me.
It made me nervous. Enough so that I didn’t push back when the Princes starting hovering more than usual.
When I told Leah what Adena had been up to, she shook her head, her pixie face crinkling in a frown. “God, she’s such a fucking bitch. I mean, honestly, it’s probably a good thing the Princes have your back. Adena doesn’t fight fucking fair. And there aren’t many people in this school she’s scared of.”
But Adena must’ve been at least a little scared of the Princes, because for the next two days, she ignored me entirely. Preston and the rest of her squad did too, and I took advantage of the reprieve, focusing on getting through the rest of my finals. Even though I still hoped to get a call inviting me to join the Pacific Contemporary Ballet in L.A., I wanted to graduate from Oak Park with a good academic record. I wanted to go to a good college someday, even if it wasn’t right away.
My last final of the semester was on Friday—Calculus II. Math had never been my favorite subject, and I really hated Calculus, but I pulled out every scrap of knowledge in my head and left the room feeling reasonably confident.
