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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.
