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“But it’s not true,” Gabriella gritted. She, Everleigh, Piper, and Saylor claimed a table at the far side of the balcony and closest to us. Neither one spared a glance at the stack claiming their breakfast spot. “You four are my best friends. I tell you everything. If I was hooking up with Giovanni, you’d have found out way before these stupid truth lists.”
She swept her hair back, ever the unfeeling vampire queen. “Besides, if you believe that, you’re basically saying you believe I pushed Annika off the bluffs.” She laughed. “I mean, come on. Like I would ever do something so horrible.”
Gabriella cracked up. Her friends didn’t join in.
“Annika ended up in the hospital around the same time someone messed up your face,” Piper said, mouth turned down like that little tidbit just occurred to her. “Someone—not us, of course—but possibly the police could assume you got that busted lip from fighting Annika when she caught you bouncing on her boyfriend’s—”
“That didn’t happen,” Gabriella shrieked. “I’m telling you, Owen’s right. Someone is messing with us. The Royals are under attack by some hiding-in-the-shadows little bitch who doesn’t have the guts to tell their lies to our face.”
Saylor gifted her another delicate hum—neither agreeing nor disagreeing. If she truly knew the secrets of every family in this town, what were the odds she already knew about Giovanni and Gabriella?
Although, I’d bet she didn’t. Saylor threw the secret about Katie and Piper’s ex in her face so fast, my head was still spinning. She’d have found an opportunity to use that by now if she knew.
Or maybe this is her opportunity. Saylor is clearly enjoying holding back belief in Gabriella’s version of events. She wants her supposed best friend to sweat.
“What is this anyway?” Everleigh asked, snatching a page off the top. She gasped. “Ooh, it’s another list. This time about Wesley.”
“What?”
“Let me see.”
“Give me one.”
“Guys, no,” Gabriella cried. She tried to snatch the sheets off her friends. “We’re not playing this sicko’s game anymore.”
“I don’t know, Gabriella,” Everleigh said. “I know everything he said about you wasn’t true, but he was spot on with Sinclair. That girl is the Pussy Muncher for sure.”
Rafael smothered a laugh.
“Asshole,” I muttered.
“That just makes him smart,” Gabriella returned. “He tells the truth about Sinclair, so we believe all the lies coming after are true too. And I bet that wasn’t even about Sinclair. This Royal-hater was actually trying to hurt Victor and the Wilsons by dirtying his new fiancé. How’s it look that John and Martha are making their last heir marry some cheating skank who fucked the dean?”
The wind carried another delicate hum from Saylor. “You have a point,” she said slowly. “Victor, Iris, Giovanni, Gabriella, Owen, and now Wesley? All Royals. All of them attacked or exposed by some unknown in the first month of school. Can’t deny something is going on.” Saylor plucked a page off the top, reading the latest Wilder masterpiece.
“I’m telling you it’s some worthless Dreg,” Gabriella said. “Maybe even some reject from the...” She dropped her voice, leaning over the table as she whispered to her friends.
My brows screwed up. “What was that? A reject from what? Rafael, did you catch it?”
Rafael simply pointed at his hearing aid. No, he didn’t catch it either.
“She’s really laying it on thick,” I said. “Determined to make it look like some liar with a grudge is behind this.”
“She would.” We were careful not to let our voices carry. “She pushed a girl off the bluffs and couldn’t be bothered to check if she was still breathing. Montana’s going to fight till her hair turns gray, swearing up and down it never happened.”
“—do something about this,” Gabriella continued, drawing my attention back. “Who’s this shit going to come after next? You, Everleigh? Or you, Saylor?”
Saylor delicately dabbed her mouth. “He wouldn’t dare.”
Wanna bet?
Voices carried over the balcony, signaling more of the sophomore Royals were coming with their breakfast.
“What’s this?”
“Another one?”
They got louder and rowdier. Most of the sophomore crowd was there, and from the laughing, they weren’t feeling the we’re-all-in-this-together, band-against-the-Dregs vibes.
“Yo, read it out loud!”
“All right, all right.” I spotted a crown of hair as someone climbed on the tabletop.
“The truth about Wesley Hill,” he announced. “Number one: Wesley arranges accidents for people he doesn’t like. The paint can that fell on Zaria Perez during rehearsal was him.”
“What!” someone screeched.
“Damn, he did that?”
“What a psycho.”
I nodded along, grip tight on Rafael’s arm. Thank you, yes. Now you’re seeing these beasts for who they are.
Rafael slipped his arm around me, pulling me in close. I was distracted enough that I let it slide.
“Number two: Wesley’s made a hobby of causing accidents and pain. On the weekends, he used to test his traps on strays. He’s been reported twice for animal cruelty but his parents covered it up.”
