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He nodded stiffly. “I’ll see you at school, Becca.”
I climbed out and watched him pull away, wondering what the hell had just happened. I didn’t get an interested vibe from Malachi, but we had some kind of mutual understanding. Comradery. We had both been screwed over by Kendall and lived to tell the tale.
But I couldn’t help but replay his warning.Don’t let her win.I’d known it was too good to be true that Kendall was done with me, but why did he make it sound like the worst was yet to come? That while the battle was over, the war was just beginning.
* * *
When I arrived at school the next morning, I debated on making a beeline for Malachi, but when I walked into the building, he was standing with Scarlett, Lilly, and Jay, so I walked right on by, not sparing them a second glance. I got his message loud and clear. Last night was an exception. He’d let me in on the secret that was Teller’s Bar, but that was it.
Fine by me. At least, I knew it wasn’t going to be a regular thing.
I headed to my locker, ignoring the whispers and snickers. I was so used to them by now that they barely registered. But then I felt the person move behind me. Turning slowly, I came face to face with Evan.
“Hi.” The corner of his mouth tipped up.
“You’re in my way.” I flicked my head for him to back up, but he stood firm.
“I…” He ran a hand over his face. “I wondered if—”
Helping him out had been a mistake. I realized that now. He’d mistaken my concern for Eli as my desire to smooth things over.
“Evan,” I cut him off. “This”—I motioned between us—“is over.”
His smile faded, replaced with disappointment. “But I thought—”
“Wrong. You thought wrong. You needed my help, and I helped. Eli is just a kid.” I lowered my voice. “I will always help him. But that’s it, Evan. Now I have to get to class. Excuse me.” I brushed past him and kept my gaze trained on something—anything—ahead of me. When I turned the corner, out of his sight, I ducked into the girls’ bathroom and locked myself in a stall.
Tears rushed up my throat, burning the backs of my eyes. But I pushed them down by clenching my fists and inhaling deep breaths. My plan was solid: hold my head high, not give a shit, and get on with it. But there was one major flaw—every time Evan looked at me, I remembered. My mind conjured up the memories of our bodies pressed together, his kiss, his touch. He’d pieced me back together that night, healed some of my brokenness. And then he’d shattered me. All the will in the world wouldn’t erase that. Wouldn’t let me forget. But I had to find a way to push it down. In order for me to survive high school, I had to find a way to forget about Evan Porter.
Only I knew he wouldn’t make it easy.
CHAPTER8
EVAN
“She’ll never trust you again.”
My body jolted, startled by Kendall’s presence, and I dropped my eyes to hers, hating that she’d caught me watching Becca across the hallway.
She leaned back against my locker and blew out an exasperated breath. “Watching you pining for her is really getting pathetic. She doesn’t want you, Evan. And if she knew, really knew, about us, she’d never want anything to do with you again.”
“Kendall,” I growled, glancing around to make sure no one could see us.
“So touchy.” She laughed, low and throaty, making my skin crawl. “It was nice seeing you at the house the other night; you should come by more often.”
I stepped back, putting as much distance between us as possible. Kids were starting to fill the hallway, and I didn’t want to start another rumor. Especially one involving Kendall.
“Not going to happen and you’d better remember our arrangement.”
Her face had blanched for a second before she replaced her steel mask. “Yeah, yeah, I haven’t forgotten. I don’t know why you have to make things so difficult.”
“Stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
“Fine.” Her eyes narrowed, and I glared at her, neither of us willing to concede.
Eventually, she arched her eyebrow, spun on her heel, and marched away. I’d managed to keep her at a distance for the past six years when we’d started at Credence High. I think a handful of people knew we were related, but no one talked about it. Credence was a small place—if you looked closely enough, everyone was related in one way or another. Distant cousins, step-siblings, half brothers and sisters. Some people would have loved to associate themselves with the likes of Darryl O’Hare, but it wasn’t something I wanted to advertise. Lucky for me, I had something on Kendall that gave me the upper hand, but she was becoming complacent. Approaching me at school. Making a scene. I didn’t like it.
“What did she want?” Scarlett appeared out of nowhere.
