AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m surprised she’s still standing after the lunch room turned on her. It just means she can take more and it sends a sick sense of satisfaction through me.
As Maisy sits in World History, staring helplessly into her bag like it’ll give her answers, I stifle a silent laugh that shakes my shoulders. Petty playground bullshit or not, this is fun. More fun than I’ve had in years. The more she gets worked up, the more I enjoy the show.
“Did the dog eat your homework?” I taunt, making sure she’s watching as I put another paper with my name and her effort in the basket on the teacher’s desk.
Maisy stiffens, darting her gaze away. After all the other students hand in their assignments while she remains seated, red as a tomato, I saunter back to my seat, this time right behind her. I’m in such a good mood, I can’t resist giving the ends of her hair a tug and she whips around to glare at me.
“What is your problem?” she snaps.
The corner of my mouth lifts. It’s another crack in her calm, kind facade if she’s showing some spirit to bite back. She waits, but I don’t have anything else to say to her. Crossing my arms over my chest until my leather jacket creaks, I lean back and give her a cool stare.
Squinting, she leans toward me over my desk, hissing under her breath through clenched teeth. “You’re behind this. It’s got you written all over it. I’m getting sick of these pranks.”
“Behind what?”
Her mouth tightens and her knuckles turn white as she grips the back of her chair. “You stole my homework. All of it. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?”
A girl in the next row does a double take when she realizes there’s drama stirring and who it’s between. We’re drawing more eyes on us as the teacher writes out the schedule for the upcoming final exams on the chalkboard.
“Or maybe...” Moving too fast for her to register before I’m in her face, I grab the side of her neck and clamp down hard so she can’t move. The sharp inhale she sucks in is music to my ears. “You’re just making excuses because you’re tired of being such a fucking goody-goody all the time.”
Hushed voices sound all around us while Maisy’s breathing turns harsh and strained. I tilt my head, studying her. Her
eyes have gone wide and she seems on the verge of breaking. Just one more push…
“Come on, you can’t keep fooling us,” I croon. “It’s what everyone’s thinking. They all know you’re a liar. It’s what your locker says this week, right?”
“No!”
Maisy shoves away hard, breaking my hold on her. Her desk topples to the side with the force. The room shrinks away, my world narrowing down to the girl who broke my heart and ripped my life apart.
I shoot to my feet and grab her shoulders, digging my fingers into her blazer. “What’s wrong? Does the truth hurt?”
At all the commotion, the teacher whirls around with a shout. “What the hell is going on here? We’re in class!”
Shock ripples over Maisy’s features. She glances around, realizing how many phones are trained on us, probably recording. Paling, she turns to the red-faced teacher. He stalks down the aisle of desks to reach us.
“Get your hands off her, Wilder. What’s gotten into you, Miss Landry?”
The teacher spares me a disgruntled look, then unloads all his disappointment on the little liar in my grip. I hold on for another beat, just to prove I’m in control. He doesn’t ask me again. I let her go and she shrinks back a step while I stand my ground.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Brewer.” Maisy’s back to her fucking simpering mask, casting her gaze at the floor demurely. It pisses me off more than usual. “I didn’t mean to make a scene.”
“This kind of behavior is unacceptable. Disrupting class, fighting.” He shakes his head, peering between us. “School policy deems fighting on school grounds a suspendable offense. But…” His glare softens when it leaves me and lands on Maisy. “Seeing as it’s the first time you’ve been involved in this kind of trouble, I’ll let you off with detention. That goes for both of you, everyday for the next week.”
Barely resisting an eye roll, I stalk from the room. The teacher calls after me, but I’m done. I make it halfway down the hall before the sound of footsteps reaches my ears. I angle my head back and find Maisy following me. My brows lift.
Cutting class? That’s a first.
“You’re not even going to say anything, asshole?”
She grabs my arm once she’s close enough and pulls hard to yank me around. It only works because I wasn’t expecting it. As soon as I plant my feet, I become an immovable wall.
Cheeks pink, she takes a step into my space. “How’d you do it?” When I don’t offer up an answer, air hisses between her teeth. “My research project that took me two months to do isn’t on my cloud drive anymore. At lunch I found it—” She breaks off with a disgusted sound and glares at me. “How the hell did you do it, Fox? Why did you do it?”
I ignore her, staring over her head. Growing more frustrated by the minute, she pushes at my chest and releases an agitated little grunt when I don’t move.
“Which is it?” Maisy demands. “I just want to know so I can stop getting whiplash. Cold shoulder and ignoring me again, or all your damn focus on me to toy with me in these demented mind games?”
