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Man, if she only knew how close to the truth she was. How I briefly spent time in a psychiatric hospital right after my parents died.
“Maybe a little bit,” I agree, my chest feeling slightly pressurized.
Slut.
Freak.
Murderer.
My scars throb.
She laughs like I’m making a joke, but I’m not. “You’re funny, Raven. You should come sit with me and my friends at lunch.” Her laughter fades and seriousness takes over. “It’ll be good for you to have a group at this school, too. Someone to protect you.”
Confusion swirls inside me. “Protect me from what?”
She sneaks a quick, nervous glance around at the people flooding the hallways. “The politics in this town. Sadly, the more money and power your family has here, the more shit you can get away with at this school. It’s so bad that teachers will literally look the other way, even when someone is getting their ass kicked by some pretentious, rich, spoiled brat. And don’t even get me started on the sexual assaults that get dusted under the rug.”
Is she being serious? She sure looks like it, but …“Doesn’t anyone report that kind of stuff to the police?” I ask. “I mean, sexual assault cases don’t really seem like they should be handled by school administrators.”
“The police are just as bad at looking the other way, because they get bought off. And if they do try to do something about all the illegal crap going on in town, they end up like old Sheriff Bethrtor, may he rest in peace.” She draws a cross over her chest. “Although, I heard a rumor that we have a new sheriff in town, so maybe that’ll change. Doubtful, though.”
Yeah, I doubt so, too, since my uncle isn’t the type of do-gooder guy who will turn down cash to do the right thing. Obviously, since he has a huge-ass stash of stolen drugs. But I’m not about to tell her that.
“Yeah, maybe,” I mumble.
She bobs her head up and down, dazing off for a minute. “But yeah, anyway, if you want to be smart and stay off the radar from all this corrupt shit, I’d recommend staying as far away from Zay, Jax, and Hunter as you can.” She steps closer and lowers her voice. “Jax comes from one of the wealthiest families in town, and Zay is his cousin and lives with him. No one knows why he lives with him, but he’s just as spoiled as Jax. I’ve heard rumors that his dad’s straight-up crazy. And Jax’s dad is a total asshole. He owns a huge part of the town, so a lot of people have to do what he says. It’s really weird.”
I attempt to process the information she just gave me but,holy crap, this is weird. “Well, what about Hunter?”
She goes all doe-eyed for a moment before hastily blinking away the look. “Hunter lives with Jax and Zay, too. His dad works for Jax’s dad as his”—she makes air quotes—“ ‘business consultant.’ But everyone around here is pretty sure he basically makes sure anything ugly that could potentially tarnish the Capperellie name gets wiped clean.”
That sounds … sketchy. “Wiped clean how?”
“I’m not sure, but there’re a few theories. One being …” She drags her finger across her throat. “So, yeah, if I were you, I’d stay away from them. Especially Hunter.”
Does she really believe that? That Hunter’s dad kills people? Or does she just like to spread rumors?
“Really? Because Zay seems scarier.”
“Oh, Zay is completely scary,” she assures me. “He’s also into some really weird shit.”
I adjust the books in my hand as we near my locker. “What kind of weird shit?”
She lifts a brow. “What sort of weird stuff do you think I’m talking about?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
She gives me a look like I’m an idiot. “Sexual shit.”
“Oh.” Now this is a topic of conversation I’m a bit unfamiliar with, being a virgin and all. Not that I’m some sort of prude who’s going to blush over this or something. And it’s not like I’m saving myself for marriage or anything like that. I’ve just never had the opportunity to have sex. I’ve never even been out on a date. I did get kissed once, but it was a stolen kiss that I refuse to ever think about.
“I’m not positive how true the rumors are since I haven’t, and never will, go near Zay,” Katy continues, “but I’ve heard he’s into some really twisted stuff. And he never kisses anyone on the mouth and rarely touches anyone when he’s messing around with them. And I’ve heard he likes it rough.”
Okay, I may be a little naïve when it comes to sexual stuff, but that seems a bit weird to me.
“Why’s he like that?” I wonder, telling myself I’m only curious, not interested. Well, it might be a little bit of both.
She shrugs. “Who the hell knows? I’ve heard, like, a ton of rumors about it, but the only people who really know the truth are Zay, Hunter, and Jax.”
