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24
ELLIE
“Ellie! Hey, Ellie! Wait up!”
I turn with a smile, hugging my science textbook to my chest, only to have that smile disappear from my face, wilting at the edges like a dying flower.
It’s been three days since the dinner at Harvey’s.
Three days since we were forced to attend a POP event.
Three days since we saw Senator Reece Whipers stab a girl.
Three horrible days of constantly looking over my shoulder, checking for monsters that I’m sure didn’t actually exist. Paranoia is a persistent son of a bitch.
The guys have been busier than ever since then. At least two of them are gone most of the day. Taking out the trash, so to speak. Landon offered to give me a rundown of what, exactly, they’ve been getting up to, but to be completely honest, I don’t want to know. The blood splatters staining their clothes when they return home are answer enough.
Today, only Beckett is at school with me. The other three have taken Landon’s car to have a “chat” with the chief of police—whose name is on Reece’s list and who Zane swears he heard speaking at the fight three nights ago.
But it isn’t Beckett flagging me down.
It’s Roy Gibbens—my lab partner since freshman year that I dated casually before I got together with the guys. And who Zane beat up after he tried to take liberties with me during our last date.
I purse my lips as he hurries to a stop in front of me, his brown hair windswept and his cheeks pink from the cold. He straightens the lapels of his Grove Academy suit jacket before flashing me what he probably thinks is a charming smile.
It just makes me feel ill.
“Ellie. You’re a hard girl to track down.” He winks, attempting a nonchalance that he fails epically at. Everything about Roy is so incredibly awkward, especially compared to the lethal grace my guys display.
“What do you want, Roy?” I ask scathingly, already turning to walk away. I’m supposed to meet Beckett at my locker, so we can walk to our next class together, but I got a text saying he got stopped by his teacher to go over a past assignment.
It’s not like we have anything to worry about. We’re in a crowded school in the middle of the day. If one kid here happens to be a member of POP, then there are over two hundred who are not. They would be stupid to make a move in such a public setting.
“We haven’t talked since our last date.” He easily keeps pace with me, a single stride of his equaling two of mine.
“You mean the date when you tried to rape me, and Zane beat the shit out of you?” I copy his bored, casual tone.
The first sign of displeasure I’ve seen so far flicks across Roy’s face. His lips purse, as if he just ate a particularly sour lemon, and his eyes darken, turning stormy. “That was an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
“That was not a misunderstanding, and the only thing unfortunate about the entire situation is the fact Zane didn’t kill you when he had the chance.”
He grabs my upper arm so abruptly, so roughly, that I actually stumble. Only his grip on me keeps me upright.
He whirls me to face him, and the fire in his eyes transforms from a mere simmer to a raging inferno. Anger paints jagged lines on his face.
“This isn’t you, Ellie.”
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” I snap, attempting to wiggle my arm free. We’re beginning to gather a small crowd, which is good, because the more people who witness this, the sooner information will get back to my guys. “Let go of me.”
He doesn’t. Instead, he drags me toward a separate hallway that is less crowded. The light is scarcer here, dimmer, and the bulbs overhead flicker intermittently.
Only when we’ve reached a corner shrouded in shadows does he release me. I immediately rub at the skin of my arm, knowing he left finger-sized bruises.
My guys are going to kill him.
And this time, I’ll let them.
“My cousin told me that they were bad influences on you,” Roy seethes, spit flying from his mouth. He begins to pace in front of me, his hands repeatedly inching up to scrub at his messy hair. “You’ve changed since you got more involved with them.”
