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twenty-three
Rumor Has It… Though the false queen is gone, her former consort remains unscathed by her evil and firmly among the Elite! What lucky girl will snatch up the newly eligible bachelor and heal his broken heart?
Gloria Walton
When we start back for the building after I’ve calmed down, I let Harper go ahead to class, assuring her I’m fine and I’ll call her later.
Then I turn to Colt. “We should get out of here,” I say.
“We?” he asks, arching a brow.
“You,” I correct. “The Dolces… They’ll be after you, Colt.”
He gives me a funny look. “They’re always after me.”
“Yeah but… Dixie insinuated… That we’d… We…”
“Damn,” he says, crossing his arms and leaning against the locker next to mine. “Don’t tell me the Bitch Queen lost her tongue as well as her crown?”
I scowl, trying to summon my usual cutting response, but my heart is careening wildly in my chest. I can’t look him in the eye or I’ll break down again, so I stare at the way he tucks his scarred, disfigured hand under his arm. I can see the faint lines of his tattoos through the sleeves of his white shirt, and I want nothing more than to dive into those arms, feel their comforting warmth, their false security.
You don’t deserve comfort, you bitch. You don’t even deserve to live.
I swallow and pull my gaze away. “She made it sound like we fucked.”
A slow smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “Did we?”
“Shut up,” I say, glowering back at him.
“You can tell me now,” he says. “Since I’m no longer beneath you.”
“I can’t believe she’d put that in her blog,” I say, turning to my locker and dragging out my backpack. “After…”
I can’t tell him. Not what happened last year, and not what his girlfriend did. He loves her. He’s happy. If I broke them up, it would be out of spite, and I can’t be that petty when he was just there for me in ways I never expected and will never deserve.
I can’t make things worse for him.
“After?” he prompts.
“After they almost killed you last year,” I say, slamming my locker and turning to him. I don’t add that it’s Dixie’s fault they almost killed him. It’s too cruel.
“They probably wouldn’t care,” he points out. “Now that you’re not going to be their fuck doll, what do they care who you fuck?”
I don’t want to think about that, so I shoulder my pack. “Just be careful. Promise?”
He gives me a long, searching look, like he thinks I must have ulterior motives for being a decent person for once in my life. Then he reaches out and tugs at the strap on my bag. “Where you off to?”
“If I’m getting kicked out of school for being a slut, skipping one afternoon probably won’t make much difference.”
Colt pushes off the locker. “Come on. I’ll get you a bubble tea.”
“Why are you being nice to me?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
He gives me a cool look. “Because I’m not like you.”
“I had bubble tea this morning,” I mutter, but I can’t help but fall into step beside him, like he’s some kind of magnet.
“I know.”
