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ALLIE
It was Monday morning at the best school in the region, Redwood. Note the sarcasm because I hated this place more than I hated Jace Harbor, and I loathed Jace Harbor with my entire heart.
I stood by my locker, depositing my books from my first class and trying to retrieve my books for the next two classes because I didn’t want to sprint back here from across the campus in my five-minute break. There was far too much trouble I could run into, like the Poison boys dealing weed, cigarettes, drugs, and weapons to the rich kids.
One time, I’d caught Jace with them and nearly gotten beaten the fuck up for it. Nobody saw Poison make their deals—they made sure of it. If someone did, there were consequences, which was why I steered the fuck clear of them.
I might’ve been from the same side of town as them, but I didn’t want to associate myself with them at all. Now, I was considered one of those rich kids that they preyed on. No, thank you.
Someone poked me on the shoulder, and I looked back and locked eyes with Jamal, who was leaning against his locker with a football in his hand, talking to his teammate but looking at me. My cheeks flushed slightly from the sudden attention.
Imani popped up next to me. “God, I tap you on the shoulder, and suddenly, you’re in love with Jamal, the football flirt.” She inched closer to me and lowered her voice. “Just like your stepbrother, if I have to remind you.”
I playfully rolled my eyes at her. “Nothing happened between us, I.”
She arched her brow, held her books to her chest, and leaned against the locker next to mine, smirking. “Mmhmm, sure. That’s what we’re calling it nowadays … nothing.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Come on. You went on a date with Jamal to the Overlook—that’s where everyone goes to hook up.”
Scrunching my nose, I frowned. “Maybe people hook up there in the summer, but not now in the fall,” I said, remembering all those nights when he had had his arm around me and we watched snow fall from the sky and into the sea.
Someone slapped a hand against my locker door, slamming it shut. My eyes widened. I’d totally expected to see Jace, but I came eye to eye with two members of Poison—João and Landon. João was a third of Poison, tall and stalky with big brown eyes, half Brazilian and one entire jerk.
“Where’s your brother?” he asked me, crossing his huge tattooed arms across his chest.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Landon start talking—flirting—with Imani, and I cursed her for all her help on how to get out of this one.
I shrugged and opened my locker back up, refusing to show him that he fucking terrified me. “I don’t know. He’s not my problem.”
“If you see him, make sure he knows we’re looking for him.”
And then, with that, he nodded to Landon, and they retreated down the hall toward the gymnasium. I doubted they actually had gym class. They were probably going there to jerk around in the locker room and smoke a blunt.
“What was that about?” Imani asked.
I arched a brow at my best friend and decided to give her a hard time. “You would know if you weren’t gawking at Landon,” I said, my lips curling into a smile.
She rolled her eyes and then tensed as her gaze fell behind me.
Imani nudged me and gestured down the hall. Jace was stalking through the crowd of people, who moved for him, and toward me. My heart leaped in my chest, and I turned away from him, pretending like I didn’t care about him. Last night, I had slept over at Imani’s, so I wouldn’t have to see his stupid fucking face.
Something must’ve happened between Friday night and this morning.
“I guess I’ll be going,” she said, leaning in. “Meet you in Bio.”
I glared at her. “You are not leaving me.” I seethed, hurrying to organize my locker to find all my books for class. “I am not spending a second alone with him.” My cheeks flushed. I hadn’t told her yet what had happened on Friday between Jace and me.
“Imani,” Jace said, stepping closer to me. “I need to talk to Allie alone.”
Imani gave me a pitiful smile and hurried down the hall. She surely wasn’t going to be late to any class, and neither was I.
The first bell for second period rang through the busy halls.
I gathered the five damn textbooks Mr. Barnes made me drag to each class and pushed my locker closed with my shoulder. “I have to get to class, Jace. Move.”
Jace stepped in front of me and placed his hands on the locker above me, trapping me in. “You’re not going anywhere. I said that we need to talk.”
“And I said to move,” I said, glaring up into his brown eyes. I wanted to slap him right in that gorgeous face of his for fucking me and straight-up leaving the other night, for not talking to me all weekend, for making me wonder when the hell that was going to happen again.
Instead of moving away, Jace stepped closer, making me pull my books to my chest, my glasses fogging up slightly from all this body heat. As soon as everyone—except for one of the Poison boys, who was lingering by the restrooms with a lit cigarette in his mouth, and a rich kid nearly up his ass about weed—was out of the halls, Jace wrapped a hand around my throat and pinned me to the lockers.
