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IMANI
I stared at João’s taillights as they disappeared down the cold and snowy street. My chest was tight, and thoughts were rushing through my head so quickly. After wrapping my arms around myself, I bit my lip to hold back a whimper.
This night had been all over the place. First, Poison had thrown our principal’s head onto the football field during a football game. Then, João had nearly fucked me senseless and admitted that he wanted me to love him too. Now, he was driving away, and I couldn’t even follow him. My car was still at the school.
After kicking some snow with my heel, I walked back to Landon’s basement to find him alone with Kai. Allie, Jace, and Nicole must’ve left while João was buried inside me and pinning me to Landon’s parents’ bed.
Kai twirled my keys around his pointer finger and paused beside me at the foot of the stairs. “I’m going to get your car at the school. Stay here until I get back, but then you should leave the slums for the night. It won’t be safe.”
Once he left, I continued into the room to see Landon on the phone.
“Yeah, she’s okay,” Landon said, holding my phone up to his ear. He glanced over at me when I walked into the room, his eyebrows drawn together in worry. “She’s staying with me tonight, Mrs. Abara. She’ll be back in the morning.”
My eyes widened, and I hurried over. Mom’s voice rang out through the phone so loudly that I was surprised Landon didn’t go deaf. I snatched the phone from him, not wanting her to scream at him for this.
“What does she want?” I whispered to him, holding my hand over it.
“She had called about ten times, looking for you. I thought I’d answer it.”
After taking a deep breath and preparing myself, I placed the phone to my ear. “Mom?”
“Imani,” she said with a relieved sigh. “Thank God you’re okay. I heard what happened at the football game and wanted to make sure that you got back all right. You’re with the boys?”
“Uh, yes …”
“Good,” she said.
I pulled my ear away from the phone to make sure that this was really Mom’s number, then furrowed my brows at the screen. It was really her number, but what the hell was Mom on? One moment, she hated these guys, and the next, she was grateful that I was with them.
“You’re okay with that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I asked.
She had to know that they were the guys who had done that shit. If she was calling, she must’ve seen the video of the three boys who oddly resembled Poison. Shouldn’t she be freaking out, like I had been?
“Because”—she took a deep breath—“you were right. They’ll protect you.”
“You do know that they—”
“I know. You should come home.”
“I’m staying with Landon for tonight. I …” I glanced up toward the basement door, where Kai walked back into the room with my keys in his hand—he must’ve already brought my car back that… quickly? Hell, I wasn’t going to ask how he did it—and handed them to me. After saying a couple words to Landon, he disappeared back up the stairs and out of the basement. “I need to stay with him tonight. I know that you don’t agree, but I really ne—”
“Bring him home too.”
My eyes widened. “You want me to bring Landon back to our house?”
“It’s safer than sleeping in the slums tonight. The rich will suspect that Poison is behind this, and they’ll easily find Landon’s house. It’s in the middle of the slums and where they do their business, isn’t it?”
I parted my lips and furrowed my brows, wanting to ask her how she knew this too. But maybe it was common information. God, I wished that I knew, but at least … at least, we could be safe tonight. Hopefully, João and Kai would be too.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll be back there soon.”
After I hung up the phone, I shoved it into my pocket and nodded to Landon. “My mom wants us both to come back to my house for the night,” I said, nervously gnawing on the inside of my cheek. “Could you message Kai and João to tell them to stay safe for me? They’re welcome to come over too. João doesn’t really want to talk to me now. He probably won’t even open my messages.”
“João’s going to listen to you before he gives a fuck about what I say,” Landon said.
