Page 61 of Incipient

I froze again, panicked and unsure of how to answer. On one hand, I didn’t want him to think I had ditched school to go play another round ofChickenwith Dominic, but I also didn’t feel comfortable admitting it was Gabriel who had lost control. For one, I wasn’t sure how he would react to that and two, I didn’t want him to think that Gabriel was a danger to me. Because he wasn’t.

Well, not usually anyway.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said lowly, his mouth twisting with distaste.

I could feel the hostility rolling off him in waves, though I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or Dominic.

“It’s not what you think. I can explain.”

He stepped back, his face expressionless and completely unreadable. “You don’t owe me any explanations, Jemma.”

“I know that, but I want to explain—”

“There you are,” said Ben as he rounded the corner and spotted us. “I was looking for you at break.” He slung his arm over my shoulder as he came to stand beside us, his gaze cataloguing me. “You okay…after yesterday, I mean.”

“Oh, yeah. Good as new. I just had some things to take care of before school,” I answered, smiling up at him.

Trace flexed his jaw muscle as Ben bounced a glance between the two of us. “Everything good? I’m sensing some tension. Should I give you two a minute?”

“No, everything’s fine,” I lied, forcing myself to keep smiling. “We can talk later, right Trace?”

“Yeah, sure.” His mouth thinned as he looked down at me.

“Let’s eat then,” said Ben as he gently shoved me toward the entrance doors, his arms still draped around my shoulder. “I’m starving.”

Trace followed closely behind as Ben and I walked into the crowded cafeteria. The fluorescent lights beamed down above us as a cacophony of excited chattering and clanging cutlery rang throughout the dining hall.

“Over here!” called Caleb, his voice taking precedence over the others.

Ben nodded and then steered us toward the back table. Normally, I would’ve dug my feet in the ground and refused to break bread with Nikki, so to speak, but she appeared to be a no-show at school today, yet again.

I supposed carrying Lucifer’s spawn around was starting to take its toll on her physically.

Not that she didn’t deserve it.

Pulling out a chair, I sat down in between Ben and Trace, with Morgan and Carly flanking Caleb on the opposite side. Morgan’s eyes glanced up from her phone at the sudden commotion of sliding chairs and gave me a proper look.

Thus far, we were the only two at the table that knew what was really going on with Nikki. As far as everyone else was concerned, she was home sick with the flu.

“I’m going to get some food,” informed Trace, his forearms flattened on the table. “What do you want?”

My appetite wasn’t exactly big these days, though after my morning with Gabriel, I figured I needed to put something nutritious into my stomach. “I’ll have a burger and fries,” I said and then reached into my pocket for my cash. Okay, sonutritiouswas a stretch, but at least I was eating.

“I got it,” he said as he rose from the table and walked off with Ben trailing behind him.

I was going to have to clear the air with him, and sooner rather than later. If there was anything I couldn’t stomach, it was Trace giving me the cold shoulder, and lying to his face was a surefire way to get back into that frosty place with him.

Turning back to the trio in front of me, I fixed my gaze on Morgan. “Nikki still sick?”

Her eyes darted up from her phone. “Yeah,” she answered as Carly and Caleb started talking quietly amongst themselves. “Not that I’ve been allowed to see her.” She grumbled out that last part and my eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean, you’re notallowedto see her?”

“She has some family in town,” she said, as lips pursing with annoyance. “They’re taking care of her while she’s, you know,sick, but they’re total assholes. I tried to go see her yesterday and they straight up wouldn’t let me in the house.”

My brows scrunched together at this strange development.

“Who picks a bunch of strangers over their best friend?” she asked as though she couldn’t even fathom it. “I’ve never even heard her mention these people once.”

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