Page 32 of The Demons We Hide

Finishing tightening her ponytail, she sighs. “Well, I guess as long as you know you can come to me about anything…” The fluttering blond waves swish against her nape, drawing my attention. “And I do meananything.” She pauses and glances back at me.

I groan. I know that look. “I donotwant to talk aboutthem,” I tell her.

There’s so much shit going on in my life right now, but the Scorpion Kings are by far the worst part.They burned down my fucking apartment! Now, I’m losing the last safe haven I have. I should’ve known it wouldn’t last at Roquel’s, and I have until the weekend to figure out a second place to live.

“Okay, okay,” Mads says placatingly, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “But if you ever do need to talk about them, you know I’m willing to listen, right?”

We turn the corner, heading down a short hallway towards our assigned lockers, and I give her a nod. “Yeah, I know, and I appreciate it. I’m just not…” in the right headspace? Ready to deal with the fact that less than an entire semester into my final year and I’ve got three psychopaths on my ass? In love with the idea of being homeless?

Answer: All of the above.

I shake myself and stop outside my own locker. Mads waits as I open it and step back to let the general mess of trash that’s made its way into the slots at the top—likely thanks to Megan and her minions—flutter to the floor before I reach for my books and trade them out.

“If you want to help me, you might tell me if you know any cheap places to rent nearby or that are available near a bus station,” I say as I toe aside what looks like a used tampon. Gross.

I slam the locker shut and spin the lock. When I turn back in her direction, Mads is looking down at the trash around my feet. “Is this still happening?” she asks, nudging a lollipop wrapper with the edge of her sneakered foot.

I shrug. “Looks like it. Now, rentals?”

Her eyes meet mine and she winces. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know many places—but the women’s shelter on main might have some spots available. I volunteer there sometimes. They do it on a nightly basis, though, and they have a curfew for those staying.”

I grimace. It’s not the best place, but it’s somewhere I suppose. I guess it’s better, though, that most of my shit is at Nolan’s place still and all I really have is what I can fit into my current backpack and the duffle I’d picked up from Goodwill.

“Thanks,” I say, “I’ll check it out.”

Mads bites her lip as she starts down the hall towards her own locker and I follow. “I’d offer to let you stay with me, but…”

Her words drift off, but she doesn’t need to explain.Her parents. I shrug as we pause by her locker and she opens it—without the same fiasco as my own. “Don’t worry about it,” I assure her. “I can always rent out that motel over by the Veil.”

Her eyes whip towards me. “Is there even a bus stop over that way?” she asks.

“Probably,” I hedge. The real answer, though, is a big fat no—well, sort of. The closest bus stop is a good mile away, but at least I’ll have a bed and privacy.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” Mads chews at her lips as she pulls out a few books and holds them against her hip as she digs around for a pouch of pencils and pens. “The Veil is in a shady area, and I’m pretty sure some of the girls that work there…work at the motel too.”

My lips twitch. “That’s the most graceful way I’ve heard anyone call a stripper a whore,” I comment.

She flushes. “That’snotwhat I said!”

“Yeah, okay.”Liar. At my tone, she shoots me a look of exasperation, and I can’t help but grin back. Teasing her, I find, is way easier than actually focusing on the earlier emotions that are still lingering in my belly.

My phone buzzes against the inside of my bra and I withdraw it only to scowl.

GIO: Where are you?

GIO: Can we talk?

I would’ve expected Lex to turn off the phone when I shut off the tracking, but he hasn’t. And apparently, I’m either really bad at figuring out how to block them or Lex somehow knows how to actually access the damn thing remotely and unblock them all, but no one can do that… right?

“Hey, do you know how to block a number on this thing?” I ask instead of letting myself linger on the thought. I flip the phone around and show it to Mads.

Her eyes widen and she reaches for the phone, shifting her stuff to her other hip as she holds it all with one hand. “It should be relatively easy,” she murmurs swiping across the screen.

“I think I’m bad at it,” I confess.

"How can you be bad at blocking someone?” Mads snorts and shakes her head as she taps the screen a few times.

I shrug. “I don’t know, but I swear to fuck I’ve done this a billion times by now and it never seems to stick. Maybe I didn’t save it right?”

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