Page 37 of The Devils They Are

Sighing, I squeeze the bridge of my nose. "For the last time—no. I need to take care of a few things. And for the record, you cannot just turn up whenever you feel like it. Just because you know the code, doesn't mean you can come and go as you please."

"But as your girlfriend—"

"For fuck sake, Liv!" I shout, scaring her. "We're not dating. We'refucking. That's not going to change anytime soon, so drop the point."

The rejection finally registers, a cold chill crossing her face before she stomps her foot—like a damn toddler—and glares at me angrily.

"Do you know what people are saying about you, right now?" Liv spits back. "About all of you? I'm throwing you a bone here, Rylan. We can put these issues to bed. Your bed."

"Fucking you is not going to fix this," I hiss. "And I don't have time to waste. Get out of my house."

Liv growls, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Right now, I'm the only solidarity you have. If you don't take advantage of this, people will continue to talk."

"People are talking no matter what," I point out. "Now, stay here if you must. But I'm leaving. Be warned though, my father is upstairs and in a foul mood."

As I stalk past her, Liv quickly follows, jogging in her cheer uniform to catch up. "Don't let her win, Rylan. That's what that bitch wants. She wants us to be apart—"

Stopping, I almost laugh when she crashes into my sturdy back. Any other time, I'd find it amusing, but not right now. Turning, I glare down at her. "Bexley couldn't give two shits about our relationship, Liv. I guarantee that's the last thing on her mind. Stop making this situation aboutyou."

I know I've hit the nail on the head when she falls silent, expression tugging into annoyance.

Olivia doesn't care about the destruction of my reputation. She just wants to make sure hers doesn't suffer the same fate. I have no idea why she wants to attach herself to me when I'm in the midst of a crisis. Most people are running far away, not willing to be associated with any of us until we take back control—fucking cowards.

But the head cheerleader is so far up her own ass, that all she sees is appearance. For months now, it's beenThe Dancethis andCheer Compthat. In her mind, having a legacy on her arm will seal and secure her fate—make her seem untouchable. But doesn't she realize how wrong she is? Not heeding Bexley's warning was a mistake on her part. We encouraged her to go to the dean, to report the altercation. But if she continues to poke the bear, eventually she's going to get hurt. And we won't be able to defend it.

The key to this is playing checkers while everyone else is playing chess—to fly under the radar, to grab control from the inside. The only way to do that is…

"I'm not making this about me," she argues, placing her hand on my chest. "I care about you."

Even the admission falls flat, the words empty as she pleads with me to reconsider. But like before, I pry her hand off me, letting it drop before walking away.

"See yourself out, Olivia," I demand, heading up the stairs to my bedroom.

Thankfully, she finally takes the hint, leaving with a curse and mimicking a huffing train. I don't want her around for this, it's already threatening to send me into a blackout rage.

I pick up my cell, scrolling through the contact until I sneer at her name.

I hate myself for this.

But I'll hate myself more if I don't take back control.

That's why I need to play it smart, lead everyone into a sense of security. Punching out the text message, I swallow down bile as I hit send.

I can't tell Hunter and Tai about this yet. They won't agree. But it's the only way to get on top of this. If getting into bed with the enemy is the only way to win, then it's a sacrifice I need to make.

Chapter fourteen

Bexley

Theschooldaydragson, causing me to question the concept of time.

I swear, all the clocks are at half-speed, taking forever to reach the end of day.

My mind has been a blurry mess all day—stuck on the thoughts of Mom at her follow-up appointment today, and my agreed meeting with Rylan this afternoon.

When I arrived at Willowbrook this morning, I gave Arch the brief update after he filled me in on yesterday's antics. It brought me great joy to hear how people taunted the three guys, the academy in shambles as staff rushed to control the students.

The videos are still being shared at an alarming rate, and despite putting on a brave face, it was apparently easy to tell they were frustrated.

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