Page 31 of Liars

Maddox looked and sounded like he just rolled out of bed. His dark hair slashed in an array of messy angles, and yet it somehow looked sexy on him.

Go fucking figure.

The man literally woke up two minutes ago and looked like a sex god. Meanwhile, I woke up an hour and a half ago and still didn’t look my best.

Life could be cruel and unfair.

Mason glanced my way, his smirk coy as ever. “Our little kitten has sharpened her claws.”

“Who are you calling a kitten?” I asked, afraid I already knew the answer and didn’t like it.

Merriment danced in Mason’s eyes. “You.”

My fingers gripped harder on my bag’s strap. “I’m not yours. And I don’t do cute nicknames.”

Maddox slipped on a pair of white sneakers left by the door. “Too bad. We do.”

“Get in the fucking car. I don’t need detention this early in the week.” Kreed opened the front door, jerking his head toward the car parked outside. “Move your asses.”

I ignored him, walking past with my head held high.

The black SUV gleamed in the morning sun as I climbed into the back seat. It smelled like expensive leather and woodsy cologne. Mason sat beside me as Kreed slid into the driver’s seat, and Maddox claimed the passenger side. Tension knotted in my stomach as we pulled out of the long driveway and onto the main road.

I hated change.

Thiswas a major change.

It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten much this morning. When I got nervous, my stomach got messed up. I didn’t want to spend my whole first day in the bathroom.

I stared out the window, feeling a lump grow in my throat as we grew closer to school. The Corvos didn’t live particularly far from Public. Just a few miles, but the unfamiliar streets made my stomach twist; nothing felt right.

Maddox fumbled with the music, scrolling through his playlist for a song. I ignored the brothers’ banter, having nothing to say. My anxiety had me lost in my head. I hadn’t realized I’d been picking at my cuticles until the car came to a jerking halt on the side of the road, my nail slicing over my finger. I frowned at Kreed in the front seat, my shoulder throbbing from the sudden movement. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Why did we stop?” We weren’t at school. Not yet. We were close, probably about a half mile out.

Maddox twisted in his seat, his expression a mix of irritation and amusement. “You’re getting out. That’s what’s going on.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said. “You can walk the rest of the way to school. Hitchhike. I don’t care. But you won’t be seen in this car. Not with us.”

My eyes darted to Kreed, whose fingers flexed on the steering wheel, his gaze straight ahead. And then I looked at Mason. He fidgeted in his seat, his usual smirk nowhere in sight. “Let me getthis straight. You want me to walk the rest of the way? And then, you want me to pretend I’m not living in your house at school? Like you don’t know me?”

“I told you she was smart,” Mason chimed in from the seat next to mine.

Kreed said nothing. I could see his eyes in the rearview mirror, the scar marring his upper cheek. He clearly wasn’t interested in intervening.

“You can’t be serious,” I protested.

Maddox raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m dead serious. Get out, menace.”

Outrage flared in my chest, and I glared at Kreed. “You’re such an ass.”

“Aw, thank you,” Maddox replied with a grin, his hand flying to his heart in a mock wounded gesture. “Now, out you go.”

I hesitated, my pride warring with frustration. I could argue, but something about Maddox’s smug expression told me he’d only drag me out if I refused.

With a huff, I shoved open the door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Maddox leaned out the window as I slammed the door shut with the same whirling force inside me. The SUV rocked under the impact, giving me only minor satisfaction.

“Try not to get lost, menace,” he called, laughing as Kreed drove off, dust kicking up in a cloud of smoke.

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