Page 37 of Liars

Nash caught the bag effortlessly and held it out of my reach as I lunged for it.

“Seriously?” I retorted, giving Nash a dirty look before spinning back to the damn devil.

Kreed crossed his arms, his scarred face set in an insultingly thoughtful expression. “Here’s the deal, little raven. If you want your stuff back, you’ll have to find me after school.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? I still have classes. What’s your problem with me? Or do you just get off bullying girls? Does it get your dick hard?”

“My dick hard?” he repeated, pretending to think about it. He sauntered up to me like he had all the time in the world. “Nothing about you could possibly entice me.”

An unexplainable sting pierced my chest. It wasn’t so much that I cared Kreed wasn’t attracted to me because I couldn’t stand him, but it somehow still hurt to hear. I guessed somewhere inside I wanted to be desirable even to someone as loathsome as Kreed. “You’re such a jerk,” I spat, my hands balling at my sides.

He leaned down so our faces were only inches apart, his breath mingling with mine. “And you’re in my world now. Better get used to it.”

I glared at him, my heart pounding with anger. I wanted to scream, to throw something, but instead, I forced myself to stand my ground. He needed to know intimidation wouldn’t work with me.

Nash tossed the bag back to Kreed, who slung it over his shoulder again and walked away, his friend trailing behind him, laughing.

I stood there, seething as the hallway emptied around me. The bell might have rung, but the buzzing in my ears drowned out the sound.

Why did it feel like every time I planned to see my friends, Kreed intervened? It was like the jackass knew what was going on inside my head. Or maybe he could see how desperately I longed to connect with my old life and needed familiar faces. Isolating me would only break my spirit. It wouldn’t help meheal. It would have the opposite effect. The sadness I carried with me would linger. It already felt like it would never leave. And perhaps it wouldn’t.

But what I couldn’t do was let Kreed derail my plans. He wanted to play games. I liked games. I could play too.

I just had to figure out how to play.

12

KAYLOR

Iwasted another ten minutes roaming the halls until I finally located my locker. Not that it mattered. I had nothing to put in it. At least I still had my phone. The only good thing that came out of getting lost in this forsaken school.

Poppy leaned against my locker, scrolling on her phone. Her eyes lifted as I approached. My back hit the wall beside her, the stress of the day sinking against the metal pressing into my back.

She angled her body toward me, her shoulder propped on the locker. “People are already talking about you.”

My head whirled in her direction. “They found out?” Knowing it was bound to happen and itactuallyhappening were separate things. I guessed that paranoid feeling everyone was talking about me hadn’t been inside my head.

“Yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about. You’re now known as the girl who jumped on Kreed’s back.”

My brows crinkled together. “That literally happened like ten minutes ago.”

Poppy shrugged. “Two minutes. Two hours. Two days. At Public, secrets, lies, and gossip spread faster than an STD.”

I should expect no less. The academy had been the same. “I don’t get what the big deal is. So what? I jumped on Kreed’s back. Summon the reporters.” I fumbled with the combination. I might not have anything to put inside, but I needed the practice. School locks were finicky bastards.

Poppy watched me as I attempted a second time to put in the sequence of numbers and rotations. “Because no one does that. Not unless they want to be tortured the rest of the year. Kreed isn’t someone you fuck with.”

I was damn fed up. With this school. With this lock. With Kreed. With everything. I huffed, my shoulders sagging as my hands dropped away from the locker. “Neither am I. And the sooner Kreed realizes it, the easier his life will be.”

Her gold eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

“Kreed Corvo is the devil’s spawn.”

Poppy bumped me out of the way, moving the dial on my lock like she’d done it a million times. “Facts. I’m surprised he’s taken an interest in you.” The locker clicked open.

Frowning, I stared at the empty space inside. “I wish he wouldn’t. The jackass took my bag.” I swung the door closed.

“So very kindergarten of him. We can plot your revenge over lunch.” She grabbed my hand, tugging me away from the lockers. “I’m buying.”

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