Page 30 of Catch Me

School goes by slow yet fast at the same time. I’m paying more attention than I was when my thoughts were wrapped around what happened to Brady. It almost feels like things are going back to normal since Brady’s death. You know, if having a vindictive bitch after you and your boyfriend is normal. My grades are crawling back up, which I know my parents will like. Maybe that’s the entire reason they haven’t threatened to move me in with Grandma and Grandpa again. If that’s the case, I’m going to keep at it.

When I get to English, Mr. Shaver tells me Oscar’s waiting for me in the library to work on our project. Actually, it doesn’t quite go down like that. When I walk into class, he looks at me like I’m losing it, asking me what I’m doing in class when Mr. Drego is in the library working on our project. He hands me a pass, dismisses me, and I walk to the library with a scowl on my face.

When I walk in, Oscar has the book out on one of the long tables in the back. He looks up as I approach. “There you are.”

“You could’ve told me you got permission to meet in the library again, so I didn’t look like an asshole.”

A smile quirks his lips up. “It dawned on me that I didn’t have your number to tell you.”

“Ha.” I look at him like he’s crazy. “I don’t think we need to be exchanging cell phone numbers.”

“Why? Your boyfriend gets jealous?”

“Of your ass? Doubtful.”

Oscar leans back in his chair, looking at me like he thinks this is a fun game. “Why did you come to Sasha’s party Friday?”

“Why did you lie and tell her you invited us?”

He taps his pen against the wooden table between us. “I like to see things play out. Plus,” he looks around, checking the area for any prying ears. Though, why anyone would want to be listening in on us is a mystery to me. “I think it’s funny when Sasha gets pissed.”

“Some boyfriend.”

“We’re not dating,” he says.

“Oh, right. Some fuck buddy.”

He shrugs like he has no problem in the world being categorized like that. He doesn’t, I imagine. He’s a man of opportunity after all. I guess that rule applies to women too, not just situations that fall into his lap.

I set my bookbag down and sigh. It’s pointless to try to argue with this kid. You can’t argue with someone who has completely different morals than you. “I’m going to grab that literary text I was reading the other day,” I tell him, referencing a book I found in the library that compares different classics.The Great Gatsbyis one of them.

He goes back to reading the book, so I just meander through the stacks, heading into the non-fiction section that’s even further back in the library than the table we’re sitting at lies. The fiction is front and center in the library, an enticement to try to get more students to come in, I guess. But I usually only see the same people in here over and over again, except for people like Oscar who are researching a project. I head down between two stacks, scanning the multi-colored spines for the one I want at the far end. Finding it, I tip it out between two other books. When I go to grab it though, another hand is already there, blocking me.

I look up to find Oscar standing over me, his eyes leveled at my own. There’s a different look in his eye than there was when we were out at the table. “Really,” he whispers gruffly. “What were you doing at Sasha’s party?”

I snatch the book out of his hand. “None of your business.”

The wrinkles in between his eyes deepen as he narrows his gaze even more. His eyes are so dark it looks like I’m staring into a bottomless pit. My stomach churns. I quickly look behind him and realize it’s just the two of us. It’s quiet in the library anyway, but I can’t even hear the hum of the copy machine or the librarian at the front desk shifting through her paperwork like before.

Oscar moves in closer. I try not to take a step back, but when he gets too close, I can’t help myself. I move away, putting distance between us, trying to steady my beating heart. I know this guy hasn’t done anything directly to me or the guys, but his “girlfriend” has. I don’t trust him. Not by a long shot.

“You know what I think?”

“Enlighten me,” I deadpan.

This makes his upper lip tip up in the corners and his eyes flare with interest. “I think you came for two reasons. One, to piss Sasha off. Congratulations, that worked.” He leans against the bookcase, but tips his head back toward me like this is just a walk in the park for him. “What’s annoying is she didn’t fuck me that night because I told her I invited you guys.”

I push out my lower lip and pout exaggeratedly. “That’s terrible. I hope you’ll survive.”

He drags his gaze up and down me, making my skin buzz in response. It’s like a warning bell, something telling me Oscar’s not only an asshole, he could be something far creepier too. I try to push past him and go back to the table where there are more people around, but he grabs my arm, keeping me trapped in the stacks. “Now, that’s not very nice. We’re having a conversation here.”

“We can have the same conversation out at the table,” I tell him, looking past my shoulder to his still casual stance.

Oscar shakes his head. “I can’t do that. Sasha likes to check up on me. Last time, one of her minions saw us in here working on our project, and she went ape shit. She really is jealous of you, Briar,” he says, leering at me again. “Sure, she calls you names and tears you down, but that’s just really her way of saying you’re a threat. In her mind, she still can’t understand how you got Reid away from her.”

I sigh. “I try not to think about what that vapid bitch is thinking.”

Oscar lets my wrist go and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Me? I like to know my enemies.”

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