Page 12 of Uppercut Princess

Despite myself, I’m more curious than ever about these two. Oscar seems lost, and I never would’ve guessed that the guy who puts on the Crew fights has a conscience. He’s worried for me, and if I had to take a stab at what he was doing this morning on our way to school, I’d bet he was watching me to make sure I made it okay.

Oscar leans over as we start walking down the hallway. “Do me a favor. If Nevaeh calls you out, make sure you kick her ass for me.”

He keeps his head facing forward, but I turn to look at his profile. His eyes are dark, clouded over with a mixture of anger, self-loathing, and something much fiercer.

There’s definitely something more to these guys than I originally thought.

Like this morning, Oscar drops my arm like he never even wanted it in the first place. I stop just outside the lunchroom as he walks in, greeted by a myriad of other students. In there, there’s no trace of the guy who wants revenge on the girl who wronged him. In there, people fall all over him because of who he is.

Back in my old school, the only ones who were treated like that were the ultra-rich. Here, Oscar’s three rungs from the top on the gang life pyramid, which makes him a damn hero. Those who don’t like him still tolerate him because they know what he has at his disposal.

An arm moves around my shoulders, dropping there like it belongs. I immediately jump and stiffen when I see who it is. The guy’s eyes widen with recognition. “Ahh, you get around, don’t you?” His snicker makes me want to vomit. “I see you’ve met Oscar, probably in more ways than one already. No wonder why I hear Nevaeh’s gunning for you.”

My lips move without saying anything. The skin he just touched crawls with confusion. It’s repulsion, yet warmth at the same time. Stomach rolling, I attempt to get myself together. “I’m new.” I swallow, hoping I sound authentic. “I just met Oscar yesterday, if you can call it meeting at all. He thinks I’m only going to last two days in this school.”

Rocket looks me up and down, his perusal slow, steady, and unnerving. “He was generous.” I can’t help the annoyance that flits across my face. It makes Rocket laugh. “I can see why he’s all up in your business though. Oscar’s always liked shiny things. He likes to chase better tail, and we can tell you’re not from around here from a mile away.”

No kidding. Having an admin go down on someone in the main office who isn’t even a student never would’ve happened in my old school. Hell, it shouldn’t be happening in this school either.

“I wonder how jealous I can make Oscar…”

Rocket reaches out, but I move out of the way. “I don’t know Oscar. I don’t even know you.”

“You remember we met yesterday though, right?”

“Was that a meeting? From what I could see, you were busy.”

Rocket’s eyes dance. On the surface, they’re a similar color to Brawler’s, but Rocket’s are lighter like swimming in the Caribbean Sea. “I’m Rocket,” he says, inclining his head.

“Kyla,” I tell him. My fingers clench and unclench. I know he didn’t kill my parents. He didn’t pull the trigger, but he comes from the deranged man who did, and it’s hard to separate the two. I’ve seen blurry pictures of both. Their bone structure is similar, but Big Daddy K, leader of the Heights Crew, has thirty pounds on his son and thirty years. Neither is in the positive column.

I’m trying to accept the fact that Johnny Rocket is good looking. My brain tells me that. My eyes tell me that. But I can’t help but wonder if his soul is as dark as his father’s.

“Good to know,” Johnny says. He rakes his gaze down me, making me want to take these clothes off and burn them. He’s having entirely too much fun trying to see under them.

“What year are you in?” I ask because that sounds like a reasonable question for someone you’ve just met who’s standing in a school, even though I know he shouldn’t be. “I don’t think we have any classes together.”

The corners of his lips tip up. “Oh, we won’t be having any classes together. I graduated two years ago. I just like to stop by to check on my guys.”

“Your guys?”

“Friends,” he tells me, shrugging off the question. It looks like even he isn’t arrogant enough to spill that he’s a part of the Crew even though everyone knows it. Hell, he’s second tier. He’s runner-up to his father. In the years to come, he’ll be groomed to take his father’s place. He’ll reign supreme over all this. The school, the city, the people. There’s not a single person around that won’t be out of his reach.

Johnny Rocket is everything. And he knows it.

6

Seeing Johnny Rocket unnerves me for the rest of the day. Brawler follows me home, the whispers of Nevaeh and I fighting still thick in the air around us. I should be happy about this because this is what I wanted. I needed an in to fight. I have one. I’m not worried about fighting Nevaeh at all, I just didn’t think I’d see Johnny the first day I got to the Heights—or the second.

What if his father is around, too? Like a fly on the wall? Or the boogie man in the shadows? What if he’s around, and I just don’t know it?

The thought follows me all the way home, and even though Brawler stomps up the steps behind me since we live in the same hall, I go right to my apartment, lock all my locks, and walk right into the small bedroom to lie down, dropping my book bag on the carpet in the process. I feather a breath out, staring up at the ceiling, but not seeing it. Instead, I’m imagining everything that’s gone down in the years since my parents were taken from me. That’s how I get through times like this. Times when I wonder what I’m doing this for. I mean, I want the outcome. I want to have Big Daddy K’s life in my hands at the end but getting there is the problem. Every little step makes everything I’ve worked for and trained for all that much more real. The path is opening ahead of me like I thought it would, and I can’t help but second-guess things.

One Kyle and An-na. Two Kyle and An-na.These words are my calming motto. My reminder I have more to live for.

I fall asleep thinking about all of this, but I’m awakened later by hard knocks on the door. My eyes flit toward the hidden compartment below the shelf, wondering if I should grab the gun there.

It could be Nevaeh.

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