Page 24 of Make Me Scream
“Uh.” My brows furrow, and I feel myself frowning. “No,” I finally decide on.
“Oh. Well…” I look at Lance out of the corner of my eye, leaning my elbows on my knees. “Would you wanna hang out, maybe?”
“I’m not fucking you, Lance,” I tell him bluntly, just to get that out of the way.
His pale face reddens in blotches. “Jesus, Abel,no!That’s not what I mean. I mean asfriends. Only,” he enunciates, using his hands in weird gestures, like it means something.
My face scrunches, confused. “Okay…” I drawl, cutting off his panicked ranting. “Really?”
He heaves out a breath, like he can finally breathe. “Yes, really. Shit. I don’t feel like dying today, thanks,” he mutters, and I can’t help but snicker.
“I guess that’s fair.”
“Yeah. Anyway, you have my number, so just let me know?” he asks as he pushes to his feet, eyes darting to the left every few seconds.
“Yeah, I will.”
“Cool. See you later, Abel.”
As he starts to walk away, my heart begins to hammer. “Hey, Lance?”
He turns around and slows his steps. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.” His smile is big, and I return it in jest, crooked teeth and all.
“Who the fuck are you smiling at, runt?” A voice slithers like a snake down my spine. I shiver involuntarily.
“It’s sure as shit not you, is it?” I bite back, which earns me a yank of my braided hair, the strand from my bow bouncing in the air.
“Watch it, fucker,” I snap, wrenching away from him.
“Abel.” It’s whispered, low and slow and venomous.
A deadly warning.
One I’ll never heed.
“Peris,” I taunt, just before loping away, tattered backpack slung over my shoulder. “See you later, baby.” And with my farewell, I blow him a kiss as I skip out the doors to head to the roof to get stoned before I have to have this awful conversation with Elise.
“Thursday,”I deadpan.
“I’m so sorry, Abel.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
“I wish I was.” She reaches out to touch me, and I step back on instinct. A part of me feels guilty watching her face fall, but mostly, I just feel numb.
I have to see Lucy in less than two days—alone.
On fucking Thanksgiving.
Not that I give a shit about the holiday, but it would’ve been my first real holiday with the Baxters as a… a family…
And now…
It’s all ruined by her, yet again.
“What do you need from me?” Elise asks, her golden-green eyes wide and sincere.
