Page 17 of Wylder and the Almost Rockstar
“That’s for my brother’s hats,” she spat. That had sounded less ridiculous in her head.
“What is going on here?” A new—and familiar—voice had Wylder’s cheeks going red.
Slowly, she turned to see Sebastian, a grimace on her face. “Erm, I need to go.”
She shoved Nicky past Sebastian and booked it out the door.
Sebastian ran after her. “Wylder, wait!”
With a sigh, she stopped at the car. “Wait here, Nicky. I’ll only be a minute.”
“You sure you don’t need backup?” He didn’t look convinced.
“Yeah. Bash is harmless, and I promise I won’t hit anyone else.”
“That’s a shame.” He clapped a hand over his mouth like he hadn’t meant to let the words escape.
Turning back toward the house, Wylder walked to where Sebastian waited halfway down the drive. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, looking more nervous than she’d ever seen him.
“Hey.” That was her brilliant opener.
“Hey,” he responded with a barely-there smile. “How did it feel?”
“What?”
“Punching Luke. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to do that.”
She grinned. “It was like Christmas and my birthday and the apocalypse all rolled into one.”
“The apocalypse gives you the warm fuzzies?”
“Oh, totally. Some people are scared of it because they’d die pretty quickly. Not me, I’m a survivor.”
“You’re nervous.”
She hated that he knew her so well. She tended to babble when she had nothing else to say. “Yeah.” She blew out a breath. “Honestly, I’m not sure how to talk to you right now. You’re my teacher, but we aren’t in school. You’re my ex, but I kind of miss having you in class more than dating you.”
“Ouch.” He smiled as he said it.
“Yeah, well, it’s warranted. Your replacement is awful. Seriously, he yells at me and says mean things.”
He leveled her with a stare. “Wyld Child, I know you. What have you done to make him say those things?”
“Nothing! I swear. I’m the perfect student.”
“Mmhmm, and that’s why you left the academy to come to Nashville.”
“No.” She planted her feet. “Ms. Jones gave me permission to be here. I’m not breaking any rules. This time, I’m being good.”
He shook his head with a laugh. “Sure. And why are you here? Not just to hit Luke—though I’m sure that’ll be the highlight of your trip. Did you come looking for me?”
He wanted her to say yes, she could see it in his eyes. But bringing Sebastian back to school was secondary to finding Logan. “Would it hurt you if I said no?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
“Sorry.” She brushed a hand through her hair and glanced back at Nicky, sitting in Ms. Jones’ car. “Logan needs to come back to school.”
“Wait… you’re here for Logan?”
