Page 22 of Fractured Loyalties
The boy says something else and shrugs. Then he heads for the parking lot. He turns at the last second, giving Ivy a wave and a final smile.
Meanwhile, Ivy watches him go, and then checks her phone. I wonder if he’s already texting her, or if she’s looking up his Instagram, seeing whether he has a girlfriend or an arrest record or whatever else eighteen-year-old girls care about.
Fuck, I wanna destroy that phone.
Ivy tucks her phone away and scans the drop-off area. She spots the SUV and jogs over, her backpack bouncing against her hip. She pulls the passenger door open with a swift yank before I can lean over.
“Hey,” she says, sliding in. Her hair is wet and she smells like rain. For a moment, I forget why I’m so angry. Then I remember because of the fucking smile that’s still on her face.
I clench my jaw. “Making friends? What’s his name?”
She shrugs and rubs the goosebumps on her arm. “Just a guy from my class. He’s like the only nice person here.”
I grunt, slam the car into gear, and peel away from the curb. “You know, Ivy, you shouldn’t trust people who smile too much. It’s a sign of brain damage.”
She laughs, but it’s thin, as if she’s not sure if I’m joking. I don’t clarify. I let the silence stretch, punctuated only by the shudder of the wipers and the rumble of the road.
After a minute, she tilts her head at me. “Are you… okay? You still look…” She trails off, searching for a word.
“As if I got the shit kicked out of me?” I finish for her.
She winces, turns back to the window. “Sorry. I just…was hoping you’d feel better or something.”
Or something. Right. Like dead, probably.
I grit my teeth and focus on the road, tryingnotto get hard at the scent of her sitting in the seat beside me.
Fuck her for ruining what happened between us last night.
When we hit the turn for the estate, Ivy sighs, and the whole atmosphere in the car shifts as she frowns. “Do you ever wish you could just… go somewhere else? Like, anywhere but here?”
It’s a naive question. But I take the bait. I need her to come to me, nothim.
I flick my eyes over to her. “All the fucking time.”
She gives me one of those fake Ivy smiles, and I punch the damn gas, jarring her back into the seat.
“Buckle up,” I say, even though she already is. “It’s going to be a hell of a weekend.”
She looks at me, her hair wild and her face flushed. For a second, I think she may understand.
But she’s never been to a Woods’ party.
I expect her to ask what I mean, but just then her phone dings, and she’s lost to it, already texting with hernew friend.
I glance down at my knuckles, where the blood is still caked under my nails, and I wonder what it would take to get her to look at me the way she just looked at him.
Fucking hell.
Nine
IVY
Kade:Today was awesome. No more lunches alone? Yeah?
I smile at the text as I make my way to my room to strip out my uniform and opt for something more…me.
For once, my head isn’t full of static or panic or suffocating grief. Maybe it’s just that the day didn’t destroy me. Perhaps it’s that Kade made the whole thing less like a firing squad and more like a terrible reality show.
