Page 52 of Friend
She blinked up at me, her gaze tired and sad, before, after a short pause, she said, “Nothing.”
Adrian shifted his weight as he covered his slowly growing smirk. The tightness in my chest began to grow.
She wouldn’t say anything—at least not in front of him.
“Fine. You’re to saynothingabout this—to anyone.” I forced the word through my clenched teeth, and it was clear to see that he knew exactly what I was talking about. “Get out of here.” I glared at him. I knew where he lived, and I knew his pack. If he tried to run, he wouldn’t get far.
Adrian didn’t need to be told twice. He staggered to his feet, wavering slightly, before he shot Bianca one last look. She was staring at the ground, but apparently felt his attention on her, and her breath strangled in her throat and her shoulders drew up.
I leaned forward, ignoring my desire to just toss him into the pool. Then I wrapped my arm around Bianca, placing myself between him and her.
“Now!” I allowed every inch of my hatred and venom to leak into my voice—feelings that I’d been harboring for eight years already, but had somehow grown substantially stronger over the last week.
And he heard it too. His slightly smug expression vanished, and he scurried away. I waited until the door slammed closed behind him before I turned back to her.
“Hey.” I held her shoulders, making sure to keep my roaring emotions under control and my voice light. Our faces were even, but she wouldn’t look at me. “Are yousure?”
“Y-yes,” she said, even though she shook her head ‘no.’
I couldn’t kill him without a word from her—I was already being watched. I would do it if she gave me a reason, but I had toknow.
It didn’t matter that I was guaranteed to be questioned. Julian would know everything.
But maybe that was a good thing. I wasn’t even sure anymore.
I was tempted to do it—to go after him. The more I studied her closed off expression or attempted to interpret the dazed look in her eyes, it was harder to rememberwhyit had to be this way.
All of them were in college, or, like Titus, already graduated. They were strong enough to handle anything the council did.
Right?
We could leave this place if they knew. We would both transfer to our sister school. Jiayi was our age—we’d be in the same class—and Bianca would be safest with her quintet nearby.
Not to mention Bryce and Brayden…
I should do it.
“Finn?” Bianca had finally looked at me, and I realized I’d been stuck in my thoughts for too long. “Areyouokay?”
My breath stopped as I stared down at her, disbelieving. “Me?”
“Y-you jumped in a-after me.” Her gaze moved to the pool.
“And…” Who cared? “Why would that make me not okay?”
She shrugged, and I fought the urge to pull my hair.
She might be able to fool others by changing the subject, it wouldn’t work on me. While it was true that she was concerned about me, she’d asked only to get the attention offher.
Which meant she had zero intention of talking about it.
I let her go and sat back on my heels. My head was pounding, and I couldn’t think. “Let’s just go,” I muttered, moving to my feet.
Her tense form relaxed slightly, and I could hear the relief in her voice, “Okay.”
Bianca followed me, stepping lightly behind me as I moved toward the locker rooms. “What are we doing today?” she suddenly asked.
I looked back at her. Even though she looked like crap, she seemed to be bouncing back already. “Do you have anything to wear?” I asked, and her expression dropped as she glanced down at her clothing.
