Page 75 of Web of Lies
“Something like that,” Seger says through a grin.
“How so?” I ask, taking another bite.
“You should become a fucking detective or something with the way you ask questions.” Seger snorts at me.
I purse my lips. “I’ve been told it’ll get me killed one day,” I say with a shrug, taking the last bite of my pancakes with a groan.
“Well, whoever fucking told you that ain’t wrong,” Seger says, pushing his tray away.
He leans back into the couch, laying his head on the back of it, showing off every inch of his tattooed chest to me. I can’t help but stare at the black ink telling a story before my eyes. My head tilts on its own, taking in more of the symbols. My fingers ache to run over the art. To feel his flesh beneath my fingers and explore—everywhere.
“Well, it’s just a part of my condition, who I am….” I say again, without thinking. When my eyes connect with theirs again, I see the understanding in their eyes. There’s no pity like usual, just compassion.
“Well, no matter what it is, it makes you awesome,” Seger says through a lazy wink, not even bothering to lift his weary head from the couch.
Zepp rubs his chin, looking over at me with respect. But curiosity peaks through, and I can tell he’s desperate to ask me, to understand everything about me. “I was eight,” I say, staring into his eyes. His whole-body tenses, fingers stopping their journey over his jaw. “I remember I had such a hard time paying attention.”
Zepp snorts. “So that didn’t change, huh?” A small smile pulls at his lips, and I nod, smiling too.
“The doctors were convinced I had ADHD or something like that. I impressed them with my intelligence. I don’t excel at everything, grammar especially. But math, math I get. The numbers speak to me.”
“Hence the hacking?” Zepp asks, and I nod in agreement.
“Coding, breaking through firewalls, and getting into people’s personal stuff has always come easy. I used to delete my sibling’s gross gossip photos when I was fourteen, I love it.” A dopey lovesick smile passes across my lips, making them laugh. “But when all the tests pointed to something else, my doctors confirmed it. I won’t lie. I went through therapy to help my behavior, because believe it or not, I was a lot more spacey and anxious back then. I learned how to rein it in. But I’m not ashamed of who I am or what I have. I am what I am, and I’m happy with it.” I shrug, finally looking over at them.
Zepp nods his head while Seger gives me a silent thumbs up. “That’s all you can fucking be, New Girl.” Zepp rolls his eyes at Seger’s brashness but holds his hands under his chin.
“You are who you are, and we happen to like you like this,” Zepp says through a panty-melting smile, making me sigh.
Seger makes a gagging noise, eyes still closed. His finger points down his throat while his tongue sticks out. “By the way, I got you something, New Girl. It’ll be like Christmas morning for you.” With his eyes still closed, he pushes his hand into the creases of the couch. Searching beside him and under him, he finally flings two solid objects at me. I put my hands up with a yelp as they clamor to the floor with a thud.
“Smooth,” Zepp deadpans, crouching down to hand me two touch screen cell phones. Seger waves a hand in the air, grumbling.
“Who—”
“Like we talked about. Hadley and hell, even Oscar,” Seger says through satisfaction, a smile pulling at his lips. My heart sputters in my chest.
“It was like, twelve freakin’ hours ago. How the hell did you manage that?” I gape at the phones in my hands, pressing the buttons on the sides to light them up.
Hadley’s phone is most definitely hers, sparkly pink and a photo of her as her background. Oscar’s phone is a plain background with no identifying features, which seems to suit him.
Zepp snorts. “You saw the lawn?” he questions, and I nod.
“Yeah, they’re still out there, half-naked. Ugh, I even heard people in the maze.” I shudder.
“But wait—how did you get Hadley’s without her noticing? You didn’t—you know?” My horny green-eyed monster rears her ugly head.
“Ohhh, New Girl, are you jealous? You sound jealous.” Seger cackles, rubbing his hands together in victory.
My blush deepens. Damn these boys and their flirty ways. “No,” I huff.
“I wouldn’t sleep with that hag, even if my dick was about to fall off and she was the cure. She just got a lot to drink, had fun, and since I saw some smart ass girl pick a pocket, I thought I could do the same. She didn’t even notice and stumbled away.” He shrugs like it is no big deal.
“I’m so proud.” I snort, staring at the phone. I look at the time and sigh. “I have to run back now and start the process with both of them. With any luck, within an hour, it’ll be done, and I can dump them somewhere. I don’t want the cult getting suspicious.” I stand still, staring at the phones, tucking them into my backpack.
“New Girl has a good idea. I think I’ll rest for another hour or so. Go to class—when I feel like it,” Seger says through a yawn, wiping a hand over his eyes. He settles into the couch further, like he’s about to fall asleep.
“Uh, no,” I say in a firm voice. Putting my hands on my hips, I march toward Seger, hitting his bare chest. His eyes fly open as I stare down at him. “Your grades can’t take it.”
