Page 74 of Reckless At Raleigh High
God, Dad was right. Back in Darhower’s office, he’d called the guy out over the speech he gave to us in this very gymnasium. After the shooting, he promised us he’d do better. He swore he’d never be so complacent again, and that our safety would be his number one priority. How quickly those promises went flying out of the window. It took all of a couple of weeks for him to fall neatly back into the Weaving family’s back pocket. Jacob’s father’s still manipulating him, pulling his strings all the way from behind his prison bars. He must be paying Raleigh High’s principal one hell of a lot of money to get him to sign off on something like this.
Suddenly, the small, ever-present, flickering flame of anger that’s been burning in the core of my soul for the past year kindles and roars to life, becoming a seating inferno.
This isn’t right.
No fucking more.
This—Jacob showing up at prom with Kacey—might be the smallest of his offences, but it is the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back.
If I run away now and flee the school, he wins. He gets exactly what he wants, and I am so fucking sick if Jacob Weaving winning, when what he really needs is to be punished.
“Alex? Alex, wait.”
Ahead of me, Alex halts, looking back at me over his shoulder. He checks I’m fine first, and then he peers over the tops of the heads of the other students, searching for and locating Jake and my ex-best friend. He is a storm front, ready to break and crash down upon the people who have caused me pain. The dark, foreboding look in his eyes makes even me want to shrink away from him. One word from me, and he’ll unleash hell on these people. He’ll make them hurt, and he’ll make them beg for mercy, and he won’t stop until I decide he’s done enough.
He's fought too many of my battles for me, though. It’s about damn time I fought them for myself.
“I changed my mind. We should stay. I’m sick of that bastard getting his way, every single time he acts out. We’ll just ignore him.”
Alex gives me alook, one that shows he thinks I’ve lost my mind. “Silver—”
“Seriously. It’ll be okay. We’ll let him hold court and do his thing. And Kacey can fluff her feathers and preen all she likes. The best thing we can do is to stand our ground and have a good time, no matter what.”
“Have a good time? With him breathing down your neck? You’re sure?” He’s understandably doubtful. If I were him, I’d be doubtful, too. I’ve made up my mind, though. I won’t duck and cower for anyone anymore, and that includes the guy who raped me.
I was born in this town. I have as much right as anyone else to be here tonight, and if I have to tolerate veiled threats against my life and make sure I have eyes in the back of my head, then so be it. Iwillenjoy prom if it’s the last thing I do. “Yes, I’m sure,” I tell him.
Alex’s conflicted expression turns to one of resolve. “All right, then. Mission: Enjoy Prom is a go. Just keep me away from that fuck, or I’ll end up knocking a couple of his molars loose, yeah?”
“Okay.”
Alex stays true to his word and refuses to dance, but luckily for me, my old dance partner is here. Kacey never danced so much as strutted around, tossing her hair and jutting out a hip every once in while. Zen could dance, but she always chose to mimic our supreme leader. I could always count on Halliday to hit the dance floor with me, though. At parties, she’d move with wild abandon, throwing her arms in the air and bouncing on the balls of her feet, pulling out cheesy moves when she felt the need, not caring what she looked like or what anyone thought. She only cared that moving her body in time to the music felt good and it made her grin from ear to ear, and so she always let herself go.
Tonight’s no exception. She whoops as we jump and laugh together, dancing our hearts out in the center of the gym’s dance floor. Her floor-length, black, extraordinarily slinky dress is a little restrictive and prevents her from performing some of her trademark moves, but she doesn’t let that stop her in the slightest.
After a while, I stop thinking about Jake and Kacey, and I just…dance. It feels incredible. Halliday’s blonde hair swings around her as she spins, and she looks like she’s about to float away from sheer happiness as we crash into each other, laughing at the top of our lungs.
I’m so glad I let her back in. Things are never going to be exactly the same as they used to be, but this, right here, is a moment of joy, and I miss sharing moments of joy with Hal. We used to have them on a daily basis.
“God, could they be any more obvious,” she pants, as the song dips. She looks over in the direction of the boys, who are both leaning with their backs against the wall closest to us, watching us with a fevered energy in their eyes. Not one word of conversation passes between them. Both Alex and Zander are fixed on us, as if we’re the only two girls in the room.
I laugh when Alex raises a questioning eyebrow at me. I know what that eyebrow means. He wants me naked in a dark room, with his teeth gouging into my skin. The dirty little freak.
“They love us,” Halliday purrs, amusement dripping from her words. “They love us, and they want to marry us. God help them, poor souls.”
I fight the urge to laugh. “Uhh…” I’m not the girl who runs around, squealing, holding out her hand for everyone to accidentally notice the gargantuan rock flashing on her ring finger. I’m not even the girl who secretly whispers her news into her friend’s ear. I’m the kind of girl who says nothing and acts as though everything’s normal, until someone finally notices the fact that she’s wearing an engagement ring all on their own.
Halliday’s not the most observant person usually; she’s always away with the fairies. She must be on high alert tonight, what with Kacey prowling around by the refreshments, glowering at us out of the corner of her eye, though. She sees the look on my face, and then somehow manages to put two and two together. She looks down at my hand and takes an exaggerated step back, clutching her hands to her chest.
“Oh myfuck. What? What the fuck isthaton your finger, Silver Georgina Parisi? Get the hell out of town. Is that anengagement ring?”
Sweet lord. She’s practically yelling. I’m too scared to look around and see if anyone heard her. “Shh! Yes. It’s an engagement ring.”
“God, I wish I’d convinced Zen to come tonight. She should be here for this. Wait, how the hell didthiseven happen?” Halliday squeals again, even more high-pitched and excited.
“He asked. I said yes.” It’d be cool if we could keep this conversation simple and move on as quickly as possible, but I know Halliday better than that. She’s going to want details. The minutia of an event as colossal as a proposal is bound to be very important to Halliday “He was very romantic,” I offer, hoping that alone will be enough to stave off her questions.
“How romantic? What did he say? What was he wearing? What were you wearing? Oh, shit, I think I’m about to have a heart attack.”
