Page 63 of Evil King

Sicily held up his hands. “Hey. Where’s my apology?”

She reached over and smacked him again. “You still deserve ridicule for being shifty.” Sicily frowned but didn’t argue, and Annika looked back at me. “Is it true that you’re no longer suspected of it?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Some students confirmed my story, so it’s fine.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. So… You and Cherri?”

I shook my head. “I don’t really know yet.”

Annika rubbed my face. “I’m hoping for the best.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“Okay,” Sicily said. “Can one of you please tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“Mind your own business,” Annika hissed. “Do you guys think… Whoa.”

Annika’s eyes went wide and she motioned behind her. Sicily and I followed her gaze over to where Cherri was wandering into the cafeteria, looking like she was running totally on auto-pilot. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were wrinkled, and her makeup was smeared. It seemed like everyone in the cafeteria noticed her walk in, and they all stopped and stared at her as she came to a stop in the middle of the open area.

“Oh, she doesnotlook good,” Sicily said.

“Deon,” Annika hummed, and it started me into action.

A volunteer was in the middle of working up the courage to approach her when I grabbed his shoulder, pulled him back, and walked up to her myself. “Cherri?” I reached out and put my hand on her arm, but the second I did, she jumped back from me so violently that she crashed into someone else and sent them clattering to the floor. “Whoa!”

She looked down at them, then looked up at me. “Deon?”

“Hey. What happened?”

She rushed into my arms and collapsed against me. “Can we leave?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I looked back over my shoulder at Sicily and Annika and then led Cherri out of the cafeteria and continued right out of the school. A few staff tried to call for us to stop, but others hushed them and let us go. I helped Cherri into my car and drove away from the school, taking her to the park Sicily had brought me to the week before. Cherri didn’t say or do anything on the ride over. In fact, if it hadn’t been for her here and there sniffles, I might have thought she stopped breathing. I parked the car in the lot near the park, climbed out, and walked over to Cherri’s door. I opened it carefully and knelt down next to her.

“Baby,” I said quietly. “What happened?”

She didn’t look over at me but quietly whispered, “Nathan just raped me.”

26

Deon

Iwas stuck between being so enraged that I could have killed anyone around me and being so sad for how hurt Cherri was that it made me want to cry. For a long time, much longer than I could track, we both just sat there in total silence. I had my hand on Cherri’s, but I didn’t want to move for fear of freaking her out. Someone had hurt her,mygirl, the girl I loved more than myself. The one I’d fought so tirelessly to get back to. I let a petty frustration at how entangled she was with Nathan keep me away from her,, and without me there to protect her, Nathan hurt her in a way she’d probably never fully recover from.

I couldn’t wait to get my hands around his neck.

“Cherri,” I said softly. “Can you tell me what happened? I’m sorry to make you relive it.”

Cherri didn’t respond. She stayed staring forward, but her body shook beneath mine. I knew Cherri was no pushover, so I had to imagine she would have put up a fight if she felt like she could. Did he pull a knife on her? A gun? Was there someone else there to keep her from fighting back? My blood boiled, imagining one of the members of The Royal Court letting something happen to her. I’d probably end up fighting my way through all of them. Anyone who had anything to do with Nathan hurting Cherri was going to suffer.

“He…” Cherri started quietly. “He made me.”

“I know,” I replied softly. “Did he… Did he have a weapon?”

Cherri shook as she nodded her head. “A gun.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, half from sadness, half from anger. “I’m so sorry, Cherri. I’m gonna take care of it, okay? He won’t hurt you again.” She went back to being clammed up and not responding. The fear that had gripped her was too much to look at, and in a way, I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t the one she needed. “Where’s your phone?”

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