Page 36 of Evil Queen

We rushed through the throngs of students clamoring into school to start the day and went down to Sicily’s locker. Fortunately, he and Cherri were there, and though I’d seen several interactions with Cherri go badly as of late, I threw caution to the wind and stormed right up to her.

“Cherri,” I said.

She turned and looked at me, sniveled at me, and then turned her back to me. Jaxon shrugged and started to walk away, but I walked around her and slid between her and Sicily so that she was facing me.

“What do you want?” she hissed.

“Is it true you’re looking for Deon?” I asked.

Her eyes widened. “Yeah, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Cherri, don’t go chasing ghosts. Nothing good can come of it,” I said. “I’m sad he’s gone, too, but—”

“Are you?” she said. “I couldn’t tell. You’re just moving on. He’s supposed to be your brother, and you haven’t even acted sad that he’s gone.”

“You don’t think I’m sad that he’s gone? I had a brother one day, and then I fucking didn’t. Then he came back, and I had him again. Then I didn’t,” I said. “You should let this go. He’s dead, and you know it.”

“What I know,” Cherri said, “is that I overheard you talking to Nikita about it.”

I’d been careful never to talk about Deon while I was in school where Cherri could overhear. Nikita was the only one who knew until Jaxon learned a few minutes prior. There was no way that was true. “I don’t know what you thought you heard, but you didn’t overhear me talking about anything.”

“That day that we all came to get you,” she said. “You told me he was dead, and I left, but I forgot my phone. I came back to get it, and I heard you telling Nikita that he was still alive.”

My stomach turned inside out. We had discussed it after I thought everyone was gone. I should have been more careful. Still, Deon made me promise not to tell her, and after everything we’d been through, I intended to make good on it.

“Cherri, you probably just heard what you wanted to hear. I saw it. I saw my father kill him.” Her shoulders fell a little, but I wasn’t sure whether or not she believed me. “He’s dead.” Her hands balled into fists at her side, and I braced myself to be hit, but instead, she just turned around and stomped off down the hallway, shoving kids as she went. I turned and looked at Sicily. “What are you doing? Why are you helping her with this? She’s only going to get more hurt.”

“I know he’s out there,” Sicily said. “Deon ain’t so weak that some suit and tie was gonna take him out with a gun. Cherri was right about what she heard. You know Deon’s alive, and soon, I’m gonna know it too.”

“You’re going to lead her down a road of pain,” I begged.

For the fact that Sicily had tried to remain more neutral between Cherri and me, when I said that, he snarled. “You are the last person who can say that to me.”

It was like a slap across the face, and he was right, so I didn’t respond. When I didn’t say anything, Sicily nodded, grabbed his materials from his locker, and then walked off after Cherri. Jaxon tapped me on my back and led me away from the spot, off toward our first class.

When lunch finally came, relief rocked through me. Seeing my friends was the only thing that got me through the day, and though I had scattered classes with each of them throughout, the time to talk was never there. Lunch was the only break I got from the monotony of getting through schoolwork that was way too easy just to get a degree when my position at a Fortune 500 company was already secured.

I munched on my lunch while I waited for everyone to arrive, the last of whom was Brayden since the juniors always got released a little behind the seniors in order to stagger the lunches. Once everyone was there, and with Nikita rubbing my back to comfort me, I cleared my throat.

“Hey, guys. I’m not gonna take up our entire lunch with a bunch of nonsense, but I have an announcement to make.” I looked over at Kyle, nodded, and then addressed the table. “Yesterday, I went to therapy for the first time.” I was almost shocked when the words came out of my mouth. It hadn’t been my plan to mention it, but it just felt like the right thing to do. “I was diagnosed with PTSD.”

“Well, sure,” Avery said. “After everything you’ve been through, that makes sense.”

“I’m still working on making it up to you guys, I promise, but I also have to start taking care of myself a little bit more.” I took a deep breath. “I’m stepping down. Early, I guess.” Across from me, Brayden sat up a little straighter. In an instant, I felt bad, and I probably should have talked to him about it first, but it was too late for that now. “Kyle is going to be our new king.”

Kyle nodded and smiled. I’d taken some time on Sunday night to let him know that it was my plan. “Thanks, Nathan. I think it’s awesome that you’re taking the time you need to help yourself. This is gonna be good for us all in the long run.”

“Uh,” Brayden said. “So, who’s the prince in line now?”

“Well,” I said, and Kyle and I exchanged looks. I opened my mouth to continue, but Kyle held up his hand.

“I’ve asked Nathan to retain the prince in line position,” Kyle said. “Just in case he wants to step back in.”

Brayden and Kyle stared at one another long enough for me to get borderline uncomfortable, and then Brayden threw me a heartbreaking look of disappointment and stood up from the table. He walked away, and I started to stand to go after him, but Kyle put a hand on my shoulder and pushed me back down and went after him instead.

“Should I have made Brayden king?” I asked. It was mostly a question for Nikita, but it was Alistair, surprisingly, who answered.

“No. Kyle is a good center for us. He’ll deal with Brayden. It’s fine.”

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