My lip curls.
“What kind of rumors?” Vic asks, as if he hasn’t noticed the horde of assholes descending the steps toward us.
“That she fucks her stepfather. That she’s joined us in order to rat our crimes out to him.” Oscar says all of this without skipping a beat, his gray eyes raking my body from head to toe. I can tell right away that he knows about me and Vic in an instant. Unlike Aaron, he isn’t surprised, and he doesn’t care. I also note that he’s wearing his original glasses again, like maybe the ones he wore to deal with Don were throwaways, so they couldn’t be identified.
I open my mouth to defend myself, but Vic is already sweeping past the other Havoc Boys to face off against Mitch—the apparent leader of this new rebel group. For three years, Havoc has ruled these halls with an iron fist. I can hardly believe what I’m seeing as Billie and Kali bring up the rear of their little team.
“What did Kali pay you to get her dirty work done?” I whisper loud enough that only Aaron can hear, standing on my right side with his teeth gritted, and his hands curled into fists at his sides. He barely slides those gold-green eyes of his over to me, the angry scowl on his face twisting down into a frown.
“She betrayed every person she knows to us, including her cousin who was fucking a well-known local judge.” Aaron exhales and closes his eyes for a moment. He acts like I’ve just taken a sledgehammer to his skull. “Kali’s cousin was pissed off at us for a turf war we got into with her brother at Fuller High, and sicced the court system on me. I barely managed to keep the girls from ending up in foster care.”
My brows go up, and I feel this sharp ache inside my chest as I turn back toward the scene in front of me.
“Do you think this is a game?” Vic asks as I let my eyes wander the front of the school, searching for any of the on-campus cops. There are none in sight. So somebody paid them to look the other way. Could’ve been Havoc, or maybe their newfound enemies. “Your girl cut mine up with a knife.”
Mine.
That word does all sorts of strange things to me. Rage fills me in this unstoppable inferno, and I find myself stepping toward Callum. I haven’t forgotten that he keeps a knife in his pocket. He stiffens up slightly when my hand dips into the front pocket of his hoodie, but he doesn’t stop me as I draw it out, sidling up beside Vic.
His dark gaze briefly flicks to mine, but he quickly returns his attention to Mitch.
“What’s your point? And why are you suddenly so protective of Bernadette Blackbird.” Mitch scoffs my name like I’m worth less than dog shit. “Didn’t you torture the shit out of her during sophomore year? Is that your thing, Bernadette, to fuck the people that treat you like crap? Must be why you like your pedo stepdaddy so much.”
Without thinking, I find myself darting forward, the knife slipping from inside my palm. Nobody expects me to move, so I find little resistance when I bounce up the steps. Swear to god, there’s nothing going on inside my head when I slam the blade into Kali’s shoulder. She lets out a scream as the metal sinks in, and blood blooms bright on her pale skin.
In a split-second, the world erupts into chaos. Kyler comes at me, Callum skirts around the side and tackles him. Billie grabs Kali as she collapses back, but I’m already retreating, stumbling down the steps as the two groups clash.
It only lasts a minute or two, but by then there are crowds of students watching from the first and second floor windows of the school, cheering on one side or the other. The entire campus security staff as well as our personal pair of cops appear and a few, brave teachers approach, tearing the two sides apart.
“Oh, honey,” Ms. Keating says as she kneels down beside Kali and pulls out her phone, dialing up 911. Me, I’m just standing there as the rain starts to come down on top of us in thick sheets.
“Who did this?” Principal Vaughn roars as the boys walk off the fight on opposite sides of the brick walkway. He’s pointing at Kali who’s moaning and milking the moment for all it’s worth. She’s no more injured than I am, but I have a feeling that things are not going to go as well for me as they did for her. She is not above tossing me to the administration for punishment.
I open my mouth to admit to it before Kali can get the satisfaction, when I hear Hael’s voice.
“I did—” he starts, but Aaron’s own words drown him out.
“It was me,” he announces, and our eyes meet across the rainy courtyard. “It’s my knife.”
The cops cuff him quick and take him away in the back of a squad car while the rest of us are shuffled into Mr. Vaughn’s office.
With one student on their way to juvie, one on the way to the hospital, and eleven more crowded inside the narrow space, our corrupt asshole of a principal doesn’t have much choice but to assign us all two days of suspension starting tomorrow, followed by two weeks detention, and then cut us loose.
Prescott High cannot afford to expel thirteen students and lose all that state funding.
Besides, I know Principal Vaughn is still actively recruiting girls for his little side project.
And I’m willing to bet that he’s not forgotten how much I know about that.
The last two classes of the day are a serious drag. I can feel all the eyes on me, the wandering gazes that take in Vic’s gym shorts, that linger too long on my face. They’re all wondering why I’m shacking up with the boys that everyone is afraid of, wondering why I let a man I hate put his cock in me, wondering why I love it.
After class, I head outside and find Hael waiting for me.
“Let’s go,” he says, jerking his head toward that cherry red sportscar of his. My fingers trail appreciatively along the shiny paint job before I climb into the black leather front seat, trimmed with red detail. It smells like new car and Hael Harbin in here.
“Am I in trouble?” I ask, and one of Hael’s dark brows goes up.
“With who?” he asks, his voice so cocky and self-assured. I wonder if it’s all a front or if he’s as sure of himself as he pretends to be. “With Vic?”
“With Havoc,” I correct, because I can’t stand to hear Victor’s name right now. I shift on the seat, and the ache between my legs intensifies. My body wants more at the same time my heart is repulsed by what I’ve done.
“Why would you be?” he wonders, genuinely curious, his honey-brown eyes shifting my direction. Too pretty to belong to a jerk like Hael. “Yeah, maybe stabbing that bitch in front of the whole school wasn’t a good choice, but you’re new. You’ll figure things out.”
“Thanks for trying to take the fall for me,” I grind out, even though the words make my mouth hurt. Hael just gives that braying laugh of his and runs his fingers through his bloodred hair.
“Don’t thank me. It’s my official job, to be the fall guy. But Aaron just had to step in there and defend his sweet, little ex.” He laughs again as I tighten my mouth into a thin line, and we pull up in front of Aaron’s house. Vic’s bike is already parked on the curb. He leans against it, smoking a cigarette and staring into space.
He barely looks at us as we get out.
“Well?” Hael asks, as I notice one of the neighbors staring at us from across the street. We look too out of place in this perfect suburban neighborhood, like some sort of incurable blight. It’s only in that moment that it occurs to me what I’ve just done.
I’ve risked Aaron’s safety with his sister and cousin.
He’s just taken the fall for me.
The color blanches from my face, and I feel suddenly dizzy.
“Oscar and Callum are picking the girls up from school. Then we need to take Sophia to the police station to sign off on Aaron’s arrest.”
“Sophia?” I ask, but Vic doesn’t bother to look at me. It’s like we never had sex, like that moment never happened. Good. That’s how I want it anyway.
“Sophia is this old druggie recluse we pay when we need someone to pretend to be Aaron’s mom,” Hael says with a shrug. Vic’s face tightens up, but he doesn’t correct his best friend.
Instead, we stand there in the drizzle and wait for the minivan to show up.
“Bernie!” Kara shouts, leaping out of the van and racing over to throw her arms around my waist. Guilt surges anew, and I feel a pit form in the bottom of my stomach. I’m guessing the boys used ‘Sophia’ to get the girls out of school, too.
Ashley gets out of the car next and then stands awkwardly near the garage, like she isn’t sure what to do. I have a feeling that I’m going to need to swallow my guilt at getting the girls’ brother/cousin locked up and deal with this.
“If we can get my sister out of her after-school program, I can stay here with the girls while you guys deal with Aaron.”
Vic nods and gestures in Hael’s direction.
“Take Bernadette where she needs to go; I’ll stay with the girls until you get back.” And then Vic moves forward and lifts Ashley off her feet. The smile that blossoms on her face … it does something strange to my insides. I can’t stop staring at the little girl giggling in Vic’s strong arms.
“Alright, let’s scram, Blackbird,” Hael says, flicking his cigarette into the grass and grinning like he wasn’t just suspended, like his friend didn’t just get dragged away in cuffs. I follow after him, murmur some vague directions, and then we sit in silence with the rain pelting the windshield.
“Why did Aaron do that?” I wonder aloud, almost without meaning to.
“Seriously?” Hael asks, his fingers tightening slightly on the steering wheel. “You’re really asking that question?”
I glance over at him as he flicks on the blinker and turns into the parking lot of Heather’s school. Her after-school program technically runs for another hour, but I don’t want her taking the bus home if I’m not going to be there. Quickly, I tap out a text to my mom, telling her that I’m taking Heather to the mall.
Hopefully she’ll be out at one of her parties until late and won’t notice that we don’t come home.
“Aaron’s in love with you,” Hael says, and my head jerks up from the screen of my phone to look over at him. He’s staring at me like I’ve lost my fucking mind. “You seriously didn’t know that?”
“How would I know that? He dumped me to join Havoc. He tortured me for half a year.”
“I barely managed to keep the girls from ending up in foster care.”
I bite my lower lip to hold back a sound of frustration. Today has been … less than stellar, my arm still hurts like a bitch, my body still remembers the feel of Vic, and now I’ve added worry about Aaron on top of it all.
Besides, if my mom actually checks her phone messages and finds out that I’ve been suspended, who knows what kind of shit will go down?
“Mm.” Hael doesn’t bother to respond. Instead, he turns the engine off and lets the rain pound the windshield. “You finally got Vic to crack, huh?”
“Excuse me?” I pause with one hand on the door handle, my gaze landing on the ridiculously smug expression on Hael Harbin’s face. “What makes you say that?”
He reaches out and grabs the edge of my shorts, giving them a little tug.
“How was it then?” he asks, and then quirks up one corner of his mouth in a cocksure sort of smile, like he already knows the answer to that question. “The sex, I mean. Did you like what he did to you, Blackbird?”
“Fuck you, Hael,” I snap, climbing out into the rain and taking off for the doors of the library. They’re locked, so I knock and wait patiently for one of the staff members to open them. I’ve been authorized as Heather’s emergency contact since I was sixteen years old, a blessing I don’t dare risk. If Mom or the Thing wanted, they could take away my authority to pick up my sister. It’s a threat and a punishment I don’t think they’ve thought of, a secret that I keep carefully guarded.
“We’re working on creative writing,” Heather tells me excitedly as I smooth her hair back and adjust her ponytail, thanking the teacher and apologizing for barging in before the end of class.
“Oh yeah?” I ask, my mind a million miles away. Why did Aaron risk everything to stand up for me today? Because he’s in love with me? Hael is full of shit. There’s just no way. Sacrificing me for the sake of his sister and cousin, that’s what makes sense. No wonder Kali was able to hire Havoc …
“My story’s about a YouTube star who videos unicorns and nobody believes they’re real,” she continues as we near Hael’s Camaro. “Whose car is this?” she asks me, standing back as I open the door and pull the front seat forward. When she spots the red-haired asshole behind the wheel, her suspicion rachets up another notch. “I’m not supposed to get in cars with strangers.”
“Heather, please, not today,” I say with a tired sigh, but she still doesn’t look like she’s about to budge. “You’re having a playdate with Kara and her cousin, Ashley. You remember Kara, don’t you?” After a moment, Heather nods and finally moves forward, handing me her backpack. I toss it on the floor as she climbs into the back and fastens her seatbelt. “Heather, this is Hael.”
“Hi Hael,” she says suspiciously, and he quirks a dark smile.
“Hey cutie.” He turns on the car and revs the engine, making Heather grin. “You like sportscars?”
Heather nods, pretending to examine the interior of the Camaro.
“This one seems pretty nice,” she admits reluctantly, and Hael laughs, hitting the gas and sending us flying down the wet road through massive puddles, spraying water in waves across the empty sidewalks. Heather laughs, but I frown. I’m not about to believe that these boys, who made me fear for my safety on a daily basis, are suddenly angels with kids.
Hael takes us the back way toward Aaron’s, splattering mud across the shiny surface of his car and making Heather giggle uncontrollably. When we get there, Vic’s waiting with the girls in the living room, and every warning bell I have goes off when his dark eyes land on my sister.
He’s the biggest monster of them all, the leader of the monsters, the one who paints nightmares in the dark with a brush of shadows.
My hand tightens on Heather’s shoulder, and she lets out a small sound of pain.
“Relax, Bernadette,” Vic says, rising to his feet, his full mouth etched into a tight frown. He comes up to stand beside me, and growls into my ear. “Don’t worry: I’m leaving.” Snatching one of Aaron’s leather jackets off the hook, Vic opens the front door and glances over his shoulder at Hael. “Stay here until I say otherwise, and don’t worry about your mom. I’ll handle her.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” Hael grinds out, but Vic just slips out the door and slams it behind him.
Only then do I release Heather’s shoulder. She rushes forward to join Kara and Ashley at the table where, apparently, Vic had started them on an art project of some sort. There are bits of colored paper everywhere, bottles of sparkly glue, and sequins galore. Also, they’re filming the whole thing with Vic’s phone, intent on making a YouTube video.
My jaw clenches and I sweep a hand over my face.
“What’s your problem with Vic anyway?” Hael asks, standing far too close. His hands are in the front pockets of his jeans as he sweeps his eyes over me. Stay here until I say otherwise. What the hell does that even mean? Eventually, I’ll have to come home from ‘the mall’ or else my mother will lose her shit. Speaking of, I wonder what’s up with Hael’s mom?
“Problem?” I echo, turning to face him and refusing to give into the memories nipping at the edges of my tired brain. Hael Harbin once held me down while Aaron stripped off my homecoming dress and gave it to Kali to wear. The two of them left me alone on the side of the road in heels, panties, and a strapless bra. And he wonders what my problem with Vic or any of the Havoc Boys is? A caustic laugh escapes me, but I’m just too exhausted to deal with my emotions right now.
I’m the one that wanted this, that said the word for the whole school to hear. Havoc. That was my choice.
“Forget it,” Hael says after a moment, still studying me. “Do you mind watching the girls while I step outside to make a phone call?”<
br />
“Be my guest,” I say, and only once he leaves and I’m alone for a moment do I take a breath.
During my sophomore year, I sometimes wondered if Havoc would kill me.
Now that I’m one of them, I’m damn near sure of it.
The next morning, I wake up on Aaron’s couch, groggy and confused and panicked. At some point yesterday afternoon, I must’ve fallen asleep. Sunlight spills across my face as I shoot up to a sitting position, my heart thundering, and look frantically around for Heather.
When I find her sleeping on the couch across from me, sprawled across Hael’s chest with Kara and Ashley beside her, I almost choke.
The front door creaks open and Aaron appears, wearing the same clothes he was in yesterday. He pauses for a moment and glances over at me, green-gold eyes rimmed with dark purple circles of fatigue.
“I …” I start, but then Vic follows in behind him, and I clamp my lips shut against the spill of words that are suddenly so desperate to escape. We need to talk. Why did you do it? Are you insane?!
“We’re having breakfast with my mother today to talk about my suspension,” Vic says as Aaron sweeps past and disappears up the stairs. “Hael and Aaron will watch your sister for you while we go.”
“I can’t leave her here with them,” I blurt automatically and one of Victor’s brows goes up. My stomach twists with anxiety, but I know it’s not about leaving Heather with Hael. Glancing over at them, it’s quite clear she’s more than comfortable here. Fuck. No, all of that anxious energy inside of me has to do with Victor and the fact that he screwed me against a wall yesterday.
“Really? Why not?” he challenges, but I have nothing to say to that, and he knows it. “Here. Wear this.” He tosses a bag of new clothes my way just before the front door opens again and Oscar and Callum appear. Oscar gives me a curious look and quirks an almost disturbing smile while Callum breezes past and heads straight for the kitchen.
“You look … ruffled,” Oscar says, his voice a smooth purr that doesn’t belong in this dark world we live in. He sounds like a fallen prince or something. “I think I like you better this way: vulnerable, messy, and wearing Victor’s gym shorts.”
Havoc at Prescott High Page 15
