Cruel Devils

by Mae Doyle

  “Listen, darling, we didn’t know any of that. We just know what we were told, and that’s all we’ve been going off of, so you can’t get really mad at us.”

  I whip around to face him. “I can’t get mad at you? Are you high or stupid? Of course I’m mad at you four. You think that I want to be here at your stupid rich school? Fuck, you’re all dumber than you look.”

  Whirling around, I reach for the door, but Parker stops me, shaking his head, as he grabs my arm. “You’re not leaving quite yet, Kiera. Not until we all get some things figured out.” His touch sears my skin and I want to jerk back away from him, but he’s too strong.

  They’re all too strong.

  I swallow hard, realizing again how stupid I was coming down here. They’re lacrosse stars, for goodness sakes, all ripped muscle and sinew. They’re born to chase down their prey and take down their opponents and I’ve done nothing but put myself squarely in their path.

  It would be hot if I weren’t so scared. Even so, I feel a throbbing between my legs when I lock eyes with Parker. He wants me, I swear it. They all want me, even if it’s just to take me down a notch.

  Even if it’s just to hurt me.

  Chapter 13

  Angrily, I turn away from him, somehow managing to rip my arm free from his grasp. He lets me go, but he doesn’t move to open the door for me.

  Asher. He’s the key to the puzzle, and he’s the only one who can let me out of here. I know that, and it was silly of me to think that any of the other guys would be the ones to ask.

  “You.” I turn to him and, without thinking, reach out and grab him by the shoulders. He’s so tall that I have to reach up high, even in my heels, and tilt my head up to look at him. It’s the same position we were in when I dumped the roadkill on him, and a flash of anger in his eyes tells me that he’s thinking the same thing. I have a sudden feeling that we’re in the perfect position to kiss, but I shove that thought out of my mind.

  Not now.

  Not ever. Not with the way he’s treated me.

  “Asher. You’re the one who can stop this. You know as well as I do that I didn’t do anything wrong here, and you’re the one who can make it so that I can stay. Fix this. Please.”

  Without answering, he grabs my wrists and pulls me to him. I gasp as he presses my body up against his and slips his hand around my back to hold me tight. “You had a chance to work your way out of this, remember, Kiera? But you didn’t do it, and now we’re playing by my rules. I can’t hurt you, but I’m sure as hell going to make you regret the day you ever came to Meyer’s Grove.”

  His heart is pounding just as wildly as mine. “I regret the day you were born, but that’s it,” I spit at him. “Your poor mother must be a saint to have a devil like you for a son.”

  He grins, and the sight of his smile slowly splitting his face causes my core to turn cold. As hot as being pressed up against him was a moment ago, I now want to get away.

  “Oh, Kiera. The mother of a devil isn’t someone you need to pity, especially not my mother. You think that we’re bad? You think that what’s happened to you so far is too much for you to bear? You have another thing coming, little Kiera. What’s happened so far is just a foretaste of the feast to come. You’re going to rue the day you were born, and I’m going to make it happen without laying a finger on you.”

  Chapter 14

  Caspian walks me back to my dorm floor. I’m not about to use my keycard to let him in – not when I just heard Asher threaten me the way he did, but I’m grateful that someone took the time to walk me home.

  Except part of me knows that it’s only because he’s afraid that I was going to run to the headmistress. But from what the devils told me, she wouldn’t do anything to help.

  “She’s not on your side. They told me that, over and over, like if I go to her then I’m really in trouble,” I explain to my friends. Sophia brushes my hair while Lila and Clementine each hold one of my hands. I’m so grateful for their presence that I could cry, but I do my best to keep my voice steady.

  “What else did they say?” Lila squeezes my hand as she asks the question, bringing me back to the present. I can’t seem to focus, but at least I don’t have to worry about cleaning my door. My friends did that for me while I was talking to the devils, and I’m so grateful. I can still smell the blood in the air, but one of them found bleach somewhere, and that’s covering up a lot of it.

  Even though the cleaning job isn’t perfect, it’s still a lot better than if the headmistress had gotten involved. I’m pretty sure that I’d be the student asked to leave and then I’d be really screwed.

  I just can’t let my aunt and uncle get involved.

  Sighing, I lean on Lila’s shoulder. “That this is bigger than me. That I don’t have a choice in the matter anymore except to leave. That if I don’t, it’s only going to get worse, no matter what they want to do.”

  “Wait, why would they say that?” Sophia twists my hair into a knot and pins it on the back of my head then scoots around on the bed to look at me. “What in the world does that mean? No matter what they want to do? Are you sure that they said that?”

  I nod. At this point, even though I’m exhausted, I’m pretty sure that I could easily remember everything that they told me. My brain is overloaded, but I’m not about to forget their threats.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t know what it means, though.” Even as I say that, I can’t help but remember the look on Caspian’s face. He’s the kind devil, I can tell. If any of them are going to tell me the truth about what’s going on, I have a feeling that it’s going to be him.

  “But does that mean that they don’t want to be doing what they’re doing to you?” Clementine screws her face up while she thinks and I can’t help but smile at her. My friends and I may not have any idea of what’s going on, but at least I have them here with me.

  And the devils can’t take that from me.

  “I really don’t know.” All of the sudden, the exhaustion from the day hits me and I flop backward on the bed. “I love all of you guys, but I really need to get some rest.” I’m already in my pjs and I’ve brushed my teeth. Falling asleep right here without moving again sounds like heaven and I’m grateful when my friends climb off my bed.

  “We’ll lock you in and come get you for breakfast, okay?” Sophia flips a blanket over me before they leave. “Be safe, Kiera.”

  After they turn off my light and shut the door, I lay there on my bed for a while, trying to think.

  My friends are right. There’s something strange about what the devils said. It’s almost like they don’t want to be treating me like this, but that doesn’t really make any sense. I would swear that they enjoy it, no matter what they tell me.

  But is it possible that someone else is driving them to do it? And if that’s true, then who?

  As much as I want to try to figure everything out tonight, I’m exhausted, and in just a bit, my eyes close. I just have to remember tomorrow morning that I need to work on this problem. If I can figure out who really doesn’t want me at Meyer’s Grove, then I may be able to get them to back off and let me stay anyway.

  There’s always an answer to a problem. My mom taught me that and I believe her.

  ***

  My alarm wakes me up, and at first, I just ignore the beeping. I don’t think that I can move, but when it doesn’t shut up, I finally roll over and hit it. It’s early, earlier than I want to be up, but it will give me plenty of time to get ready for school and do some research on the devils before my friends come to get me for breakfast.

  Even though I should be spending all of my free time working on schoolwork, I can’t help the feeling that if I knew more about the devils, that I would be better able to handle them. After a quick shower I throw on an outfit and settle down at my desk to do some research.

  First up is Asher Reed. He’s obviously the ringleader of the devils, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s because of having more money. Also, since it�
��s his cousin who got kicked out of school, I need to figure out what’s going on there.

  Could it be his family who wants me gone so badly? After a quick online search, I’m left with very little information. It seems like the Reeds do everything possible to try to cover their online tracks and reduce their presence, but I do learn that his dad is a lawyer.

  Not just a lawyer. The lawyer. Like one of the best lawyers in Hawaii. No wonder Asher dresses and acts like he has more money than anyone else at the school. He probably does, and he only has more coming in with each case that his dad takes.

  Mr. Keaton, Parker’s dad? A lawyer. Not as great a one as Asher’s, but definitely still a good one.

  Mr. Erickson? Luca’s dad is a lawyer. I raise my eyebrow as I read about him. This seems too weird to be just a coincidence. Two of them having lawyers as dads? That I could believe, but three of them?

  A quick search and I sit back in my chair, exhaling hard. Let me correct that. Four.

  Mr. Weston is also a lawyer. Even Caspian, the devil who I think that I could actually trust if I had to, has a lawyer for a dad.

  What does it mean? I’m sure that they’re all connected somehow, but they don’t work together. They aren’t linked together in any way on any professional websites. Heck, they didn’t go to law school together, and only the Reeds are originally from Hawaii.

  It’s obvious that there’s something going on, but either I’m too tired or I just haven’t looked deep enough to figure out what it is. I wish that I knew Eric – Asher’s cousin’s – last name. I have a sinking feeling that he may be a lawyer too, but unless I get more information about the guy, there’s no way for me to know for sure.

  A knock on the door startles me so much that I slam my laptop shut without realizing what I’m doing.

  “Kiera? It’s Clementine. Let’s go eat!” She knocks on the door again, a little lighter this time, and I hop up to open it for her.

  I can’t believe how much time I just spent researching all of the devils. Even though I didn’t find out very much about them, I feel good about knowing that they’re all tied together by their dads.

  “Hey,” I say, a little breathless, as I open the door. “Let me grab my bag and I’ll be ready to go.” Even as I say this to her, I know that there’s no way that I’m going to be able to concentrate on school today. I have to find out Eric’s last name and see if his dad is also a lawyer.

  I’m not sure what the connection there is, but I’m pretty sure that it exists.

  ***

  I’ve decided, in an effort to avoid having to sit by a devil in homeroom or any other class, that I’m going to get to each class as early as possible. This means that I can’t dawdle in the quad with my friends, but it will also hopefully mean that I won’t have to worry about being caught sitting near Asher, Parker, Caspian, or Luca again.

  Just as planned, I’m the first one to slide into a seat in homeroom. Mrs. Wickes looks up at me and raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Kiera. To what do I owe the pleasure this morning of you being here so early?”

  “I just thought that it would be good for me to make an effort to get to class early each day,” I tell her. It’s not a lie, not really, but she still looks like she doesn’t totally believe me.

  “That means that you can help me plan the seating chart, if you’d like.”

  Seating chart? One of the best things about classes at Meyer’s Grove so far has been the fact that we can all sit wherever we want to without worrying about the teachers getting involved. “Why a seating chart, sir? Did something happen?”

  “I find that they’re a great way to make sure that students aren’t sitting by people that will distract them. In fact, most of the other teachers have adopted this as well, so I think that you’ll find that your seat is going to change in each of your classes.”

  It’s everything I can do to keep my jaw from dropping open. The very last thing that I want is a seating chart, especially if it means that I’m going to have to sit anywhere near the devils. As much as I hate this idea, though, I also know that there’s no way I can argue my way out of it, so I simply smile at her and gather my books back up.

  “Just show me where to go, then, ma’am,” I tell her, standing off to the side.

  She glances down at a paper in her hand as other students start to file in. “I’ve noticed that you and Mr. Reed tend to gravitate towards each other. You also like to sit with Sophia, so I’ve split all of you up.”

  She’s moving me away from Asher? Even though I’m sad that he’s also talking me away from Sophia, I can’t help but be excited that I won’t have to be near the head devil any longer.

  Mrs. Wickes interrupts my thoughts by pointing to a seat in the middle of the room. “There,” she tells me, and I gratefully go and put my books on the desk. “You’ll be between Parker and Caspian. They like to talk to each other, but I have a feeling that you’ll act as a good buffer, don’t you think?”

  My heart sinks. I’m away from Asher and Luca, but stuck between two other devils? All I can hope is that the rest of my classes aren’t like this.

  ***

  They’re all like that. I’m stuck by at least one devil, if not two, for every single class. It’s a nightmare and it’s compounded by the fact that I’m supposed to have tutoring with Parker today.

  He hasn’t shown up yet, though, and I’ve been in the library for thirty minutes, so maybe there’s hope that he’s not going to come around. Even though I need his help so that I can finish my homework without going crazy, it’s not like I want it.

  Sighing, I push my math to the side and slip out a book I’d checked out from the library. I love poetry, and reading some of the old classics has always been a great way for me to take my mind off of shit that’s going on around me. It’s only when I’m completely absorbed in a piece comparing art and the love of self to the death of a black star that someone clears their throat, making me look up.

  Parker. I wish that I had more control over my body, because I’d make sure that my body didn’t flush with need whenever I saw one of the devils. There’s just something about all four of them that makes me want them, even though I know that that’s stupid and only going to end up with me getting hurt.

  “I thought that I was your math tutor, white trash. In fact, I didn’t even know that you could really read.” Before I can stop him, he plucks the book from my hand and turns it around to glance at the cover. “Wow, this is the same kind of shit that Caspian likes to read,” he comments, tossing the book so that it sails into a trash can near us.

  I immediately hop out of my chair and go to grab it, but he stops me by taking hold of my arm. They all get so handsy with me and feel free to grab me, and each time one of them touches me, I have trouble thinking.

  They make it so damn hard to concentrate.

  “Why do you have to be such a dick?” I’m louder than I should be in the library, but nobody shushes me. “Really, though, all four of you are assholes.”

  He laughs and lets go of my arm. “Fine then, get your little book. I’ll wait.”

  While I rush off to grab the book, he slips into the seat next to mine and scoots it so close that our arms are going to be touching. I pull my chair away but he reaches out to grab it.

  “No, no, Kiera. If I’m going to have to be punished and sit here to teach you something, then you have to sit close enough for me to enjoy it. Understand?”

  He wants to be near me? I shake my head and try to ignore how that makes me feel. I’d have to be stupid or blind to not want to sit near him, but there’s something very disconcerting about him wanting the same thing.

  “Good girl,” he tells me, when I pull out the chair next to him and slide into it. “I’m glad to see that you know how to follow some directions.”

  “Why are you helping me?” I know that we should get straight to studying, but I have to know. “Why, when you and the other three devils hate me so much? The possum? The blood? The picture?”
My throat threatens to close up and I feel some tears sting my eyes. “Why in the world are you here right now?”

  He taps his pencil against the book for a moment before answering. “Because, Kiera, I don’t have a choice. None of us do.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. You and Luca are the only two tutoring me in math.”

  “Fuck, you’re dense.” He sounds angry, but does a great job keeping his voice quiet enough that nobody else in the library turns to look at us. “Kiera, you need to think beyond you. I know that you’re taking this all personally, but maybe you need to pay attention to what else is going on out there, got it?”

  He’s squeezing the pencil so hard that I honestly think he might break it. Good. I would love to see little wooden splinters lodge themselves in his hand.

  “I am paying attention,” I snap back. “And all I see are four little spoiled shits with lawyers as dads picking on the new girl because their friend couldn’t hack it at the school. Am I missing anything?”

  Parker’s eyes widen and his breathing slows. I look at how his lips are parted and I have the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss him. Before I can do something that stupid, however, he shakes his head and speaks.

  “How do you know our dads are lawyers?”

  “The internet, idiot.” It feels so good to have the upper hand for once with one of them. I should try to play my hands a little closer to my chest, but I want to rub this in.

  “The internet.” He runs a hand through his hair and exhales. “Anything else you want to share that out found out?”

  I pause and think hard. Why in the hell is he acting so strange? “No, but there is a question that I have for you.” Before he can cut me off, I talk a little faster. “What’s Eric’s last name? Or, even better, is his dad a lawyer too? Is this some freaky board thing that all of you have to go to school here and it got fucked up because of my uncle?”