by Caitlyn Dare
The rest of the journey to school is in silence. The closer we get, the more Cole starts to fidget beside me. Back in the day, I'd think he was itching for a fight, but now things are very different, and the only person he wants to get his hands on is his girl.
"You know you only just saw her yesterday, right?"
"Yeah, which means it's been over twelve hours since..." He glances at me and trails off.
"No need to be embarrassed now, I heard what you were doing. Other side of the wall, remember?"
"Sorry," he mutters, although the shit-eating grin on his face says that he's anything but sorry.
"I need to get laid."
"You keep saying that, but we all know it's not happened since you've been here."
"I—"
"Go on, lie to me. I dare you." He pins me with a look that has me slamming my lips shut.
He's right, and the smug motherfucker knows it.
It's not that I've lacked offers since we moved here. The problem is quite the opposite. The good little girls of Sterling Prep started throwing themselves at us from the first moment we pulled up in this very parking lot. I could have fucked my way through both the senior and junior girls by now if I wanted to, I have no doubt. Problem is... none of them were her.
Kennedy Lowe.
She fucking ruined me, and she has no idea.
"Come on, we don't want to miss them."
"I thought we were meeting them?"
"Meeting them... intercepting them... same thing, right?"
"Shit," I mutter as I climb from the car.
Thoughts of Kenny in a Sterling Prep uniform fill my mind, and my nerves about how she'll take seeing me are replaced by anticipation.
I follow Cole toward the dorms, my excitement about seeing her again after hiding here for the past four days has almost got the better of me by the time we come to a stop by the entrance.
"Conner, chill the fuck out. You're practically bouncing."
"I am not," I argue.
Cole rolls his eyes at me before they light up at something—or should I say someone—over my shoulder.
Turning, I watch as Hadley walks through the front door. The second she spots Cole, she takes off running in our direction and jumps into his arms. Instantly, the sound of their kiss fills my ears, but I'm soon distracted when someone else walks out of the main doors.
Kenny looks around for a few seconds giving me a chance to look her over. Her hair falls around her blazer-covered shoulders and has a slight curl at the ends, and I wonder if she’s trying to hide the numerous piercings she has in her ears. Her face is clear of the dark makeup she usually applies, but she’s left her nose stud in. Thank fuck, because it’s sexy as hell. I also notice her lingering bruises are lighter than a few days ago. She looks so fucking beautiful, I can hardly take my eyes off her.
"Kenny," I breathe, desperate to know how she's going to react to me.
Her entire body tenses as she hears my voice, making dread settle into my stomach.
Any hopes of her being as excited to see me as Hadley was Cole are immediately squashed. I don't need to see the look in her eyes when she turns to me to know that she'd rather I wasn't here right now.
I don't let that stop me, though.
"Looking good, Kenny. You are rocking the schoolgirl look," I announce, walking up to her and running my eyes down the length of her body. She might not have her skirt rolled up to the point that I can see her ass, like many of the other Sterling Prep girls, but that doesn't matter to me.
She could be wearing a trash bag and she'd still have my temperature soaring. "Excited about your first day?" I ask with a wide smile on my face, lacing my arm through hers. But she doesn’t return my smile.
In fact, she doesn’t seem happy to see me at all.
Chapter Seven
Kennedy
“What the hell are you doing?” I seethe at Conner.
Hadley and Cole give us space, too busy wrapped up in one another.
Traitor.
I knew I couldn’t trust—
“Conner.” Her voice cuts through the tension swirling around us. “You need to back off.”
His expression falls. “W-what? I just want to—”
I yank my arm free and put some space between us. It’s bad enough I’m dressed in this god-awful uniform, but now Conner is looking at me like I’m all his dreams come true.
“Kenny, I just thought—”
“Thought what, huh? Thought that I need you to swoop in and save me? Newsflash, asshole. You’re too late.” Tears sting my eyes, but I force them down.
I won’t cry.
Not over Conner and his self-righteous attempt at fixing this. Fixing me.
I take off toward the school building. He calls after me, and I hear Hadley and Cole try to talk him down, but I don’t turn around.
I can’t.
I need to lock down my emotions and be strong if I’m going to survive the next five months here.
Five months, fuck.
Maybe I can get a job and save enough cash to leave. I turn eighteen soon, it isn’t like James Jagger or the guidance counselor can do anything then, if I decide to up and run.
Who am I kidding?
No one in Sterling Bay is going to give me the time of day, let alone a job. They’ll take one look at my tattoos and piercings and close the door in my face.
Conner, Cole, and Ace don’t realize how lucky they are. They have a right to this life. It’s in their blood. But me? I’m a Heighter through and through. I don’t have any secret relatives waiting in the wings to rush in to save me.
Hadley catches up to me, grabbing my arm. “Would you just slow down a minute?”
“What?” I narrow my eyes at her. “So Conner can ambush me again? No thank you.”
“Kennedy, he didn’t—”
“Look, I appreciate what you’re doing. I get that the two of you share some weird bond.” I don’t know why, but the words make my stomach twist. I like Hadley, mostly, but a part of me doesn’t like that she’s close to Conner. “But this,” I continue, “us being friends… it isn’t going to work if you always side with him.” My eyes flick over to where Cole is leading Conner down a different path toward school.
Thank God.
“Kennedy, that’s not fair. He’s my friend and you’re—”
“Not?” I raise a brow.
“I’d like to think we could be.” Hadley offers me a sad smile that softens something inside me.
What is it about her?
“I didn’t know Conner would be here this morning. I thought Cole and Ace would keep him away.”
“You promise?”
She nods. “But it’s school. You’re going to have to face him eventually. Unless you plan on hiding out in the girls’ bathroom the whole time?”
The thought has crossed my mind.
Maybe this whole thing is a bad idea. So what if I don’t get my diploma? It’s not like my future is paved with opportunity. Girls like me don’t make it far.
“I just need some time,” I lie, because Hadley is looking at me like she needs answers. Answers I don’t have.
After the other night in the Jaggers’ kitchen, when I’d found Conner beaten and bruised, we hadn’t talked again. I moved into the dorms, and he’s given me space.
Until now.
But Hadley is right, there’s no escaping him. Every day, I’ll have to face him. His infectious smile and playful laughter. Conner is good. Always has been. Even when he lived in the Heights, he had this way of brushing off all the crap. Like a rainbow after a storm, Conner had this way of making everything feel better.
But that was before.
Now I’m broken, worn down by cruel words and heavy fists. My heart is battered and bruised, and my soul is no longer pure.
And although I know Warren is to blame, that he’s the one who made me this way, a part of me will always hold Conner responsible for walking away.
So it doesn’t matt
er how happy he is that I’m here, or how much he wants to fix things... he can’t.
Because some scars are simply too deep to erase.
The second we step inside the building, it’s like someone hits the mute button. Everyone eyes me with a mixture of curiosity and disapproval. I know what they’re thinking—the new girl might wear their uniform, but she isn’t one of them.
She never will be.
I’d felt the stares and heard the whispers as we left the dorm and made our way toward the school building, but it had been easier to ignore them out there.
Now it’s impossible to shake it off.
“Ignore them,” Hadley says under her breath, clutching my hand tightly and gently tugging me toward a row of lockers.
But three girls—cheerleaders, if their outfits are anything to go by—intercept us.
“Who’s your new friend?” the ringleader asks with a saccharine smile.
“Leave it, Lylah.”
“What?” She frowns. “I’m just being nice.”
“Sure you are,” Hadley grumbles, and I sense there’s some bad blood between the two of them.
“I heard they were letting more Heights trash into the school,” one of the other girls sneers, looking me up and down.
I bristle, my spine snapping straight. Hadley shifts slightly, putting herself between me and them. Everyone is watching now, waiting to see what the new girl from the Heights will do.
“Don’t be a bitch, Marissa,” Hadley snaps.
“Me? You’re the one slumming it with—” Her eyes widen a fraction as something catches her attention behind us.
I don’t need to turn around to know Cole and Conner just arrived. I can feel him, feel the invisible thread linking us, pulling taut.
Remi steps up beside me, drawing a line between us.
Us and them.
The Heights and the Bay.
The air crackles with anticipation.
“Walk away,” she says. “You don’t want to start something you can’t finish.”
Lylah and Marissa glower at us, weighing up their options. For a second, I think they’re going to go all in, but then Lylah lets out a strained laugh.
“Come on, girls,” she says, flicking her hair over one shoulder. “They’re not even worth it.”
Indignation trickles in my veins, but I don’t move. I don’t do anything. Because if I do, I know I’ll only prove them right.
Not that I give a fuck what they think about me.
As if she’s waved some magic wand, everyone disperses, and I release the breath I was holding.
“You good?” Remi asks.
I nod. “Thanks for that.”
“Lylah Donovan is a grade-A bitch.“
“Remi,” Hadley warns.
“What? It’s true.”
Ace swaggers over to us, slinging his arm over her shoulder. “Making yourself at home already?” A hint of amusement plays on his lips.
I flip him off. “She started it.” It’s a petty comeback, but it’s not even first period and I already feel like I want to scratch my skin off.
I don’t belong here.
I’m not sure I belong anywhere anymore.
He pulls Remi off down the hall, leaving me with Hadley. Conner and Cole are nowhere to be seen, and I’m relieved he’s giving me space.
“So what’s their story?” I ask Hadley, waiting as she trades some textbooks.
I don’t have a locker yet, or books, or anything really. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re transferred to a new school overnight.
I still don’t know exactly how James Jagger pulled it off, but I know there’s more to him than meets the eye.
“Who? Lylah and Marissa?” I nod and she continues. “I was on the squad with them. But we were never friends, not really. Marissa and Cole—“
“Hold up, you’re saying Cole had a thing... with her?”
“It’s complicated.” Her expression sours. “Anyway, I quit the squad and that was that.”
“Should I be worried?”
“About them?” Hadley shakes her head. “Nah, they’re all bark and no bite. Besides, they know what happens when they come after the Jaggers or anyone they care about.”
“You’re kidding me?” I fight a smile.
“I’m not.” She lowers her voice. “Michaela Fulton was the Queen Bee until she went after Remi and Ace intervened. He totally humiliated her at Homecoming, and now she spends most of her time hiding out in the girls’ bathroom.”
“Interesting.”
Conner and his brothers had been popular at Sterling Heights. Especially Ace. Everyone knew he was running for Donny Lopez. I even heard a few rumors that he and Cole had something to do with his recent disappearance. But they’re just kids... and Donny Lopez is—was—this big crime lord with a whole bunch of criminals working for him, protecting him.
“What class do you have first?” Hadley asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“AP English.”
“Come on, I’ll walk you.” She motions down the hall and I follow, ignoring the way everyone watches me.
This is nothing compared to some of the things I’ve survived.
I make it through morning classes. The constant whispers and stares soon got old. There had even been one or two suggestive notes from guys in math, but I kept my cool.
Hadley meets me right outside the door, ready to take me for lunch. Part of me wants to make a dash for it and run back to dorms, but she laces her arm with mine and starts guiding me through the sea of bodies.
“Do we have to do this?” I protest. “I’m not even hungry.”
“The sooner they get used to seeing you around, the sooner all this,” she elbows a couple of people out the way, “will calm down.”
“Why is this so important to you?” I ask as we join the lunch line.
Hadley lets out a small sigh. “Because believe it or not, I get what it’s like to be the new girl, the odd one out.”
I find that hard to believe, but whatever.
“Just because I come from money doesn’t mean I have it easy.” Her expression falls. “My family sent me here, and now we don’t talk anymore.”
“What do you mean, they sent you here?”
“It’s a long story, one I might tell you someday. But just know that the Jaggers… they’re all I have too.”
I’m about to reply when I hear a familiar high-pitched voice.
“Is it me, or did they forget to take out the trash today?” My eyes collide with Lylah’s and she smirks.
“What did you say?” Anger ripples up my spine, making my insides vibrate.
“You heard me.” She steps forward. “First the Jagger brothers, and now you.”
“If you’ve got a problem with me—”
“Kennedy, leave it,” Hadley says firmly. “She’s not worth it.”
“Of course, you would take the stray under your wing. I guess it’s true what they say, like calls to like.”
Hadley flinches. “Just leave it, Lylah. You’ve made your point.”
“I always knew there was something about you. You’re trash, Hadley,” she sneers. “We all know you were fucking both brothers. But what I can’t quite figure out is if you let them take turns or—”
I see red, and, before I know what I’m doing, my fist slams right into Lylah’s perfectly symmetrical face. She staggers back, her banshee-like screams filling the air, and then she lunges for me. We tumble to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
“You crazy bitch,” she shrieks, trying to claw my face off. She must get me a couple of times, because I feel a warm trickle of blood run down my cheek.
“Fuck you,” I seethe, grabbing a fistful of her hair as I slap her hard.
Someone yells, a collective gasp echoing through the cafeteria, but then strong arms are yanking me away.
“Easy, babe.” Conner’s words hit me as he starts dragging me away.
Cole is already shielding Hadley, glaring at
Lylah and her crew with a murderous glint in his eye.
“What on Earth is going on here?” a loud voice booms.
“Oh shit, Principal Vager.” Conner finally releases me. As he grabs my hand, his eyes find mine. “Wanna face the music or run?”
I glance back over my shoulder and see Lylah in a man’s face, waving her arms maniacally and pointing in our direction.
Crap.
“It’s your call, Kenny,” he says, his eyes boring into mine.
Without overthinking it, I smirk. “Run.”
Chapter Eight
Conner
"Run." The second the word falls from Kenny’s lips, I thread my fingers through hers and together we take off.
Laughter erupts from her, and I can't help but smile at hearing her joy, at hearing the old Kenny that I remember so well.
We're still running as I pull my key from my pocket and unlock my car. "Quick, get in," I shout.
The reality is that no one is behind us, no one probably really cares that we've just run, but I'm enjoying the adrenaline pumping through my veins so I continue with the act.
We both drop down into my car at the same time and I bring the engine to life before speeding out of the lot.
"Oh my God, I can't believe we're skipping on my first day," Kenny shrieks.
Glancing over at her, I find her resting back in my passenger seat with her feet up on the dash and her pleated school skirt sitting high on her thighs.
My mouth waters, but I force myself out of the gutter and just focus on what she's giving me right now.
My friend back.
"I can't believe you expected anything else. We might be in the Bay now, but some things never change, K."
"Yeah, so I see." She looks over at me and our eyes connect for a brief moment before I'm forced to look back at the road. "You're still as big a goof as ever."
"I'm awesome, why would I change?"
She throws her head back once more and laughs, and I feel a little of the weight that’s been pressing down on me since she arrived in my life lift. It's a good feeling.
