Crowd of Lies (Kingsley Academy Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “He’s still licking his wounds,” I comment.

  “Have you seen her yet?” he asks.

  “Already asked. I think his silence was a no. I was afraid to ask again in case he punched me. Again,” Lucca growls.

  “I said I was sorry,” I snap, getting up from the bench. I grab my bag from the ground, swinging it over my shoulder. “She’ll be here.”

  “How do you know?” Ethan asks.

  I shrug, walking off and letting them follow. “Because I saw her getting dressed this morning.” I’ve lost count of how many nights I’ve sat staring out my window and into hers, wishing that night was the night she’d return.

  “Stalker much?” Lucca teases.

  I stop for a minute to glare at him, and he swallows.

  “Does she know you switched classes?”

  “No, but she will. And I didn’t switch. I just added them to my regular classes.”

  “It’s still stalking,” Ethan mutters.

  “I don’t give a fuck. She needs to be watched,” I tell them.

  “You still can’t believe Dad’s innocent? He did a runner right after Ivy got run down. If that doesn’t scream guilty, I don’t know what does.”

  I let him believe that’s why I want her watched. But it’s not. I’m worried what the bitches in this place have planned for her. I know Danielle, know her friends, and they aren’t going to let Ivy’s ride here be easy.

  “Are you coming up to the rec room?” Lucca asks, high-fiving a mate who walks past.

  The rec room is our place at the school. No one other than me, the twins and Grant have a key. It’s our home away from home, a place we can hang out between classes, or if we don’t want to drive back after a long day, we stay there. It’s also convenient when there is a party. It means we don’t have to leave our cars or drive drunk.

  We’re above the main entrance of Kingsley Academy, yet others stay not far away, in a separate building of the school’s, called Kingsley House.

  When it first opened, they had a high list of responses, so they decided to build their own accommodation. The building was separated into two blocks, one for the guys and one for the girls, separated by a reception and security room. House Captains and members of staff helped run it.

  “Not yet. I want to wait on Grant, see if he’s heard anything from his dad yet.”

  Ethan grunts in acknowledgement but doesn’t say anything more. They’re having a hard time trusting him since he went off the deep end, but I’m not ready to give up on him. Not yet.

  He had it worse than all of us growing up. His dad was abusive and angry. And having people tell him his dad wasn’t always like that, that losing his wife did something to him, made Grant angry, bitter.

  We all lost something vital growing up, and it shaped us, made us into the men we are today, but Grant… Grant somehow lost his way over the past few months.

  “Fuck,” Lucca growls before pasting on a fake smile.

  I look up, inwardly groaning when Danielle and her group of friends walk up to us.

  I scan her, wondering how I never noticed how slutty she was before. She might not have spread her legs for anyone while we were fucking, but looking at her now, I don’t know why that mattered. She’s hot, don’t get me wrong, but until Ivy, I hadn’t realised how fake Danielle looked. I guess getting my dick wet took precedence.

  We have uniforms here at the Academy, all designer and required. Danielle and her friends, however, wear theirs differently to the rest. Their skirts are rolled up to become shorter, their ties loose and a few buttons on their shirts undone to reveal their cleavage, and instead of the basic black shoes, they have high heels to make them look taller. The rules are strict, but somehow, Danielle gets away with it.

  “Kai,” she breathes out, her voice sultry and low.

  I want to tell her to fuck off, but I need to find out who set that tent on fire, and if this bitch did it, she’s going to get what’s coming to her. She was warned to leave Ivy alone and was warned by the twin’s multiple times to not go near Selina when we were all in high school together.

  She crossed a line and went too far.

  “Danielle,” I greet, giving a chin lift to the others.

  She runs her finger up my blazer, fluttering her eyelashes at me. “Are you still having a party this weekend?”

  Movement from the side catches my attention, and I subtly look at Lucca, who nods once, confirming there is still, in fact, a party.

  I grit my teeth together. I told them not at the house, not with Dad MIA and Mum returning any day now. Whatever she has to finish up is holding her back.

  News about my dad hasn’t been revealed, and I was surprised. I know Nova contacted a detective friend of hers and gave him what she had. They’re still looking for him, but if my dad wanted to disappear, no one will find him.

  I don’t want the news getting out, not because I care what people might say about him, but because I care what people might say to the twins. I could also see others turning on Ivy, the outsider, and she has better things to deal with.

  I know I’m still protecting her, and I have no idea why. I should hate her for causing my family pain. I’ve hated her before for far less.

  “Kai?” Danielle calls, her voice harder.

  I glance down at her with a bored expression. “Looks like.”

  “Do you want me to stop by before the party?”

  Whoever told her about me and Ivy is getting fucked up. She has been coming on strongly ever since, and I’m getting tired of it.

  Ivy and I aren’t done.

  Not by a long shot.

  I just have to figure out whether I want to fuck her or hate her.

  It still doesn’t mean I’m going to go back to Danielle. I’m bored, and now I’ve tasted perfection, nothing will ever taste sweeter.

  “No thanks,” I tell her, gripping her wrist when she slides her hand down my chest.

  Her jaw clenches, her eyes hardening as she stares up at me. “You could never go long without a fuck, and no other girl will touch you. I made sure of it.”

  I lean in close, and I watch as her pupils dilate, her breathing escalating. “If I wanted to fuck Jenny,” I start, glancing quickly at the girl in question next to her. Her shoulders straighten and her face lights up, like she thinks I mean it. “I’m pretty certain she wouldn’t tell me no. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’d beg.”

  “You’re a pig,” she curses, trying to shake off my grip.

  I smirk. “I was good enough for you. Don’t think you have the power here. You aren’t the only cunt I can use to get my dick wet.”

  “I’m going to make you swallow those words,” she grumbles, glaring at me.

  “You’re the only one who swallows, love.”

  She screeches under her breath, and this time, when she tries to get loose, I let her.

  Selina’s car pulls into the drop off point and the hairs on my neck stand on end. Everyone stops what they’re doing the second a tanned leg slips free of the car, right before Ivy emerges.

  My breathing stops at the sight of her gripping the top of the car door, scanning the area, her mouth slightly parted.

  She looks different, hotter, and I force myself not to go to her.

  Her ink black hair is shorter, chopped off below her shoulders. I hadn’t noticed when I saw her getting dressed. The loose, wavy curls are pinned back, giving her a Catholic schoolgirl look, especially paired with her uniform. I can’t see her eyes because they’re covered by her sunglasses, so I can’t tell if she’s spotted us.

  She clears the car, and the breath leaves my lungs in one whoosh. Hundreds of girls wear the uniform, but none of them look as hot as Ivy right now. I’m already imagining pushing the red and black, tartaned pleat skirt up around her waist and pulling her knickers down.

  I’d make her leave on the grey, knee-length stockings and black shoes with their inch-high heels and ties around her ankles. Fuck, she looks hot.

  Her
grey blazer fits her perfectly, showcasing her perfect curves. I take in the cast, remembering how close I was to losing the one thing that had brought me peace, something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  “Holy fuck!” Lucca curses, sounding turned on. I turn, seeing him outright checking her out. I growl under my breath, and he quickly looks away, concentrating on his phone.

  The second Selina steps out of the car, the wolves descend, and I know I’m not going to make it through the day without killing someone. I know the minute Leeroy grins at her, he’s flirting, and if the rugby player doesn’t back the fuck up, he won’t have an arm to play with all season.

  Danielle’s laughter cackles through the air. I glance down at her, finding her looking up at me with a calculated expression, her lips tipped up into a smirk.

  “Just remember, it doesn’t have to be this way,” she warns me. My gaze hardens as she steps closer, rubbing her body against mine before leaning up to whisper in my ear. “You’ll come running back the minute I prove she’s weak. And I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.”

  I clench my jaw as she steps away. “If anyone touches her, you’ll answer to me.”

  She shrugs. “But I don’t answer to you, not anymore.” She waves, grinning like a maniac. “See you around, boys.”

  Ethan shudders, stepping closer to me. “I’m trying to figure out what I found hot about her. She creeps me the fuck out.”

  “It was her tits,” Lucca answers before taking a sip of his water.

  Ethan sighs. “Yeah, it was the tits.”

  “Fucking idiots,” I growl, stepping away from them. When I look up to try and find Ivy, she’s gone. I search the grounds, not seeing her or Selina anywhere. “Fuck!”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  IVY

  I glance in the mirror, barely recognising the girl staring back at me. I promised myself I wouldn’t turn into one of those snotty-nosed bitches, however, looking back at me is a replica of the very person I didn’t want to become.

  It’s going to take a lot of getting used to.

  When I got back from Elle’s yesterday, Nova had a team of people waiting for me. Selina didn’t let me refuse, saying it was a late birthday present arranged by the both of them.

  Selina is still going through the trauma of nearly being burned alive, so I couldn’t say no to her. It would be like telling your puppy he couldn’t have a treat. And she’s still getting used to the faint scars they tried to minimalize after her skin graft.

  For four hours I let them cut my hair—something I usually did myself—wax and tint my eyebrows, curl and tint my eyelashes, and give me a manicure and pedicure. I even had a full body massage, which was the only thing I didn’t complain about—mostly because I fell asleep.

  Now, my jet-black hair is just below my shoulders. It feels foreign, lighter somehow, and because I can’t do much with one hand, I let Selina have her way this morning and do my hair. She blow-dried it so it had a wave to it and then pinned it back from my face. The second she tried to put a tartan hairband on me, I put a stop to it and told her it was enough.

  I’d applied some foundation, mostly to cover up the dark circle under my eyes. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep soon, I’m afraid they’ll permanently be there.

  I run my palm down my uniform, inwardly groaning. I thought I saw the last of a school uniform when I left high school, but no, the prestigious Academy has to go and have a strict dress code.

  The grey blazer with a black trim isn’t so bad. I just feel fake wearing it. It’s not me. The pleated red and black tartan skirt, however, is ridiculous, something a porn star would wear. It was a choice between this or a grey skirt. The grey one was more flowy, and one gust of wind would have the whole school seeing my underwear. At least the pleated one had weight, but to be safe, I’d pulled on a pair of tiny gym shorts that could be classed as boxers.

  But the clothes, the hair, the makeup, none of it matters. I still feel like an intruder, a girl playing dress up.

  “You ready for your first day at the Academy?” Selina calls, and I step away from the mirror and walk out of my walk-in wardrobe to greet her.

  She looks up from her phone, whistling when she sees me. “Damn, girl, you look smoking hot! Last night did you some good. You look a lot better.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’m wearing the same thing as you,” I remind her, not commenting on her compliment.

  “Yeah, but I don’t rock it like you do. The guys are going to blow a nut when they see you. You look like an innocent Catholic schoolgirl.”

  “Great, I really do look like a porn star.”

  She laughs. “You don’t. You coming down for breakfast?”

  “Yes, I need coffee to deal with your chirpy behaviour. It’s eight in the morning. No one should be this hyper.”

  She rolls her eyes, grabbing her bag off my bed, but she pauses when she looks into my wardrobe.

  I peer over my shoulder, sighing at the small pile of presents I dumped in the corner before going to bed last night. I’ve not opened them, and I don’t feel like doing it any time soon. They’re presents from the twins, Selina, Sam and Nova. Even Annette got me something, but I don’t feel comfortable accepting them.

  They were left on my bed for me to open when I got back yesterday, but I just haven’t brought myself around to opening them. I’ve never received a present before, and I don’t know how to feel about it.

  For all I know, the twins could have put a dead animal in a box after what I revealed to them. It hurts not seeing them. They’d become what I imagined having brothers would feel like.

  And forcing myself not to care, when really I do, is killing me. I don’t want to let it get to me, but it’s hard when, for the first time in my life, I know what I’m missing.

  “Are you not going to open them? I promise it’s nothing girly,” she tells me, sounding a little hurt.

  I grab my bag off the back of the chair and turn to face her. “No, it’s not that. I’ll open them when I get back, okay?”

  She beams up at me. “All right.”

  I groan as I follow her out of the room. “Please tell me there’s coffee downstairs.”

  She laughs, a bounce in her step. “Of course, there is.”

  I roll my eyes. Every time I’ve spoken to her or seen her since leaving the hospital, she’s been in this mood. Last night I heard her screaming out, yelling, “It burns. Help me!”. It killed me to listen to her in so much pain, but I had no idea what to do to make it better. I’m not exactly the cuddling type.

  I fucking hate this ‘feelings’ crap. It’s inconvenient and annoying as hell.

  I want to help her, to show that her façade of being bubbly and okay doesn’t work with me. I know she is still hurting.

  *** *** ***

  I don’t understand the nerves flitting through me as we drive through the open iron gates. I’d been the new kid in a school before, more times than I could count. This shouldn’t be any different.

  My palms begin to sweat. I wipe them down my skirt as I glance out the window, scanning my surroundings.

  “Why is it hidden away?” I murmur as we pass more trees.

  Selina laughs, finally glancing away from her phone. “We have celebrity children, politicians’ children, and the rich and famous attending the school and Academy. They pay for privacy, and privacy is what they built.”

  I gasp as we drive towards a huge stone building that has to be two-three storeys high. “Holy shit!”

  When Selina said the school was big, I hadn’t expected this. I knew it was split into different departments and they were all connected by hallways or an overpass, but I never expected it to be this substantial.

  “How do you find your way around?” I ask in amazement.

  “This is Kingsley Hall, the main area of the Academy. Its where basic classes are taught and where we will be for the most part all year round. You won’t be walking all over the school. I think most first and second year students are
in this part.”

  “How many buildings are there?”

  She shrugs as she shoves a book into her bag. “I don’t know, but they’re broken off into six areas. Then you have Kingsley House, which is accommodation.”

  “Nova said she has a room here for us if we ever need it.”

  “Yes, it’s above Monroe Hall. The place freaks me out, so I never stayed there. I guess it wouldn’t be bad if someone else was there.”

  When the car pulls to a stop in the drop off point, I take in a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

  “That’s the attitude,” Selina boasts, just as her phone beeps with a message.

  I pull down my sunglasses, covering my eyes, and push open the door before the driver walks around to do it. I slip out of the car, scanning my surroundings in wonder. It’s a lot to take in.

  I’m glad my eyes are covered, because my emotions would be on display for all to see when my gaze lands on Kaiden and the twins. The betrayal feels fresh all over again, and I force myself not to react to the sight of them.

  They’d known. They had to. No one treats someone the way they treated me if there wasn’t a valid reason. They’d just wanted me gone, so I didn’t spill their dad’s secrets.

  But my time with Kaiden hadn’t felt fake. That’s what hurts the most. He was never anything but real with me; the good and the bad. At least I think he was. It’s why I’m so torn up inside. I want to believe they didn’t know, desperately, but I’ve been made a fool of one too many times.

  They look good. I wasn’t expecting them to be in disarray over the news I shared, but I expected some sort of emotion. It seems they really didn’t care about me to begin with.

  I don’t know why I keep torturing myself. It not like we were in love. At least, I don’t think we were. I know my feelings were—are—strong, but how could I know the difference between love and lust? My mum was emotionless and never showed me how. And it’s not like he told me he loved me.

  I finally force myself to look away from Kaiden, and my blood boils for another reason. I don’t know how I didn’t notice that stuck up cow the second I got out of the car, but there she is, her paws all over Kaiden like she owns him. Danielle’s so close to him I can taste the bitterness on my tongue. I want to rip her away, tell her he’s mine.