Page 26 of Veil of Lies

I was just about to throw some snark back at him when he looked up and frowned.

Rowena was headed our way, with Cassie and another girl in tow. From the expression on Rowena’s face, she wasn’t hoping for a friendly chat. I ducked my head down and pulled my hat lower. I figured she was here to see Brax not me, but I didn’t want any of them to drag me into their shit. Cassie already had it in for me after the showdown with Harley in the cafeteria. So much for staying in the shadows. Thanks to my association with the three hottest boys on campus, I was in the spotlight, whether I liked it or not.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Rowena demanded petulantly, one perfectly manicured hand resting on a bony hip.

“Because we’re done?” Brax leaned back in his chair and stretched one arm around the back of mine. It felt like he was making a statement, but I wasn’t sure what. All I did know was that his action caused Rowena to fixate on me. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she took in my outfit and hair.

“Why are you and Harley always hanging around with her?” I wasn’t sure I liked the tone of her voice. Being treated like a second-class citizen was something I was used to at this college, but it didn’t mean I was willing to let her rudeness slide.

“Maybe they prefer my company?” I suggested with a faint smile. Then I looked her up and down, lingering on her plastic tits bulging out of her tee-shirt. “I mean, it’s clearly less fake.”

Rowena flushed with anger when Brax snorted a laugh, but she chose to ignore me in favor of trying to wheedle her way back into Brax’s affections.

“Baby, please, I miss you!” She leaned forward, probably hoping the sight of her tits falling out of her top might tempt Brax back, but her efforts were futile.

He sat up, his jaw clenched. I watched out of the corner of my eye while trying not to appear too invested in the outcome of this conversation. It was none of my business if Brax and Rowena continued hooking up, right? I had no skin in the game. Yeah, she was a fake bitch who didn’t seem terribly competent at sucking dick, but not my problem. If he wanted a lackluster BJ, who was I to criticize?

Yet the thought of him going back to her bothered me immensely. If I were to examine my feelings closely, I’d say they edged toward territorial. Which was a disaster. Fuck, what was I getting into here? I was out of my ever-loving mind.

Panic flooded my body with adrenaline as Brax faced off with Rowena while Cassie and the other girl watched with a smirk. I needed to get out of here, and fast.

“Ro, we’re done. I’m ignoring you for a reason. Anyone else with a brain would have got the fucking hint by now. Do I really need to spell it out?”

“But we—”

“I gotta go,” I whispered in a low voice while shoving my shit into my bag.

“Wait, what?” Brax turned sideways, ignoring Rowena’s continued protests about how much she loved him, blah blah blah.

I shoved my chair back but he grabbed my wrist. “Don’t go, I need to talk to you!”

Rowena tossed her hair and sneered at me. “Oh let her leave, she’s not worth your time, Brax. She’s a nobody with bad hair.”

That bitch. I’d reached the end of my tether with her. I sucked in a deep breath and tried really hard to reel in my temper. Blowing up in public was not conducive to flying under the radar. It took a lot to light my fuse, but Rowena was doing a great job of it.

I got right in her face and she leaned back slightly. Whatever she saw in my eyes, she didn’t like it. “Well, hair can always be styled, Rowena, but sadly, nothing can fix your lack of manners and nasty character,” I retorted. “You’re a sad, desperate bitch. Brax was using you. Get the fucking message.”

She flushed a deep, unflattering shade of crimson. “How dare you—”

“That’s enough!” The head librarian, Miss Hamilton, appeared behind Rowena and glared at all of us. “This is a library. Take your disagreements elsewhere, or I will bar the lot of you for a week!”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured to her and she nodded before turning back to Rowena, who was still huffing like an angry bulldog even though her two besties had taken the sensible decision to quietly retreat.

“It’s not my fault, I was—” Rowena did not know when to call it quits. The girl was dumb as a brick.

“Right,” Miss Hamilton growled. “You’re barred. Anyone else feel like arguing?” It was clear she was not messing about as she stood glaring at Rowena, daring her to carry on digging herself into a deeper hole. Frankly, I didn’t blame the woman for standing her ground on this. I didn’t want to listen to Rowena mouthing off either. It was a waste of all our time.

“Fine! It’s not like I spend any time in this stupid place anyway.” Rowena stomped off in a rage, dragging her pals behind her before Miss Hamilton reported her to the dean.

“I can’t believe I ever went near Rowena,” Brax muttered as the tension dissipated and Miss Hamilton walked back to her station.

“I can’t believe you did either,” I agreed.

He threw me a rueful smile. “Well, hindsight’s a wonderful thing.” He packed his stuff away as I stood. “Seeing as how we’re done with the presentation, fancy sharing a pizza back at mine?”

“No, thanks.” I really didn’t need to think about it. I was getting too used to having him around and that was a mistake. With my bag hooked over my shoulder, I started to leave, but as usual, he wasn’t about to let me go without a fight.

“Got something better planned?” he teased, stroking my wrist. I shivered under his touch. It scared me how badly I wanted him. I was so fucked. He took a step closer. “Something better than pizza?”

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