Page 36 of Promise to Break

"Oh, but I did."

"What did you paint?"

"You'll see." After soccer practice that day, I went to the art supply room and got myself a couple of cans of spray paint. It didn't take me long to play with some pictures of the three deviants, making them look like caricatures and as sloppily as I could. Turns out it's a good thing they look so different from each other. Otherwise, no one would be able to tell which one is which.

Raven shakes her head. "You two are like kids who don't want to grow up. Fuck him already, and put a stop to this shit." She pulls me by my T-shirt that has a taco with chili coming out of its ass printed on the front. I wore it purposely today because I wanted to be part of the team. I can change into my school uniform afterward.

"I will not fuck him, but I will fuck him over." I don't even know who I'm trying to convince these days.

Raven snickers. "Do it over him, under him. I don't care, just do it already. Kids these days," she scoffs, clutching her imaginary pearls.

"And what makes you think he'll appear in the car you painted on?"

"For the same reason, he still wears the jersey I so carefully put together for him."

"Touché."

We don't have to wait much longer as I hear the commotion. "Are you ready for my art?" Raven shakes her head but comes with me as I start walking toward the student parking lot.

No fucking way. He didn't. But when?

Killian did arrive in his car, but the masterpiece I left on its coat of paint is nowhere to be found. Instead, his car that was red yesterday is black now, and the caricatures are nowhere to be found. On his now black Bugatti is an intricate picture of a man kissing a woman with the exact shade of my long locks.

That asshole. I'm going to kill him.

Raven snickers. "Wow. It's you and him. You're so talented, chica. Maybe journalism isn't for you, and you should switch to art with me."

"I didn't do that."

"Oh, I know."

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" She puts a hand on my shoulder and rubs. "Mari, honey, this is a good thing, okay? You two are made from the same metal. Strong, unbreakable and hurt by the world. Give him a chance. He'll cherish you more than you know." She kisses my cheek softly, like a sister. Like Serena never did.

I shake my head and come back to the here and now. Killian isn't one to get hurt. Bullies like him are the ones hurting others for fun. "You're too poetic first thing in the morning, and if I'm a metal, I'm probably a rusty one full of dirt."

"Stop deflecting. You always like to tell me how beautiful and worthy I am, so why can't you see how amazing you are? You are not rusty. You shine more than any person in this world."

With a huff, I kiss her cheek in return. My focus shifts to the car unwillingly. From what I can see from here, the artist is good. Neither my face nor Killian's is shown because we're both too busy eating each other's mouths.

Thank God he chose the field backdrop for the painted scene and not when he was naked as fuck. Then again, his shirt is nonexistent, just like now.

Seriously, he has to do something about his allergy to shirts. It's freaking cold outside.

The man in question comes toward us with his two friends following. I don't look at Kai, who still looks like he hasn't got enough energy to walk properly. I really fucked up there.

"You look annoyed, Little Girl. You dance like an angel, and your butt on the camera is something I'll cherish for a long time." Killian sounds as fresh as a cucumber with far more glee than he should possess as he puts his hands on my shoulders as if they belong there. I twist to escape him, only for Liam to look at me with his fake "I am about to strike smile."

"Vete a la mierda."

"Now, now," Liam begins, "that's not very nice. Is it, Rotten One?" Liam gave me this nickname the moment he saw me taking out rotten food. I suspect there is more to it, but I never asked.

"Don't call her that. What did she say?" It shouldn't surprise me that Killian asks Liam. The deviant has an affinity for languages. His English is as crisp as the money he counts every day, and Raven told me he's fluent in Russian, Italian, and Albanian as well. So, of course, learning Spanish wouldn't be a chore for him.

"She called our mother's whores."

"I did not! I would never speak like that about Isabella." Killian knows I cherish Isabella above all things.

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