Page 34 of Chaos at Westbrook High

My heart is beating wildly against his chest, and my hat must have fallen off at some point because he’s kissing my forehead. I squeeze my eyes shut, tensing every muscle in my body to stop myself from leaning into him.

“I’m sorry, beautiful.”

“Get out.”

A beat passes, then two. His hands slip out of mine and the heat from his body disappears. I don’t open my eyes until I hear the door closing behind him with a soft click. He’s gone, and I feel cold all of a sudden, an icy shiver running through me as I wrap my arms around myself.

I shouldn’t miss the loss of his body pressed against me, the feel of him holding my hands with his lips on my skin, but I do, and I hate myself for it more than I hate him.

Wiping the tears rolling down my cheeks, I pick up my hat off the floor, pull it down over my eyes, and lock myself inside the shop.

Chapter 14

HAILEY

It’s late by the time I leave the safety of my coffee shop, Kai’s words still echoing through my head while I lock up.

Ask him.

I shouldn’t have to ask him. I should just know. My brother might be a raging idiot with a mean streak and a temper, but he’s not a rapist. He’s not. He would never hurt someone like that, not when he knows what our mother went through when she was married to his father.

Pulling my hood over my head, I shove my hands into the pocket of my hoodie and begin walking toward the park to pick some daisies.

I think back to the way Derek acted the day Valerie died, the same day Damon Kingston almost beat him to death, the day he thought, fuck everything, and fell off the deep end, tumbled into a dark, endless pit of drugs, girls, and depression. He’s a mess right now, but he’s not evil. He’s not, damn it.

I’m furious with Kai for messing with my head like this. Because that’s all it is. Just another way to fuck with me because I’m the game.

Fuck him and his game.

As I cross the street, I feel it; that familiar sense that I’m being watched. Followed. My hackles raise, and I slow my breathing right down, straining my ears to listen for the footsteps behind me.

You weren’t looking, stupid girl.

The voice inside my head isn’t my own. It’s his voice I hear, cruel and taunting.

Eyes forward, I force my steps to remain even while I discreetly pull my phone out of my pocket. My hands are trembling with the effort it’s taking not to make a run for it, and even though I know I should trust my gut, I’m tempted to check first, to make sure I’m not just being paranoid and making something out of nothing.

As casually as possible, I look up at the stores I’m passing and flick my eyes over my shoulder, my heart thumping when I spot the hooded figure in my peripheral. He’s slowly getting closer, just a few car lengths away from me, and there’s a black car crawling slowly beside him. One to grab me and one to drive.

I should have trusted my gut.

I don’t know why my first instinct is to call Kai, but I shove that down for now, bringing up the number I promised Valerie I would call if anything like this ever happened.

Sensing my panic, the man following me says something to whoever is in the car and then sprints toward me.

“Oh, you fucker,” I whisper, dropping the casual act and allowing my legs to move like they want to.

I run like hell and look down at my phone, moving so fast that I’m struggling to focus on the screen. I smash the call button and lift the phone to my ear, sprinting back across the street to get away from this goddamn car on my ass. It rings once, and then?—

“Hailey.”

“Elijah, they’re chasing me,” I rush out, squealing when I almost get hit by a truck. “Oh, shit.”

I leap up onto the sidewalk and keep running as fast as I can, jabbing my thumb into the speaker button on my phone.

“…everyone outside now.” I hear the last part of Elijah’s sentence just as the truck driver stops honking his horn at me. “Hailey?”

“I’m okay,” I breathe. “Didn’t hit me.”

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