Page 19 of Chaos at Westbrook High

He wasn’t beckoning me just now. He was beckoning her.

Deafening silence fills my ears. My heart feels like it’s about to explode. I must take a step, because Damon grabs my forearm and squeezes to keep me still. I don’t want to stay still. What I want is to go grab Hailey and drag her ass back up here, but I’m too stunned to fight him right now, so I do nothing but stare, unblinking as I follow her every move.

When she gets to him, Derek wraps his arm around her shoulders and takes her to the passenger side of his car, looking at us over her head as he kisses the top of her hat. She plants her feet and looks up at him, her lips moving as she says something I can’t hear. His response seems to placate her a little, and she gets into the car.

She’s getting in the fucking car.

Derek closes the door for her and casually flicks the butt of his cigarette, smirking up at us as he makes his way around to the driver’s side. Damon’s grip tightens on me and Callie, and I can’t tell whether he’s holding us back, or holding himself back from ripping his damn head off. Probably both.

Derek doesn’t dare look at Callie, which is the only reason he’s still upright right now.

Enjoying the crowd gathered around us to watch the show, Derek gets into his car and starts the engine, revving it a little for good measure. With his hand on the back of Hailey’s seat, he reverses out of the spot, switches gears, then hits the gas, stealing her from my sight as he drives toward the open gates.

My blood runs cold through my veins, and all I can think about is the way he touched her just now. The way she let him touch her and kiss her as if he’s done it a thousand times before.

As soon as they’re gone, four pairs of eyes cut my way, and I quickly force my features even, not wanting them to see whatever this awful feeling is clawing at the inside of my chest.

Too late. They already saw it.

Callie fails to hide a wince, and I lock my jaw, letting out a quiet, disbelieving laugh as I reach up and lock my hands at the back of my neck.

“That bitch.”

Chapter 7

HAILEY

“You can stop smiling now,” I mutter as the light changes from red to green, rubbing my temples to try to ease the headache I’m getting.

“What’s wrong with my smile?”

“It makes you look like a psychopath.”

Derek lets out a genuine laugh, taking me by surprise. I haven’t heard that sound in weeks.

He promised he was sober before I got into the car with him, and although I doubted him for a second, I believed him. His eyes are a little brighter than they were this morning, and there are new takeout wrappers thrown into the inner console, so I know he’s eaten like I asked him to. The fact that he at least tried to take care of himself today thaws my heart, just a little, but then I remember what he just did, and I go right back to wanting to murder him.

He takes the next turn toward Valerie’s, passing Kingston Palace, keeping his eyes on the road as he digs around in his pocket for a cigarette. “Come on, Hailey. Did you see the looks on their faces? The look on Kai’s face? You gotta admit that was funny.”

“It wasn’t funny, Der.” I snatch the cigarette from his mouth before he can light it. “You knew I didn’t want them to know. Now everyone’s gon?—”

“The fuck is your problem?”

“You just had one,” I bite out.

He glares, and I glare right back. That look might intimidate others, but he doesn’t scare me and he knows it.

Putting the cigarette back into the pack, I toss them into the side of my door, out of his reach. He lets out an aggravated breath, and I fall back in my seat, petulantly crossing my arms over my chest while I stare out at the street through the window.

“Now everyone’s gonna find out I’m your sister,” I finish.

“They’ll never guess you’re my sister.”

“They’ll think we’re together then.”

He scrunches his nose, but he doesn’t comment, proving what I already knew as soon as I saw him waiting for me in the parking lot at school.

“That’s exactly what you wanted them to think, isn’t it? You’re trying to make my life hell so I’ll drop out and come running back to you.”

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