Page 42 of Chaos at Westbrook High

James is decent enough not to push for more.

“How much do you know?” I finally ask.

“I’ve been working for Elijah and his family since I was eighteen,” he tells me, pulling into a space outside my building. “He’s like an older brother to me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Okay, then. Maybe it does.

“What took you so long to get to me earlier?” I ask. “If you were right there watching me, guarding me, how did they even get the chance to chase me?”

He exhales a heavy breath and turns around in his seat to face me fully. “After Kai left the shop, when you locked the door and turned off the lights, you were in there for a long time, alone in the dark. I couldn’t see you, and I started to worry, so I walked around to the back to try to find you. By the time I got back, you were already running.”

“Which means they were watching you too, right? Waiting for their opportunity to get me alone.”

“They got lucky because I made a mistake,” he says, his eyes hardening. “I won’t make it again.”

“Was it him?” I ask, hating the way my voice cracks. “Did he send them after me?”

He doesn’t answer that, quiet a moment before he says, “Let’s get you inside, yeah?”

I nod once. He climbs out of the car and I do the same, confused by the amused look he hits me with as he walks around to the passenger side.

“What?”

“You’re supposed to wait for me to open it for you.” He gestures to the back door I’m closing.

When I glare at him in outrage, he laughs under his breath, lifting his palms up while I lead the way to the front entrance. I unlock the door, and he scans every inch of the building as we walk up to the fourth floor, his hand ready at the small of his back, making me more nervous than I already am. I know I’m being paranoid, but I’m suddenly worried this is all a trap to grab Derek and drag him back to Elijah.

“If you touch my brother?—”

“Relax, girl,” he says quietly. “Your brother and I aren’t gonna have a problem unless he touches you.” He pauses, looking down at me. “Are we gonna have a problem?”

Pressing my lips shut, I take out my keys and unlock my front door. I don’t know this guy. I shouldn’t trust him so blindly, but something tells me he’s telling the truth. I open the door. When he hits me with a pointed look, I refrain from rolling my eyes and step aside, allowing him to walk in ahead of me. Following him in, I close the door behind us and flick the lights on while he searches my small entryway.

Derek slowly cracks his eyes open, then frowns, shooting up to a sitting position on the couch when he takes in my appearance. There must be smudged mascara all over my face.

“What—”

James quietly heads toward the bedrooms down the hall, and Derek’s head jerks back, his eyes widening as he looks from him to me. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

I ignore that, setting my things down on the kitchen counter while I wait for James to finish doing his thing. When he comes back, he checks the window behind Derek, sparing him a couple glances while he moves the curtain to look down at the fire escape. “You look like shit, kid.”

“Man, fuck you.” Derek sneers, once again looking to me for answers. “What happened?”

Again, I don’t answer him.

James walks over to me and holds his hand out between us. “Give me your phone.”

I do as he says, and he types his number in, saves it, then hands it back to me. When he sees whatever look is on my face, he says quietly, “I’ll be right outside all night, okay?”

I nod, following him to the front door. As soon as he’s gone, I close the door, lock it, and stare at the wood for a few beats, taking a shallow breath before I head back to the living room where Derek’s waiting. Holding his head in his hands, he’s wearing a black pair of sweats and no shirt. When he looks down at himself and realizes, he grabs a hoodie off the floor and pulls it on over his head.

“What the fuck is going o?—”

“What did you do to Callie?”

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