Page 85 of Chaos at Westbrook High

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He sounds furious.

Kai’s still pressed against me, his eyes searching mine, his brows drawn in as he studies the expression on my face.

“Hailey!” Derek shouts, making me cringe.

Kai must hear him because he takes the phone from me, putting it on speaker and holding it between us. I panic and try to grab it back, but he shakes his head at me, side-eyeing the others as they move closer to us.

“Jesus Christ,” Derek hisses. “Are you with him right now?”

I open my mouth, then close it again. Kai nods at me. I swallow. “Yeah, but how do y?—”

“Can he hear me?”

Kai nods again, so I say, “Yeah.”

I don’t know why I’m looking to him for guidance. This is my brother. I can handle him without?—

“Show her the fucking pictures.”

I frown. Seeming to know exactly what he’s talking about, Kai’s jaw ticks as he reaches into his pocket for his own phone. My entire body tenses as I wait. I swear to God, if those pictures I sent him this morning have somehow ended up in my brother’s hands…

“Relax,” Kai murmurs. “He’s not talking about those.”

Derek curses under his breath.

When Kai passes me his phone, I look down to find a group chat filled with messages about me and him. A few pictures of us in his car a few minutes ago. More of the six of us walking into school together, my hand in Kai’s. The two of us kissing in the very spot we’re standing in now. You can’t see my face in most of them because it’s hidden behind the brim of my ball cap, but to anyone who knows me, there’s no denying it’s me in these pictures.

What the fuck is going on?

I try to look at the remaining students in the hallway, but I can’t because five Kingstons are surrounding me, shoulder to shoulder, shielding me so that I can’t see out and they can’t see in.

“Der, I didn’t…” I stammer. “I didn’t know.”

“No, but he did,” he says. “I told you he’s fucking poison, Hailey. How do you not realize he’s playing you to get to me, you stupid little g?—”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Kai and Wren say together, and Derek stops.

I bounce my eyes between them. Levi’s holding Wren’s hand, their fingers locked together as they stare at my phone. Damon’s got his arm around Callie’s waist protectively, his eyes filled with rage at the sound of Derek’s voice. Kai doesn’t take his eyes off me, his free hand coming up to my face to run his thumb over my cheek.

“You don’t like to be seen,” he says, somehow knowing this is about more than my older brother being an asshole for the fun of it.

I slowly shake my head.

“Why?”

“I—”

“Don’t you dare, Hailey,” Derek bites out.

I snap my lips shut.

Kai glares at the phone in his hand as if he wants to reach through it and strangle his cousin.

“Kai,” Derek says. “You can’t do this. She…” He pauses. “Do you know who she is to me?”

Kai doesn’t answer that.

“Fuck. Please, Kai. I’m begging you. Make those pictures disappear and leave my sister alone.”

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