Page 92 of Chaos at Westbrook High

“Yeah.”

“To a guy.”

Wren nods. “Yeah.”

Nervous, I flick my eyes between the two of them.

“I never would have guessed you were gay.”

“I’m not. It’s only him,” Wren says, leaning back into Levi and threading his fingers through his, cocking his head at Derek as if he’s daring him to say something about it. “You got a problem with that?”

“No. I know what you mean,” he says nicely enough, but I know he’s trying to start shit when he smirks, cocks his own head, and drags his eyes over Levi’s form. “I’m not gay either, but I’d pretend for him if he ever gets tired of y?—”

Levi closes his eyes briefly, not even bothering to try to stop Wren when he jumps out of his seat and shoves Derek so hard that both he and the chair go tumbling to the ground.

“Ow. What the fuck?” he groans, clutching his head which must be killing him. “It was a joke.”

Wren laughs at that, crouching down next to him with his elbows on his knees. “No, the joke was you fucking my girlfriend. Look at my husband like that again and I’ll cut your eyes out of your face.”

Derek scoffs and looks up at me, lifting his brows with a look that says, See what the fuck I’m talking about?

“You asked for that, Der,” I mutter, taking another sip of my iced latte.

Just then, Elijah walks in with James behind him, their gazes moving over each of us in turn before they land on Derek spread out on the floor.

“What did I tell you?” Elijah asks angrily. “You’ve been here for ten goddamn minutes, Derek.”

“I didn’t do shit,” he snaps, wincing when Wren grabs a handful of his hair. “Fuck, you motherfu?—”

“Wren, sit down,” Elijah barks.

Wren throws Derek’s head away and sits back down next to Levi.

“Where are they?” Kai asks, referring to the guys who attacked Derek tonight, I’m guessing.

“Not here,” Elijah says, stopping Kai with a single look when he starts to say more. “I’m not telling you where they are, Kai. Drop it.”

Kai doesn’t look happy about it, but he does as he’s told, glaring at his dad as Elijah holds out a hand and helps Derek up to his feet. When he touches Derek’s temple to try to inspect his stitches, Derek jerks his head away, picking his chair up off the floor before he flops down into it. He won’t look at anyone, but everyone is looking at him, waiting for him to start talking, and I know he feels it when he anxiously picks at the label on his water bottle. He clears his throat. “Anyone got any vodk?—”

Damon bangs his palm against the counter, making Derek jump.

“Tell us what the fuck happened,” Damon demands, his arm banded tightly around Callie’s waist as he fights to control his temper. “Now.”

“I walked into the apartment and got hit from the side. Knocked me out. Next thing I know I’m gagged and tied up on the couch.” He shrugs.

“Who are they?”

Derek peeks at me, surprising me when he tells them the truth. “They work for my dad.”

Damon’s face doesn’t change, and when I look at Kai, he doesn’t look all that surprised either.

“Why are they after you?” Damon asks.

“Maverick’s been trying to find me since the day I left the hospital.” Derek admits. “He…”

“He what?” Kai asks. “What did he do?”

Derek swallows, his eyes never leaving mine as he says, “He killed our mother.”

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