Page 152 of Dare To Break

I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not going to let them punish me for something that wasn’t my fault.

Pulling out an empty seat, I drop down into it as Miles sits beside me. “I wouldn’t know. We don’t talk, and no.”

Jace leans over the table. “Why didn’t you tell us he was your brother?”

“Stepbrother, and because of a reaction like this.” I gesture around the room at the other students still gossiping.

“He grabbed her and kissed her.” Miles shifts toward me, his knee brushing the side of my leg under the table. “The whole photo thing shows it was a setup. Do you really think she would be interested in a freak like that?”

“You sound pussywhipped to me.” Jace arches an eyebrow, slouching back in his chair. “I don’t know. Are you interested in a freak like that, Arabella?”

My new-found confidence wavers at his unfriendly tone. Insecurity and self-deprecation ooze in through the gaps.

“The only guy I’m interested in is Miles.” I’m pleased with how much force I put into my words.

Liar, liar, pants on fire. You want to do dark and dirty things with the guy in the tomb. The guy whose name you still don’t know.

“I barely know Eli.” I wonder how much my roommate has actually told them. “Our parents got married out of the blue, and we didn’t know about it until they told us. We’re virtually strangers. Most of what I know about him I learned here, from you.”

Jace straightens, his gaze remaining steady on my face. “You look pretty friendly in that photograph. I think you enjoyed having Travers’ tongue down your throat.”

“You sound jealous, Black.” Brad laughs.

He’s right. I did enjoy the kiss. I just don’t want to admit to it ever. I need to forget about it because it’s never happening again.

Instead of bowing my head weakly, like I would have in the past, I grit my teeth. “We don’t like each other. You’d have to be blind not to see that, and I’m pretty sure there’s nothing wrong with your eyesight, or you wouldn’t be on the football team.”

Evan whistles. “Is this a monthly mood swing?”

I ignore him, the tension around the table palpable.

Lacy rolls her eyes. “Shut up, Evan.”

“From the way Travers is staring at her right now, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to burn a hole through her head. Does that scream interest to you? More like I’m going to smother you with a pillow in your sleep.” Miles’ comments almost makes me turn and look, but I resist.

Eli Travers does not exist. I am not going to feed the monster. I need to concentrate on one thing at a time. I can’t get distracted.

“We’ve all seen the way he treats her,” Brad acknowledges.

“And Arabella is nothing like him,” Lacy adds. “She’s far too nice. She did tell me on the first day she arrived about being his stepsister.”

Bret, Jace, and Evan scowl at her, but Brad doesn’t look surprised.

“You knew?”

Brad shrugs at Bret’s question. “Lacy and I don’t have secrets. It’s called trust. You should try it sometime … when you actually find a girl who will date you.”

Evan snickers.

Miles squeezes my leg gently under the table. “Are we cool?”

Again, my voice from the dark whispers through my head. Why do you care what anyone else thinks?

Chapter 98

Eli

I walk to the room housing my sculpture with my cell wedged between my ear and shoulder. My dad is talking about the changes his wife has made to the house. It takes everything inside me not to snarl, and demand to know why he’s eradicating the evidence of my mom’s existence.

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