Page 118 of Dare To Break

Me: Don’t worry, I’m steering clear of him.

Miles: Good girl.

I smile at the praise, pleasure spreading through my chest. Not as intense as when my darer said it to me, but there. My thoughts swim toward the stranger who captured my attention.

Is he still watching me?

My pulse picks up, like a steady drum beneath my skin, but I push the question down.

Tina and Linda meet us as we reach the door to the classroom.

“Is it true?” Tina’s eyes are wide as she positions herself in front of Lacy. “Are you doing a ghost walk for Saturday?”

Lacy nods excitedly. “Duh! With all the dead people in the cemetery, it would be stupid not to. Mr. Bellamy is going to dress up and be like a tour guide. He knows a bunch of stuff about the old owner of this place. It’s going to be super spooky.”

“You should get some people to jump out while he’s talking,” Linda suggests.

My roommate hums. “Maybe we could hire someone to do it.”

“Do we have anything left in the budget?” Tina frowns. “We were running close to the cut-off in the last meeting.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rise. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Eli scowling at me from his corner. Kellan is at the desk beside him, leaning off his chair to whisper in his friend’s ear. I can feel my stepbrother’s hate between us, like it’s a living, breathing thing.

He’s trying to intimidate me and I’m letting him do it. Why am I so weak?

The thought echoes through my being and straight into the empty black hole inside me. I hide my pain. I’ve done it for so long that it’s become second nature. Almost the same as breathing at this point.

I paste on a smile and pour all my focus into the conversation the cheerleaders are having.

Chapter 76

Eli

I stand when Arabella and her friends walk into the room and take a casual walk over to the other side, where there’s a stack of supplies—spare writing books, pens, and calculators. I pick up a calculator and turn. My timing is impeccable. I reach Arabella’s desk just as she slips between it and her chair and starts to lower herself. Whistling under my breath, I swing out a foot and kick the chair away. She crashes to the ground on her ass in front of me. The class erupts into laughter. I hook my thumbs into the belt loops of my jeans and stare down at her.

When her eyes lift to meet mine, her face is burning. I hike an eyebrow.

“I know you like being on your back, Princess, but at least wait until class is over.” I skirt around her and return to my seat.

“I can hear you all the way down the hallway.” Mr. Drake walks into the room. “Arabella, why are you sitting on the floor?” He waves a hand. “No, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know what you crazy lot get up to when I’m not here. Open your textbooks to page one fifty-two and let’s get started.”

The class quiets down as everyone bends their heads and focuses on the work. As always, it feels like the math class lasts a lifetime, and I’m glad when it’s finally over. Art is next, but we’re not working on our project pieces. We’re in the art studio making things for the Halloween party. I know where I’d rather be, but I stash my math book into my bag and head out of the room. Kellan has computer science, so we agree to meet up for lunch and go our separate ways.

I pull out the second cell and fire it up. She still hasn’t read any of the messages I’ve left.

Me: Guess you’re not done sulking yet. You know where I am when you remember what you really want.

I turn it off and almost crash into the girl herself when I walk into the studio. A quick sideways step and I narrowly avoid sending her across the room. It’s tempting, but I’ve made it a personal rule not to fuck with her in art. It’s the one class I do not want to fail, and McIntyre won’t hesitate to throw me out if he sees me causing trouble.

I set up the final piece of the mural in a corner of the room and select the paints I need. Movement to my left turns my head to see Arabella setting up an easel nearby. She catches me looking at her and spins away, but not before her cheeks grow red under my gaze.

With one hand, I pull my earbuds out of a pocket and push them into my ears, then dip my hand back in to bring out my cell and queue up the music. A second later, ‘I Don’t Like The Drugs’ by Marilyn Manson is playing.

Setting aside all thoughts of Arabella, I focus on the painting in front of me. I need to finish the skyline and add some spectral figures between the gravestones and then it’s complete. I’ll gain marks for supplying something to the party, as well as points for appearing to be sociable for once—something the school is always trying to make me do. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to make them leave me alone until Christmas, when the idiocy will repeat itself.

***

I wake up with a start, heart racing and my harsh breathing loud in my ears. It’s dark and, other than my strangled breaths, silent. I push up and swing my legs off the side of the bed, my intention to go into the bathroom until I’ve calmed down.

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