Page 9 of Wicked Dreams

There are four, including Caleb. All muscular and lean. From the back, their heights and hair are the only distinguishing things about them.

I’ve seen some tough shit in public school, and with foster siblings, but nothing compares to the sheer arrogance that leaks out of these boys.

The feeling that at any minute they can turn around and spot me forces me to move even slower. Even quieter.

Suddenly, an arm is looped through mine, and I’m dragged down a side hall.

“Hey—”

“Quiet.” The girl attached to me hurries me down this hallway. Her thick hair is light brown with golden highlights, and her straight-across bangs are slightly overgrown, covering her eyebrows and touching her lashes. She’s about my height, maybe an inch shorter, and wears the uniform with the pants option.

Does she think I’m someone else?

“Never go into the cafeteria with a bagged lunch,” she murmurs. “Are you insane?”

Um…

Technically, I have a sandwich in a plastic bag and a bottle of water. Robert promised to get more interesting food after work, but they didn’t know what I’d like. And this girl is still pulling.

“I—”

“Rhetorical question,” she interrupts.

We stop in front of huge, solid oak double doors. She whips out a key and unlocks one. When she yanks it open, a rather grand library comes into view. She ushers me inside, then secures the door behind us.

It’s silent in here.

There are stacks of books on both sides, with a wide aisle straight down to an opening in the back with chairs and tables.

One of my foster families had books upon books, and the mom knew just how to stoke a sense of escapism through the stories. They were just a fleeting stop, but she had given me a book before I’d left. I read it a few times, then handed it off to Claire.

We walk down the aisle, and she drops her bag onto one of the tables.

“You’re new, right?” she asks. “There are whispers about you.”

I stick out my hand. “Margo Wolfe. Entirely undeserving of at least a quarter of the rumors.”

She grins and puts her hand in mine. “Riley Appleton. Friends call me Riley.”

“Nice to meet you, Riley.” I crack a smile in return.

“Aha! We’re friends already, I see. Come, come.”

She leads me farther into the library, leaving her bag behind. She waves at the librarian tucked away in her office. There are cushioned chairs in the back, and she throws herself down into one. I take another and curl my legs up under me.

“One of the rumors is that you caught Caleb Asher’s attention. Is that true?”

I frown. “How’d you hear about that?”

She taps her temple. “I told you. Whispers.”

Great.

Her eyes are a startling shade of pale green. She leans forward and balances her forearms on her knees. I get the impression that she’s waiting for the story.

“I knew half of the kids here. I went to school with them until I was ten.” I pull out half my sandwich. “Ian Fletcher seems particularly angry about my return.”

She snorts. “Yeah, he’s a bag of dicks on a good day.”

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