Page 54 of Depraved Desires

“You guys haven’t heard?” she asked in disbelief. “It’s been all over the school. Everyone’s talking about it.”

I wasn’t worried in the slightest. Even if they dug up these bodies, the fish would have eaten all the evidence away. My only concern was…have Raven and Aspen been down there long enough for that?

“Who are they?” Collin blurted, barely holding it together.

She shrugged. “They haven’t been identified yet. I think they’re making an official announcement on Monday in the assembly.”

“What made them want to randomly search the lake?” Hunter chimed in; his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

“It wasn’t exactly random. Someone tipped them off and told them there were man-eating fish in there.”

The only people who knew about the fish were the ones who were eaten by them, us, Rocky, and Jax. All I saw was red. The fire began in the pit of my stomach and traveled through my body until I was consumed by it. First, he beats the shit out of Collin and then snitches. He was done being let off the hook.

The rest of the walk to the cafeteria was silent as we mulled over what we’d just been told. Soon enough, the entire school would know that Aspen and Raven were dead. The other bodies probably wouldn’t even be identifiable at this point. It didn’t matter though; it was unlikely that any of it would point back to us.

Once we made it to our table, Foster and Hunter helped Collin sit down while the rest of us went and grabbed food. When we made it back, I slipped into the seat next to Fosterwith Hunter on my other side. Madison made sure to save a seat beside herboyfriendbefore any of us had the opportunity to take it for ourselves.

Across the room, my eyes zeroed in on Gia who seemed more content lately now that she had Jax keeping her distracted. The two of them sat in a booth across from one another laughing over something I couldn’t even understand. At least he’d keep her out of our hair for a while.

“So, since I’m student body president, I’m in charge of organizing dances, parties, and other events,” Madison began. “I was thinking that it would be cool to have the perspectives of the most popular guys in school. Are you guys in?”

An involuntary snort slipped past my defenses, and I rolled my eyes. “None of us give a shit about some pointless dance or whatever the hell you’re going on about.”

The guys nodded in agreement, strengthening my claim. The last party we attended ended in murder. I was surprised they were doing any kind of event after that.

Madison huffed, annoyance flashing across her face. “It’s for the winter formal,” she argued. “There will be presents, games, dancing, all kinds of things. You can’t bail on Christmas.”

“Presents?” Hunter repeated with a snort of his own. “From who? Because most of our families don’t give a shit about us.”

“Some of the games involve gift giving. Plus, the staff is chipping in.”

Weird. They’ve never done this before. I’d be going regardless, because it’s the one time of year I would actually get to see my family. I’ve kept in contact with them here and there, but talking to them was difficult at times. It always made Shasta break down in tears, so I didn’t call as frequently as I’d like to.

While I was demented to my core, my family was one thing I cherished. My parents weren’t perfect, but they always triedtheir best. Unfortunately, even despite that, it didn’t stop my urges.

“So, are you guys in or not?” Madison repeated, clearly refusing to let it go.

“Fuck it,” I decided. “We’re in.” My gaze dropped to my tray, an assortment of vegetables staring back at me. Plucking a carrot from it, I plopped it in my mouth.

When I looked back up, all the guys were staring at me with dumbfounded expressions.

“You’re not serious,” Hunter growled, an annoyed bite to his tone. “You do realize that we’ll be helping decorate and plan this damn thing, right? Not to mention, Jessica is also part of it.”

I shrugged. Hunter’s girl issues were the least of my problems. He had to face her at some point. While Jessica might have been a huge pain in the ass and could do a lot of damage to those who pissed her off, there was no way she could touch us. I’d pluck her teeth from her pretty little head if she even tried some stupid shit on us.

Madison shifted uncomfortably from Collin’s side. A clear indicator that Jessica probably wasn’t too happy with her newest ex-boyfriend.

“Where’s Rocky headed to now?” Foster chipped in, his gaze pinned to the boy in question who was striding through the cafeteria like his ass was on fire.

“See you guys in third.” I winked, pulling myself to my feet.

The room was loud as I made my way through it, my eyes never straying from the brown-headed boy pushing himself through the front doors of the cafeteria. Just as he stepped outside, he turned. Almost like he was afraid someone was watching him.

Rocky’s gaze swept right through me—a large pole blocking his view, making me invisible. Seemingly satisfied, he turned on his heels and disappeared.

A slow smile stretched across my face. There was no telling what he was up to, but it was obviously something he wanted to keep on the low. I intended on finding out exactly what he was hiding. It could be nothing, but something was telling me that wasn’t the case.

Quickening my pace, I made my way outside. The cold air was ice against my skin, sending shivers tracking down my spine. The air was so thick with the cold that my breath formed a cloud of smoke.

---