Page 123 of Snake

Eliza

Ilet out a small sigh when Cinderhart Academy’s barn roof appears through the trees. Today’s outride was so relaxing, I didn’t want it to end. But good things never last, do they?I lean forward to stroke Moxie’s mane, my mouth thinning at the sour thought as we descend. Our path takes a gentle curve through the paper birch trees that forest this region of the Littlerock Mountains. Beautiful as it is, it’s not the scenery I’m after. Out here in the quiet, away from the Academy, is the only place I can clear my head. I used to come out here all the time before Knox started hogging the outride schedule.

Selfish prick.

Nim Winters has been keeping Knox and his friends busy the past few weeks, but that’s bound to change. And when it does, Knox will come out here again, and I’ll have to find some other way to destress. I huff out a hard breath as I feel tension worms its way back into my shoulder blades. What’s the point of a relaxing ride if I’ve undone all its benefits before I dismount?

My mouth twists.

Knox. Mason. Silas. Nim.

I’m not an idiot. Hating her is irrational, I recognize that. She’s never actually done anything to me. But it’s not about her. It never has been.Before she arrived, I could bear living on the same campus with the Serpents. I ignored them. They ignored me.

We arrived here as freshmen. This was our last year together. In a few months, I’ll be free. I’ll never have to look at Knox’s smug face and instantly think of Amy. Of how he’d make her laugh.

How much she loved him.

Instead of ignoring them for the rest of the year, it’s like I see them everywhere. He’s rubbing his relationship with Nim in my face. Which made me realize just how little he actually cared for Amy. That’s why he never looked guilty after she disappeared. Because she meant nothing to him. I don’t know what he was using her for. Maybe the sex was fantastic, but he didn’t love her nearly as much as she loved him.

I tried to warn her about him, but Amy was smitten with that smirking prick. And somehow I got swept up in their romance. It was all so easy...so picture perfect.That’s why I began dating Mason. The four of us, my God, we were like something out of a movie. Heads would turn when we walked the halls of Cinderhart High. People loved us. People wanted to be us.

But Amy was the glue that held it all together. When she disappeared, everything fell apart.

My life disintegrated.

Whenever I see Nim Winters with the Serpents, how everyone turns to look at them, it reminds me of what I lost. Of what I had. So yeah, I lost it. I wanted to hurt her like she hurt me every single fucking day with her insufferably kind eyes. But just like everything I try to do after Amy disappeared…my plan backfired.

Now I don’t know what I hate about Nim more. That she looks even better with shorter hair, or that she came to forgive me the other day.

Forgive me?!

What a fucking joke.

It’s all a joke.

This academy, the students, this fucking town. I love Cinderhart with every fiber of my being...but it’s turning against me.So what the hell am I fighting for? Why the fuck do I try so hard to be perfect and—

A twig snaps behind me.

My heart gives an uneasy pulse inside my chest as I spin around in my saddle, drawing Moxie up with a sharp tug on the reins. The mare flicks her head, annoyed with my aggressive cues, but the animal knows who’s in charge...and it’s not her.It’s another reason I haven’t gone on outrides as much as I used to. The last time I wanted to, Knox had booked out Moxie for him and Nim. God, that infuriated me.

There’s nothing behind me. It was probably just a squirrel or something.I spur Moxie on with a kick in the guts, the horse dancing forward with a whicker.

“Yeah, I’m not in a good mood either anymore,” I mutter to her.“Sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”

We’re a few hundred yards away from the barn when someone lunges out from behind a tree and grabs my horse’s bridle, bringing us to a halt. I don’t know who’s more surprised, Moxie or me. My heart leaps into my throat as I stare down at the tall, broad-shouldered boy keeping us in place.

“Morning, Miss Jackson,” comes a deep, grating voice.

It’s hard to tell with the baseball cap rammed so low on his head, but this isn’t a boy. He’s got at least four or five years on me.

“Let go of my horse!” I tug on Moxie’s reins, but it’s useless. Either this guy got lucky, or he’s educated enough about horses to know that he’s in control now.

“Last time I checked, this is the Academy’s horse,” he says, grinning at me from around a matchstick.

A matchstick? Where the hell did this hick come from?

“Who are you? What are you doing out here?”

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