Page 200 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

I can’t handle this kind of shit. The last thing I want is people treating me different, but holy crap, what happened to just treating someone normally? I’ve never felt this out of place in my life. It’s like I have this massive target painted on my back.

And why? Because I got pissed off that Prince—Prince?—Briar tried to get with me last night in the middle of the woods? That I don’t feel he should be allowed to get away with behavior like that?

I want to fight. I so desperatelyneedto fight, but I’ve got no energy left.

“Got it,” I mutter. “Now tell me what the hell?—”

“Later. I have to get to homeroom.” Addison spins away from me, and I glimpse moisture glimmering on her lashes before she strides away.

My back thumps into the wall behind me. I stiffen my legs just in time before I can slide down and sit on the floor like an idiot.

I let out a soft laugh, and run my hands over my face.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Briar

“The fuck was that?” Marcus says.

I glance at him, and force my shoulders to relax. “The new girl, I guess.”

“Yeah, but why was she saying all that shit?”

I can’t look at Marcus. I already feel Dylan and Zak’s eyes boring into me, demanding answers. I don’t have their fucking answers. Not back then, not now.

“You saw who she was with,” I snap, facing him in a rush. “Addison wasted no time.”

“Fuck,” Marcus mutters, hitting his vape. “Could be bad for you, mate.”

“Yeah, no shit.” I grind my teeth, staring back at the school building and wishing I could see through the walls.

Of course this is bad. Far from being afraid of me, it looks like this girl—Indi?—wants to rat me out for what happened lastnight. And it would be my fault, of course. Doesn’t matter I was protecting my property against a trespasser.

I lost control, just like before, and now I’m stuck with the consequences…just like before.

Marcus moves in my peripheries, and I start nodding my head. If it weren’t for him, I’d be in juvie, no doubt. Maybe even prison, charged as an adult instead of a minor, who the fuck knows?

I click my fingers for his vape. He hands it over, but even after what he just witnessed, I can see he’s distracted. Probably wondering how long he has to stay at my house to avoid his father. Or rehashing whatever led to last night’s beating.

“Thing is,” I say slowly, before taking a tug. When I speak, my words escape with faint puffs of vapor. “She wouldn’t be a problem if she’s not going to school here anymore.”

Marcus’s eyes dart to me. He smiles, but the gesture lacks any real mirth. “Gonna take a lot for her to quit. Especially if her folks are hard set against her going to public school.”

Lavish was so small, it only had two high schools—Lavish High and Lavish Preparatory School. The high school was probably just as good, education wise, but public schools in Fool’s Gold have a hectic stigma attached to them.

“Far as I recall, we can be a tenacious fucking bunch,” I say, sweeping my arm out to include Dylan and Zak. They chuckle to themselves, Zak elbowing Dylan in the side as if they’re sharing a private joke. “And honestly, I think she’s all bark and no bite.”

Marcus nods, and focuses to the distant horizon. Hopefully to start planning the imminent demise of one Indi Virgo.

And thank fuck for that. Using Indi as a distraction would be the best way to get him out of his slump. And it’d make my life a fuck ton easier if she wasn’t around as a constant reminder of just how little it takes for me to lose control.

“Think she’s really a virgin?”

I snap out of my thoughts and frown at Marcus. He’s wearing a strangely thoughtful expression, as if he’s genuinely curious.

“Fucked if I know.”

From what I saw last night? It’s possible. But she’s way too fucking beautiful to have not been a target of every single teenage boy in whatever high school she came from.

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