Page 79 of Vile Boys

Penelope: Aw … I miss u!

Crystal: How about tomorrow?

Penelope: Perfect! I’ll ask the boys too.

Crystal: Cool, see you tomorrow!

I click away the convo and eye my study books, but then my phone buzzes again. I’m starting to wonder if she just needs someone to chat with.

But when I see the text, my face turns white.

Anonymous: You shouldn’t have come close.

Me: Who is this?

Anonymous: I want you to pay for what you did.

Panic sweeps me up.

Me: WTF?! I didn’t do anything.

Anonymous: Then why were you there, watching us kill?

Oh shit. It’s them.

Me: Whichever Tartarus guy this is, leave me alone.

Anonymous: Like you left us alone? No. You will pay.

My heart’s beating faster and faster.

Me: For what?!

Anonymous: Think. Think hard, because you won’t get another chance.

Me: This isn’t funny.

Anonymous: It wasn’t meant as a joke.

I suck in a breath through my teeth before I edit the anonymous number and add a nickname. This has to be Caleb. He’s the only one who stole my number when he got ahold of my phone.

Crystal: I’ll block you if you don’t stop.

Prick: Try it. See if it works out well for you.

He’s threatening me? That motherfucker…

My finger hovers over the block button, ready to push. But I don’t know if I have the balls to actually go through with it. They’ve already warned me not to, and I know they’re not the kind of men to mess with.

Me: What do you want?

Prick: Those pretty lips … begging for mercy.

I swallow back the lump in my throat.

Me: Don’t. Don’t fuck with me.

Prick: Or what? Will you tell your friends? Go ahead. Tell them where we are. We’ll be waiting …

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