Page 13 of Beneath the Surface

“Forget about it,” Micah said as he put a hand behind my back, trying to get us to turn around.

Cruz took a step toward him. Micah seemed as nervous as I felt by the action, but he didn’t flinch away from him. Cruz didn’t bother to look at any of us—his gaze was on Micah, and Micah only.

I wasn’t the only one wary of his actions. Grayson’s jaw clenched, but like me, he didn’t try to fight Micah’s battles.

Cruz looked Micah up and down, then smirked at him.

“What? You got tired of frolicking around on the other side of town, and now you want to run back to Daddy?”

“What the hell is your problem?” I snapped.

I could feel Micah’s fingers dig into my side as a warning.

Cruz might go to school with us, but he wasn’t one of us. That much was clear. How did that saying go? Two could keep a secret if one of them was dead. The unknown variable here was Cruz Martinez.

Cruz didn’t turn his profile toward me. He just craned his neck and did the same thing as he did to Micah. The way his eyes roamed over me was almost predatory, like a hunter playing with its food right before it tore it to shreds.

“My problem, princess, is that you all made up your fucking minds the moment you saw me. You just came here to try and ease your own guilt.”

Rage and shame coursed through my body. I loathed the way he spat the nickname. The way his eyes saw right through me and dismissed me.

“Back off, Martinez.”

Grayson had enough. He put his arm in between Cruz and Micah and then forced him to step back from us.

Cruz didn’t seem intimidated by Grayson’s actions. His chuckle made goosebumps spread through my body.

“Protecting your girlfriend?” He raised a brow at Gray. “Or boyfriend.”

Micah’s cheeks instantly flushed at the word, and that was what made Grayson snap. Both he and Cruz started to go at it. Fists started flying, and both their bodies became a blur. I took a step forward, stupidly thinking I should stop it, but hands on my hips stopped me.

“Stop, you’ll only get hurt,” Micah warned me. His soft command in my ear caused shivers to spread down my body.

He was right, but it still aggravated my nerves. Mostly because this was not what we came for. Boys and their stupid fucking egos.

The fight would have probably kept going on if several people hadn’t begun to shout.

“Fuck,” Micah swore, and I shared the sentiment.

“Cops are coming,” someone yelled at us as they passed by.

He was the first of many because then a stampede of people started to rush their way toward us.

“We have to get out of here,” I hissed in full panic mode.

If I got caught here, my skating days would be over.

Fuck.

We would all be fucked.

Grayson would be kicked out of the team, and Micah would not be allowed to publish for the school—not to mention Micah’s dad would have both their heads as coach and father.

My heart began to beat faster at the stark reality of the consequences catching up to me. This little event seemed so singular, but it led down to a dark path. Trying to ignore what had happened last summer would no longer be a viable option.

Hell broke loose when your coping mechanism failed you.

“We have to get out of here.”

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