Page 73 of My Brother's Best Friend

Once I made it to the first floor, I pulled out my phone.

Me: You’d better be at lunch today, Cupcake.

Maddie: I will be. ??

Maddie: I talked to Sandra today.

My eyes widened slightly.She talked to Sandra? About what I told her?I balled my hands into fists and hoped that Sandra had actually been honest with her and hadn’t lied to get underneath Maddie’s skin.

Me: And?

Maddie: I still don’t trust her, but she admitted to what you’d told me.

After blowing out a breath, I relaxed my shoulders and turned down the hallway to the cafeteria.

Before I could even walk into the cafeteria, someone grabbed the back of my jacket from behind and slammed me up against the lockers.

“You like to take it from the back, like your daddy?” Carter, the asshole, asked.

I shoved myself off the lockers and turned around, catching a glimpse of the dean standing down the hallway.Fuck.

She had her arms crossed, waiting—just fuckingwaiting—for me to fight back so she could give me the detention that I had gotten out of yesterday. I didn’t know why the entire world was against me this year.

Balling my hands into fists, I stepped toward him. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

“Or what’re you going to do? Go tell your daddy?” He curled his lips into a menacing scowl. “He’ll take my side, just like your mommy took Oliver’s yesterday after you got sent to the office for fighting him.”

My fists ached to plow right into that shit-eating grin. “The fuck does that mean?”

“Come on,” he taunted. “You’re smart, right? You can figure it out.”

“Did Oliver—that fucking asshole—put you up to this?” I growled.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Oliver had fed Carter all these fucking lies, hoping that I’d slam my fist into Carter’s face and get suspended for it, hoping that Coach would sit me out these next few games and that my career would be over before it even started.

“Didn’t have to.” He chuckled. “I don’t need his parents’ money.”

“Then, why the fuck are you here?”

“Because if you tell anyone what you saw last night, I’m going to ripyoua new one.”

Standing inches from me, the quarterback of the football team crossed his arms. It took everything inside me not to shove my hands into his chest and push him away, but I could still fucking see the dean watching us.

“Get the fuck out of my face, Carter,” I said between gritted teeth.

The dean and Coach had said not to fight on school property, but if I saw this asshole anywhere else in Redwood, then it would be fair game. I would shove my foot so deep into his ass that hewouldn’tenjoy it.

After glaring at me for another moment, he knocked me against the lockers once more and headed into the cafeteria. I pushed myself off the lockers and readjusted my jacket, glancing toward the dean. She grimaced and walked into her office.

A low growl escaped my throat, and I balled my hands into fists.

The fuck was he even trying to insinuate about my mother defending Oliver yesterday?

My stomach twisted into a knot, fury building even higher inside me.

It’d better not mean what I think it means.

Or all hell would break loose.

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