Page 39 of Twisted Legacy

The tightness in my chest eases and I loosen my grip on my book as I realize no one will be sitting directly behind me.

I don’t know why Holden changed his seat, but his need to have space around him works out in my favor. For the first time since coming back to school, I’m not struggling to focus on the lesson.

When class ends, I wait in my seat for the rush of students to stampede towards the door. After a few minutes, I notice they’re still avoiding this aisle because Holden’s feet are back in the way. I pack my stuff and stand. If he thinks I’m taking the long way around, he’s not as smart as I think he is. As soon as I’m out of my chair, he tucks his feet in, letting me by. Seconds later I hear books drop again and Holden says, “What part of this don’t you get? While I’m in this seat, this aisle is off limits.”

The deep treble of his voice sounds scratchy. A reminder that he rarely uses it. I steal a glance at him. The only times I’ve heard him talk are when I shared his workbook in class, the night he came to my room with Finn and freaked out on me, and the night in the hallway when he said I should leave school.

And I’ve never seen him talk to anyone other than Pax and Finn. Stormy eyes look back at me from under the brim of his baseball cap. A weird spark unfurls in my belly.

“Thea, you ready?” Austin asks, coming to stand beside me.

I nod and follow him out the door, trying to pay attention to what he’s saying about his dad’s football team and the latest trade rumors.

I’ve made it through back-to-back classes for the first time since I came back to campus. I only heard half of what the teacher said, but I sat through the entire lecture, so I call it a win. Now, I’m dealing with the lunch crowd at The Rock.

LJ worries her bottom lip, then asks, “Is it me or is The Trium acting weird?”

I look behind me to where Holden is holding up the lunch line, refusing to move or let anyone get in front of him. “They’re doing their usual asshole routine. It would be weirder if they weren’t.” I’m just glad LJ and I got here before he did.

“I wonder why they changed their meal hours.”

I hadn’t given it much thought. LJ and I changed the times we eat to lessen my exposure to large crowds. But she’s right, it looks like a little more than half of the legacy tables switched their meal hours too. “Probably needed new people to boss around. The old ones might be on the verge of a revolt.”

It makes me smile to think people might be pushing back against them. We grab our food and as we pass Holden, I raise my fist in the air and say, “viva la revolucion!”

LJ and I crack up as we slide into our seats, and Holden decides he’s done being a premier Coxsucker, and goes to his table. He shoves his face in a book as soon as his ass hits the seat.

Chomping on a fry, I say, “See. That’s that bullshit, right there. He didn’t even get any food. He just stood there holding up the line to amuse himself.”

The sound of something rolling across the floor snags my attention. One of the maintenance workers sets up a partition right behind me, blocking my back from the line. I relax my posture since there’s something protecting my back. Too bad they’ll probably move it before the next meal and I’ll be on high alert again.

There’s a free table against the back wall, but this one still has the best view and escape route. Plus, I’d hate to ask LJ to move just because I’ve lost my edge. My gaze drifts over to The Trium table. They’re number one on my suspect list. They didn’t mince any words when they told me they wanted me gone. Who’s to say my attack wasn’t the way they tried to make that happen?

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my too fast heart. The idea of a confrontation puts me on edge. This is why I need Wolfe to let me train. I can’t keep walking around skittish like this. I have to be prepared in case they start their shit up again.

Going by the way they keep looking at me; that could be any day now.

Chapter25

Holden

Istudy the security footage looking for blind spots on campus that need to be addressed. I’m not interested in the ones people use for getting high or fucking. Just the ones where Thea might feel cornered or triggered. She’s trying to hide how bad her anxiety is. She’s tensing up and trying not to freak out when people get too close or when her back is exposed.

I heard her talking shit about me in the dining hall. She thinks I’m just throwing my weight around. She’s wrong, but I’m happy to let her think what she wants, because I doubt she’d be receptive to the idea of me running interference so she’ll feel safe.

Finn told us all about her reaction when he tried to help her at the dorms. She’s proud and stubborn, and I don’t want to take that from her, especially since I know she’s barely sleeping. She spends her nights sitting with her back braced against her bedroom door.

I know better than anyone how it feels to need to avoid your dreams. When my body takes over and forces me to sleep, I crash so hard it’s difficult to wake me. In that state, I’m stuck in my dreams, and slow to react to outside stimuli. I don’t want that for Thea.

When I feel my body finally shutting down, I let Pax and Finn know and one of them will come grab me if anything important comes up. I don’t know if Thea has someone she trusts like that in her life, and I can’t very well ask her. That would alert her to what I’m doing at night and I’m not ready for her to knowyet.

I click my mouse, zooming in on another camera over by the treeline near the stadium. It’s a few feet from the spot where she was standing the other morning. She’s done more than change her meal hours. She’s switched up all her routines, and avoids the woods.

My father doesn’t know much about what happened, but he shared someone found Thea in the cemetery and she doesn’t remember the details of what happened to her. The cemetery is in the opposite direction from where she was heading when I chased her. That means she either doubled back or someone took her there after her attack.

Her aversion to the one place she loved so much tells me whatever happened went down in or around those woods. I just need to figure out where. And once I get a clearer picture of what happened, I’m gonna push her to confront her fears.

It won’t be easy and will require her unwilling participation. I expect a bunch of cursing, yelling and tears. But when I’m done with Thea, she’ll be stronger than before.

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