Page 43 of Wolf

“You get my sister messed up in this and you die.”

He doesn’t respond and as I start my bike, rev the motor, and take off, I glance in the rearview mirror. The curtains in the cute little farmhouse house twitch and I shake my head.

I guess Rose was there after all.

Chapter 12

Lilli

The following week I trudge into school with a headache. I brooded the whole weekend before letting it go. Wolf isn’t interested, and I’m being foolish in my conquest. It’s time I moved on because my heart hurts bad enough as it is.

I haven’t seen Darcy since the blowout at the field, which means I haven’t confessed the sad news about her shoes. I assume she’s skipping today and glumly I follow my classmates into the auditorium for a last-minute assembly.

While the principal drones on, I search the crowd, chewing my lip only to whip around when I hear someone say Darcy’s name.

“I heard she was arrested.” The whispered words send a shiver down my spine, and I turn to stare at the freshman behind me.

She shrinks under my gaze, but I ignore it and rasp, “What did you say?”

“Wh-What?” she stutters.

“About Darcy?”

Her eyes brighten and she leans forward. My stomach roils at the cloying strawberry scent clinging to her hair as she licks her lips and glances around all covert like.

My skin prickles and I clench my fingers into fists because I know that Daddy would not appreciate getting a call from the school today or any day for that matter. Especially to hear that one of his daughters punched another student in the face.

Finally, the girl says, “She was arrested. Her mama too. My dad said the sheriff went on a rampage over the weekend and he’s rounding up a buncha those bikers for prostitution too.”

Her gleeful smile blurs as the world around me fades. Are the Saints involved in prostitution?

“Is your sister really with one of those psychos?” she asks, and I look up.

“Why?”

“Cuz, my dad said he might arrest her, too. She really a prostitute, Lilli?”

Visions of the sheriff in that cruiser the other night fill my vision and black dots dance before my eyes.

Am I responsible for this? Wolf kept telling me, but I didn’t listen. What if the sheriff tells my parents? What’s going to happen to Miriam and her baby?

Standing, I ignore the students who begin to whisper and stare as I push through them, down the bleachers and toward the doors. I don’t know how my legs hold me because my limbs are numb. After pressing the bar to open the door, I rush through before staggering down the hall.

To these people, she’s the topic of nasty gossip and I’m the perfect reverend’s daughter. They don’t understand who we are and my heart burns for their stupidity.

I’m at a loss as to what to do but I’m afraid both because I know my parents are not going to take this lying down and I made trouble for my sister, Wolf, and his people for my own selfishness.

Once I’m alone in the bathroom, I approach the sink, clutching my chest and wheezing through the lump in my throat. Just a few weeks ago, I was a dull girl with a boring life. Now, everything has changed.

Darcy’s been arrested and Miriam and Wolf’s friends aren’t far behind. All I wanted was to protect my sister and now I’ve created a mess that I can’t fix.

When the door whooshes open behind me, I wipe my eyes and meet Rachel’s worried stare in the mirror. She searches my gaze before saying, “What’s wrong, Lil?”

A shiver wracks me, and I drop my chin, whispering, “I’m in trouble.”

Mama’s waiting for me when I come home. With ice in my veins, I set down my bag and pause just inside the door. She eyes me quietly while I sweat before she says, “Is it true?”

“What?” I whisper, which is foolish because Mama doesn’t like anything but complete subservience and pretending only heightens her rage.

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