Page 9 of Wolf

We’ve avoided speaking about her predicament and my adventure, but I’ve been consumed by thoughts of Wolf.

Up close he was more potent than I could’ve imagined but I’m left cold in the wake of his attitude. Which is laughable becausehe’s a big bad biker. He was hardly going to spout sonnets when he met me.

Still, I can’t erase the vision of his pretty eyes staring at me curiously before he learned who I was, and it all fell flat.

Unfortunately, I’m reminded of Darcy’s cruelty when I spy her in the school lot and the knot on my forehead, explained away as a clumsy accident, throbs at her presence.

Rachel chatters beside me but all I can focus on is the witch who humiliated me in front of half the school. All of which follows me through the halls throughout the day.

By the time my last class rolls around, I’m exhausted, and no one has even said anything to my face. But I hear the whispers and surprisingly, rage grows for the girl who thought to bring me down.

She’s not in any of my classes because she failed most of them. I’m grateful for the reprieve, until I exit and spy her leaning against a locker, staring at her phone.

Although I’d like to tell her exactly what I think of her, I’m no match for the scrappy girl who’s been defending her reputation since Daddy ruined it.

Sliding away, I hope to avoid her, but she must sense my presence, like all predators do because her head pops up and she meets my gaze across the assembly line of students heading for the parking lot.

She smiles, flipping her dark hair and I frown before following the tide. But I know she’s behind me, and I pause before the exit hoping to keep this from Rachel.

She’d no doubt go straight home and tell Mama, a circumstance I don’t want to entertain and sends a shudder through me that I hope Darcy doesn’t see.

“What?” I ask when she stops before me.

She glances down at my skirt and button-up shirt with a smirk. “Back to hiding?”

“Hiding what?”

“Behind your Daddy’s so-called religion.”

“I don't know what you’re talking about,” I say, glancing out the doors.

Rachel is waiting by the fountain and it’s only a matter of time before she comes looking for me.

“Here’s the thing,” she says, leaning against the wall beside me. “Your daddy’s a hypocrite and you are too.”

“Oh?” I lick my lips and dip my head.

“Yes, because dear ol’ Daddy is fucking Janice DuPont and you’re parading around like the whore I supposedly am.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Janice who? No way. Daddy would never…

She cocks her head to the side. “Didn’t you know?”

When I stare at her with wide eyes she chuckles. “You didn’t. Cute.”

“That’s not true,” I say, rubbing my burning sternum. It can’t be true. Can it…?

“Yes, it is. I can prove it.”

“How?”

“Friday after school. Ditch your sister and I’ll show you.”

Chapter 3

Lilli

When Friday rolls around, I’m resolved. Darcy is messing with me, and I’ll politely decline her invitation, but when she passes through the crowd with a smile, the answer dies on my lips.

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