Page 37 of Paper Thin Love

Dash pushes to stand, and then the most bizarre thing happens. He and Dante hug.

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Chapter 14

Mila

“You keep your necks turned towards us any longer, and I’ll twist them all the way around,” Cillian shouts, sounding like thunder as he orders the rest of the cafeteria to stop watching us. You can hear the wind created by everyone quickly turning their gazes away.

Dante and Dash mutter as they smile and grin at each other. Then I feel it—cold eyes on me. I look up to see Cillian slowly sinking into his chair. It’s comical because once he’s seated, his muscular body covers the chair entirely.

“Mila,” he nods his head. He knows my name! Of course he does.

What do I say?

Dash and Dante both sit back down.“She looks pale,” Dante remarks as he grabs his fork and knife and begins to eat.

Dash looks down at me.“I told you to trust me.”

The nerve! My lungs deflate. I’m not going to die today, that is.“You know them!” I fume.

“You said it yourself,” Dash answers.“everyone knows them.” He grabs another fry and slowly chews it.

I exhale steam.“You are friends with them!” I correct.

Dash looks at them, then nods.“You could say that.”

I grip the edge of the table, then push to stand.“Fuck you,” I spit. This is just another round of his twisted, fucked-up mind games.

Dash smirks.

I turn to leave.

“I’ll see you at dinner,” He says in his commanding tone.

I snap. Holding up my middle finger, I hear gasps echo through the lunchroom.

Then I just lose it. Dash King broke me in under two hours.

“What the fuck are you all looking at? Eat your goddamn lunch while you can because those fuckers are either going to kill you in The Cleansing or fuck with your mind before we get to Friday!” I shout, stomping through the tables. My voice echoes off the walls, the shockwave of my outburst rippling through the room.

My god! I’ve lost my mind and filter. There’s no turning back now.

Leo Mathers doubles over laughing, blocking my path. His laughter feels like a slap in the face.

“Shut up, Leo!” I growl, my fists clenched at my sides, trembling with rage.

“Make me,” he challenges, still snickering.

I ball my fist, ready to swing, but a chair screeches violently across the floor.“She said shut the fuck up and eat!” Cillian roars, his voice so loud the chandeliers above shake, adding a thrumming jingle to his warning. I glance over my shoulder, confused as to why he’s aiding me, but also thankful for his intervention.

In the blink of an eye, the room goes silent. The only sounds are the grasping of utensils and the chewing of food.

Acknowledging that my deeds have associated me with Dash, Dante, and Cillian, I take a deep breath to compose myself. They are all watching me as I walk past them, wondering about the new dynamic that has just arrived at school and how I was granted access to the three most deadly men on campus.

My rant is sure to go down in the history books here. Believe it or not, people snap all the time at Silverstone. Kerri Sanders found out Luke Adams was cheating on her with his best friend, who was a guy. That was an epic showdown. But my meltdown might just come in a close second.

I don’t look back at them. Instead, I flee from the cafeteria, feeling the fire of my rage licking at my heels.

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