Page 144 of The Obedient Lie
He laughed under his breath. “That perfect little princess—Adams royalty, dynasty daughter—and she actually said it out loud. Said she wasn’t takingone dickbuttwo.”
The air snapped in my chest.
“What did you just say?” I asked slowly, carefully. My voice already tightening.
Aaron held his hands up, still grinning like this was some goddamn locker room joke. “Relax. I’m just saying—what I heard in the dinning hall. She was asked if she was, y’know, seeingeitherof you. The guy was joking, I think. Trying to get a rise out of her.”
I said nothing.
Aaron leaned in slightly. “But she didn’t laugh. Didn’t even blink. Just looked himdead in the eyeand said she was withyou and your twin brother.”
My jaw ticked.
“I mean—fuck, that’s wild, man. Shechosethat. Said it like she meant it. Hell, I’m just trying to figure out how that evenworks.” He chuckled and added, “Do you flip a coin or?—?”
I dropped the water bottle.
Didn’t say a word. Didn’t swing either. Just stared through him until he finally backed off.
“Shit, alright. Damn. No offense, man,” Aaron muttered, stepping away.
But I wasn’t listening anymore.
Because my heart was hammering in my chest.
Not from rage.
Not entirely.
But from the thing under it. That low, twistedpullI hadn’t ever felt. That fuckinghope.
She said it.
She said itout loud.
No shame. No secrets. Sheclaimed us. Publicly. Atschool.
I couldn’t breathe.
I didn’t stop for a shower.
Didn’t stop for my gear.
Didn’t stop when Coach yelled after me.
I just walked.
Straight off the field, across the quad. The rage had cooled into something hotter, lower, more dangerous.Mine.She said it out loud.
And now I needed her to see what that did to me.
The moment I stepped into the dining hall, the buzz changed.
They always knew when a Crow entered.
We moved different.
Spoke different.
