Page 41 of Wicked Ends
A: I’m done with this. I’m blocking you and putting the phone in lost and found. Keep your word. We are done.
I should have blocked him immediately, but I didn’t. Like an idiot, I waited until one more message came through.
M: No, beautiful, we’re just beginning, and know there’ll be consequences for blocking me, baby, and I’m getting hard at the thought of delivering them. The more you fight me, the more mine you become. Wait for me after practice in the lot. Tonight, like every night from now on, you’re all mine.
My pulse beating in my throat, I pressed on his number and blocked it, then powered off the phone. I stared at it like it was a sleeping snake, about to bite me. A student opened the door and froze when she found me alone in class.
“Am I too early?” she asked.
“No, you’re right on time. Come on in,” I called.
I couldn’t think about this now. I’d think about it later and figure out how the fuck I was going to put my foot down with the guy who was focused on having me at any cost.
Arianna
I went aheadand dropped the phone in the lost and found at lunchtime, avoided the cafeteria, and kept my head down. I planned to head back to the Night Owl after my last class to have an early night and freak out in private, my senses on high alert. I hadn’t heard from Marcus all day, but his threat about consequences was far from forgotten.
However, my plans were ruined when I made to sneak past the staff room and Wade caught sight of me and called me in. There were more teachers than usual inside, and someone was cutting a cake.
“It’s Sally’s birthday,” Wade said, gesturing to a woman I didn’t recognize.
She was handing out cake with a wide smile. Sally? Kenna had mentioned her before.
“Cake?” She reached me and Wade last.
I took the plate from her with a smile. “Happy birthday!”
“I heard we’re nearly birthday twins… yours was last week, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Oh, we have ways of knowing everything about everyone in Hade Harbor,” she laughed, goosebumps sprouting up my arms.
“Kidding! I work in the admin office, and when Kenna was inputting your info in our system, I saw your birthday. We aren’t very high-tech around here. Lots of manual data entry. Any friend of Kenna’s is a friend of mine!”
“Oh! Well, likewise.”
She snorted. “She’s the best, except for the fact that she’s on a blind date tonight and not here for my birthday. If she didn’t need to get laid so bad, I’d have given her a harder time about it.” Sally clapped; something seemed to occur to her.
“Oh! By the way, I know Dean Eastwood is going to ask you to perform at the music department showcase tomorrow, FYI, and he doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Wow, I might have to actually go to that assembly, in that case,” Wade joined in. “I’d love to hear you play.”
I gave him a tight smile. I hadn’t performed in front of a roomful of people in a long time. A very, very long time.
“So, you’re coming out tonight, right? Us younger and less stuffy staff members have to stick together.”
“What?”
Sally grinned. “It’s my birthday. Cake in the staffroom is for the oldies. Everyone with a pulse is heading out for drinks and dinner on Dean Eastwood and then karaoke.”
“Karaoke?” I squeaked. Karaoke was a far cry from hiding out in my motel room and turning in early.
“Sure. Hey, maybe there’ll be a keyboard and we can hear you play!”
“I’m not sure. Honestly, I was planning on crashing…” I started.
Wade scoffed. “You’re new to town. You want to grab an opportunity to make some friends and have a social life, don’t you?”
