Page 350 of Vicious Saint
“And isn’tyourdad an attorney?”
“He is.” Archer’s tight turns to grit.
“So how the hell is he gonna manage that?”
“Anyone can run, Jimi,” Saint comments, unbothered as he sneaks a damn hand under my skirt.
Guess our little talk about the state of my asshole helped.
Which, by the way, has had me leaning on one side the entire time we’ve been in the classroom. That, plus the look of constipation Archer insinuated earlier, definitely has a poll going on whether or not I’m about to shit myself.
So, no, Saint Matthias Lavell, you cannot finger fuck me right now.
For the benefit of discretion, I pump the brakes on Saint’s hand by flipping the backwards hat off his head. Then, as he’s scrambling to catch it, I tell him, “I know, stupid. I meant with his career and shit.”
“The fuck, Jimi?!” He smooths the hat back on. “I just had this one cleaned.”
Ignoring Saint’s dramatics, I focus my attention on Levi. “Please tell me you heard from Riggs.”
Levi tsks.
“Well, has your father said anything?”
Levi scoffs.
“Have you tried getting into the rehab facility again?”
Levi purses his lips.
Making it abundantly clear that I amnoton the list of people he’s willing to give answers to regarding his cousin’s disappearance.
Or at least not with Archer in earshot.
Holy shit. As if the tension wasn’t already palpable between Archer and Riggs.
“What about your mom?” Theory questions, dangling her feet off the desk. “Shehasto have checked in with her sister.”
“My aunt doesn’t know shit either.”
Levi answers his best friend’s little sister.
“Just give me a few days, brother. Alright?” Saint claps Levi on the back. “I’ll hack into Safeguard’s system to see if I can find out anything.”
Levi nods, but for the rest of English, sticks mostly to himself.
The remainder of the day was spent pretty much like in English—with my crew of babysitters following me around, sparking conversations and subtle questions to confirm I wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown.
Which I got pretty close to doing during eighth period chem, the classroom being the only one in the school that offers a clear view of the parking lot.
A detail I forgot until after I sat in a seat next to the window.
My subconscious had me looking through it every few minutes, expecting to find Carlo doing his usual juggle between inspecting cars and sitting around drinking his Manhattan Specials.
The nostalgia was just for me the first few times I came up empty, but after an Escalade identical to Carlo’s pulled into the lot I nearly lost it.
A cry choked out of me, loud enough to draw eyes from everyone, and when the attention and emotions got too heavy, I ran out of the room.
The school day ended for me after that, and now it’s hours later, only Archer, Bex, and me getting some alone time in my dorm room.
