Page 19 of Iced Out
“Oh my God. One time I bomb, and you never let me live it down.”
“Math goddess, huh?” I deadpanned. “Bold title.”
Another silence stretched, but this one felt... easier. Less jagged. And I breathed easier. Guess we weren’t going to hash things out. I was okay with that too, so long as she decided she still wanted to be my friend—because I needed one.
“I didn’t expect you to actually show up,” I said after a beat,my voice softer than I meant it to be.
“I didn’t expect you to actually come back,” she fired. “But here we are.”
“It’s not like I had a choice,” I muttered,regret swarming me until tears pricked my eyes. I blinked them back, spinning my pencil between tense fingers. “It wasn’t that simple.”
She studied me,blue eyes narrowed, unreadable. “It never is with you.”
We dropped back into the textbook, the silence between us filled with soft page turns and half-mumbled notes. It was familiar—unsettlingly so, a friendship put in storage and shoved back into the light.Maybe it still meant something. Maybe I was stupid enough to hope it did.
A few problems later, Avery took a swig from her water bottle, and her voice changed—quieter now. Cautious.
“You’re not the only one Elise is gunning for, you know.” She shifted, her face tightening. “I didn’t really want to get into this, but I feel like you should know. She’s got it bad for you, and that’s not good.” She paused. “When you were gone last year, Rachel Lewinsky told some friends she liked Luke. Thought she had a shot.”
I raised a brow. “Don’t most girls think that here?”
Avery gave a shrug, but her expression didn’t match the casualness. “Yeah, well... Elise overheard. She pretended to be Rachel’s friend for weeks before she went full DEFCON 1. Pulled her close, made her feel like she finally belonged. Even set her up to accidentally run into Luke between classes, made it look like he might be interested. Then Elise twisted things, humiliated her in front of everyone. Bullied her hard. Told her to go kill herself.”
My blood iced. “Wait—she actually said that?” That wasn’t something to mess around with. Words had power. It wasn’t possible to know if someone was on the ledge or not. Plentyof people faked being okay. One line like that could push them over.
Avery nodded. “Rachel tried. OD’d. Her mom found her before it was too late.”
Silence cracked between us.My throat locked up. “Jesus.”
“Yeah. Elise is a piece of work.” Avery’s eyes misted over. “But you want to know what happened to her?”
“I’m guessing nothing.” Elise had money. Her dad ran Dunn Industries—one of the only companies in town that could rival King Enterprises.
“Not a damn thing. Rachel’s family was offered hush money—and a threat. Either take it and move away, or stay and never work in this town again.”
“Elise did that?”
“Her dad did. Protected her. Like always.”
I studied Avery. The way her shoulders curled inward. “What did she do to you?”
Her breath hitched. Eyes wide. “Nothing really,” she denied too fast. “Just... after you left, she harassed me. I didn’t handle it well.”
I reached across the table, covered her hand. “Aves. I’m so sorry. I would’ve reached out if I could. But my mom—there were reasons. I didn’t even tell Luke.”
She pulled her hand back. “It’s okay. I mean it. But you can’t tell anyone what I said.”
“Not even your brother?”
“No.” Her voice hardened. “Chase thinks it was some guy who messed with me. And yeah, he was pissed you bailed on us too.”
That didn’t sound right. The guys—they never would’ve let that go. “They would’ve pushed harder if they thought it was a guy.”
“I stonewalled them. I didn’t want them fighting my battles. Eventually, they stopped asking. But now Chase goes full attack dog on anyone who looks at me.” She gave a dry laugh. “Might’ve been a mistake.”
“You ever gonna tell him?”
She straightened. “No. I’m allowed to have secrets from my twin and his pack of wolves. Just... watch your back. Elise is vicious. And when it comes to Luke?”
