Page 41 of Torment Her (Rebels at Sterling Prep 5)

Nodding, I watch as Hadley skips off down the hall toward her boyfriend.

I’m still standing here when my cell starts vibrating. For a second, hope floods my chest. Only a handful of people have my number, since the Jaggers had to get me a new phone. And seeing as Hadley was just here, and I can’t imagine Ace or Cole texting me, it can only leave one other person.

But disappointment washes over me when I see the familiar number. It’s not Conner at all, it's Shelbie, one of the only girlfriends I had at Sterling Heights.

I store her number and then re-read the message.

Shelbie: Hey, Levi gave me your new number—says he got it off Conner. What’s up with that, by the way? Anyway, I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing? I still can’t believe W did that.

Me: I’m okay. Staying in the Bay for a while, until stuff blows over. Have you seen W around?

Shelbie: No. It’s like he just vanished. Even his old man came around Joker’s asking after him.

My spine stiffens and I move down the hall, away from the stream of kids all making their way to the cafeteria.

Me: He did?

Warren’s dad is a mean drunk but spends most of his time either passed out or in his armchair watching ESPN, drinking whatever he can get his hands on. So I’m surprised to hear he’s worried about Warren.

Shelbie: I was there helping my dad out when he showed up. No one has seen or heard from Warren since New Year’s Eve.

I don’t know whether to be comforted by that fact or concerned. Her family owns Joker’s, one of the few bars in the Heights. It’s notorious for being a spot where all kinds of bad shit goes down. I’ve been there with Warren a couple of times.

Me: Okay, well if he does show up, can you let me know?

Shelbie: Of course. Stay safe, Kenny.

The fact that she isn’t pushing me for an explanation makes me wonder just how much Jay told her. I know it was him who brought me to the Jaggers’ house.

Me: Yeah, you too.

But then something hits me. Shelbie didn’t say she asked Levi for my number. She said he gave it to her.

Conner did this.

He made sure I had another friend to talk to.

Before I know what I’m doing, I double back and march toward the cafeteria. We need to talk—I need to apologize. So he kissed me? It doesn’t have to be a big deal. We were friends long before anything else.

I’m almost there when I spot him, only he isn’t alone. He’s talking to a girl, one I don’t recognize. She gazing up at him like he hung the fucking moon, and Conner is smiling back at her.

Jealousy zips through me as I watch them, coiling around my heart and turning my blood to acid. I can’t hear them from where I’m standing, but I don’t need to. Their expressions tell me everything I need to know.

Spinning on my heel, I hurry away from the cafeteria and don’t stop until I’m out of the building. The frigid air instantly hits me, making me inhale a sharp breath. But it does little to erase the image of Conner flirting with the cute blonde. She’s everything I’m not. Prim. Proper. With virgin skin and a pristine smile. Probably with a rich daddy and a trust fund that will make most people green with envy, too.

And here I was, about to apologize to him.

Maybe he’s done me a giant favor. Nothing can ever happen between me and Conner. Because too much already has.

I wasn’t enough then for him, and it looks like I’m not worth fighting for now, either.

I stand out here, in the chilly air, until lunch is over and class calls.

I tell myself I don’t need anyone.

Least of all Conner Jagger.

The next day at school, Hadley doesn’t abandon me at lunch. Instead, she invites me to sit with her, Cole, Ace, and Remi, and surprisingly, I find myself saying yes. Conner is nowhere to be seen, and neither is the girl I saw him with.

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