Page 7 of Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood 1)

She ordered her food and then walked over to the soda machine, mixing up the orange and cream sodas like a little kid. I didn't even know the school carried cream soda. The girls we hung out with were usually all about diet coke. My thoughts pittered away as I watched her take a huge gulp of her mixture, her eyes fluttering closed as if she was really enjoying herself.

I'd only known one girl who mixed her sodas like that, but...

That girl had also always been nervously tapping songs on everything, unable to control herself.

No. No fucking way. This girl looked nothing like Delilah. People grew up, but their features didn't fundamentally change. I mean, you could still tell Kim Kardashian was still Kim Kardashian as a girl, even with all the plastic surgery.

I moved out of my spot in line, as if there was a rope connecting me to this girl. I had to get closer. Some guys from the football team tried to fist bump me as I walked by, but I ignored them. I was faintly aware they were probably going to shit their pants thinking that our crew was mad at them or something, but I couldn't care less.

I stalked over until I was right behind her. I was standing way too close, creepily close if I was being honest, but societal norms had never been my thing. Not when they stood in the way of things that I wanted.

Not that I wanted that girl.

I was rambling.

I inhaled, the soft scent of coconut brushing against my nose. My cock instantly hardened. I was definitely crossing into the territory of really fucking creepy right now.

"Hey," I breathed.

The girl screeched, and I watched soda spit out of her mouth like a geyser as she jumped and looked at me.

"I'm so sorry," she said in a low, dirty voice that should be illegal for a girl that looks like her.

I searched her face without answering, trying to understand why I was so bugged right now. The blonde hair was all wrong. So were the cheekbones. The lips were a little too pouty.

I gave the girl a casual smile and then moved away, getting in a random food line and ignoring the girls in front of me who were trying to catch my eye.

The girl gave me a side glance before she ran back to the safety of her friend’s side. I watched as she tapped out a rhythm on her pants, and then she pulled on her hair three times in a nervous tic.

And with that little move, there was no denying it. Somehow, Delilah Kane was standing in this cafeteria. A ghost from my past. A devil disguised in a beautiful package.

And the only person who could tell me exactly what happened to my sister all those years ago.

* * *

Aurora

Stellan. Years have passed but I'd never forget his face. Sometimes, when things felt so terrible that I didn't know if I could stand it for one fucking minute, I'd think about him. About how normal I'd felt around him. How safe.

My heart was threatening to beat out of my chest as I surreptitiously tried to throw him side glances without him noticing. Luckily for me, the rest of the room was looking at him and his three friends, so hopefully he wouldn’t notice another pair of eyes.

I was panicking. I felt like I was going to pass out actually. Because for a second there, it almost seemed like he recognized me.

But that would be impossible, right? I mean, I didn’t even recognize me anymore. And he'd known me years ago, before I'd even matured.

He didn’t seem like he knew me. He was laughing with that redhead next to him at the sandwich line, and his eyes hadn’t once glanced my way.

"Are you okay?" Jenna asked, looking over at me, concerned, as she grabbed her chicken sandwich from the annoyed guy manning the grill station. She smirked when she saw where I kept looking.

"Stellan caught your eye already? You know, I hear he likes hot blondes, so you probably have a good chance," she teased.

I rolled my eyes and laughed nervously. "I almost spit my drink on him a moment ago. I was just checking to make sure he wasn't mad. Wouldn't want to piss off campus royalty the first day."

She gave me a look that told me she wasn't fooled, but like the nice bitch she was, she didn't say anything. I grabbed my food and followed her across the cafeteria, my appetite suddenly completely gone.

Jenna waved at a group of girls sitting at a table near the back, and I tried to look happy to see them as she went and sat down. They all had open, friendly grins on their faces as I sat next to Jenna, but being around this many people still made me itchy.

And I couldn't seeStellananymore, which should have been a good thing since, apparently, I wasn't very good at stalking under the radar. But I needed to make sure I was nothing but a clumsy stranger to him.

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