Page 23 of The Star

“Yeah,” I answer her, assessing her for threats.

“I’m Cassidy.” She smiles, the blonde hair that hangs almost to her ass swaying as she puts her hands on her hips.

“Cool,” I answer, turning back around to face my locker.

She taps me on the bare shoulder. “Did you not hear me? I’mCassidy.”

I turn again, studying her face and trying to place her. Am I supposed to know who the fuck this chick is? Have I met her and I’m totally spacing?

“I’m sorry.” I give her a tight, closed-lipped smile. “I don’t know who you are.”

She blinks at me, her pretty face scrunching up in disgust. “I’m Carson’sgirlfriend.”

My stomach bottoms out. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Ohhhh, shit. She knows about the dressing room… that’s what this is, right? She’s going to tell everyone that my stepbrother had dinner between my legs, and I’m gonna have to beat her ass in this locker room. On my very first day.

She speaks again before I can throw hands. “You’re his new sister, right? The guys were telling me about you.”

My eyebrows pull down. The guys? Carson and his band of dumbasses were talking about me?

“Oh.” Nothing else pops in my head to say to this girl, because it isn’t like Carson and I are the best of buddies – most of the time we ignore each other. And I won’t even get started on Hayden and Levi.

I realize I’m still gripping my shirt to my chest, so I shake it out and then slip it on. By the time my shirt has given birth to my head, Cassidy is talking again.

“I just wanted to introduce myself, welcome you to Luxington and all that. I’m the cheer captain, so it wouldn’t hurt to have me as your friend.” She winks, like a movie star, because of course she does.

I don’t trust a word that comes out of this chick’s mouth, because there’s no way Carson and his friends said good things about me, and there’s no way little miss cheer captain wants to be my friend. I’m like the stray dog these people leave in the backyard because they don’t want it to dirty up the house, all while their purebred puppy sleeps on the couch.

“Oh, well thanks. It’s nice to meet you.” I try to get the words out as soon as I can, but by the look that graces her face for a flash, she can see right through my fake bullshit.

I give her a smile, hoping it comes off genuine, and she turns around to go back to the other side of the room. I blow out a breath once she’s out of earshot, spinning around to check my phone before I head out to class.

There’s a text from Giuliana, with a photo attached of all my friends standing in the courtyard at Franklin High. The message just says,we miss you.

I suck down a breath, lock my phone, and throw it into the locker.

I’m past the point of feeling sad about this. I’m just angry now. I miss my friends, I miss my life, I miss my fucking normalcy. As I look around the locker room, with its LED lighting and plush seating area at the end, I want to scream. I miss my old, moldy locker room that only had cold water and bad smells.

Slamming the locker closed, I walk through the locker room to go out into the gym. Maybe some physical activity will make me feel better – hopefully it’s dodgeball day.

eleven

CARSON

“Hey, babe.” Cassidy plops down next to me on the wooden bleacher, making me jump in surprise and pulling my attention from where Logan is stretching in a boys PE uniform.

“Hey.” I kiss her cheek. “We good?”

She slides Logan’s phone from her bra, slipping it into my hand. “You know I always got you, Car.”

She winks in that way that says,I know you’re impressed with me,but I just slide Logan’s phone into my pocket and stand up. “I’ll be back before class ends.”

“Kay.” She stands too, going in the opposite direction to where students are gathering for class to start. I make my way out of the gym to the bathroom down the hall, then lock myself in a stall.

There’s something about Logan that I can’t put my finger on, and after hearing how she acted this morning when Hayden and Levi cornered her, I have more questions than answers.

They said she wasn’t intimidated by them in the slightest, which I believe about Levi, but Hayden? He’s an evil motherfucker. He has venom in his veins instead of blood, and there isn’t a soul I’ve met that isn’t intimidated by the skinny, tattooed demon.

I mean, except me and Levi. We know him well enough to see past his wholebad boyvibe. We all grew up together, so we remember the Hayden that wasn’t jaded and fucked in the head.

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