Page 56 of The Hallows Boys

“Oh my God, what happened to you this weekend?! Did you get all of my messages? I was trying to hang out! Did you end up spending Halloween with the King Fuckboys?! Did they choose you for the Hallows Games? Oh my God, please tell me you didn’t get chosen for that sick little game.”

I hold up a hand, halting her word-vomit. “Take a breath, psycho.”

She pulls air into her lungs sharply, then blows it out dramatically to make her point. “What. Happened?!”

I laugh. “Nothinghappened, Juliet. I spent the weekend with my grandma. I couldn’t find my phone charger.”

The lie slips through my lips like sweet syrup, and I feel a little guilty for being dishonest with my only friend.

She rolls her eyes. “You seriously expect me to believe that?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she scans every inch of me with her gaze, almost as if she’s waiting for something on my body to jump out and give away my lie.

If only she could see the marks covering my body underneath my clothes.

I laugh at her again. “Quit being a freak, let’s go get some breakfast. I have some things to tell you.”

She hums between her lips when I slip my arm through hers and start dragging her beside me toward the cafeteria.

After we’ve both gotten breakfast biscuits and orange juice, we find our regular table and sit down. I moan as I pick up my biscuit, overwhelmed by the smell of the sausage and eggs, but when I look up at Juliet, she’s leveling me with a look that sayswell???

I laugh, taking a small bite of my food before putting it back down. While I’m chewing, I run over all the information in my head, obviously deciding to skip the parts about the Hallows Boys, since Juliet hates them. Why burn the only bridge I have right now? They’re my secrets, and I get to decide who has access to them, right?

I swallow my food, then lean my forearms on the table to get a bit closer to her. “I found out that my last name hasn’t always been Lindman.”

She stares at me with big, eager eyes, like I’m giving her the juiciest gossip since KimYe broke up. “Okay?”

“My real last name is Blackmore.” I raise my brows.

She sits up straight. “What?!”

A look passes her features, but it’s gone before I can put my finger on what she’s thinking. She lays her palms flat on the table, leaning back toward me. “As in… BlackmoreBlackmore? Like, the town welive in?!”

I nod. “Yup, I guess my ancestors like founded the town or something, I don’t know.”

“Wait”—her mouth drops open a little, her brows pulling down—“so you, like,ownthe town?!”

I laugh, taking a bite of my breakfast. “No. Well, actually… I don’t know.”

She grabs her water, takes a sip, then puts it back down. “So, what does this mean?”

My lips pull down as I shrug. “I don’t know.”

She laughs, picking up her food. “Do you know anything?”

The realization that I reallydon’tknow what any of this means hits me, because I can tell myself that I’m a Blackmore until I’m blue in the face, but what does that even mean at the end of the day? I need to find out about my family history – I need to get some answers. Because – is Juliet right? Does this mean I have some sort of ownership over the town? Am I responsible for the legacy that has been left for me, or does this simply mean nothing at all?

Suddenly, I’m not hungry anymore, so I stand up and grab my food to throw it away. “I have a few things I need to do before class. Catch you later?”

Juliet swallows her mouthful of food. “Sure. See you later, Blackmore.”

ChapterTwenty-Four

BECKHAM

“Fucking squeeze my cock, baby, just like that. Don’t fucking stop.”

The memory flashes inside my mind as I watch Sage and her friend sitting at their usual table in the lunchroom, making my fists clench and my breath come out choppy. My cock swells in my pants, almost as if I’m right back in the crypt with her, as I remember how tight her dripping cunt swallowed me down when she came.

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