Page 57 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

“My mom and sister.”

We don’t talk about them anymore. It’s easy since there are almost no memories of them in this house. Our family home burnt to the ground with them inside. I barely made it out alive.

“Where are they now?” she asks.

Conveniently, Dad already had the plans for the new house drawn up. We moved into our modern castle a mere six months later. The small picture is the only thing that remains from our former life as a family of four. When I move out, I’m sure my dad will get rid of it.

“They died.”

Her brow pulls together. “I’m so sorry. How?”

I shake my head, not wanting to talk about it. Not knowing how, honestly. After so many years of pushing the subject down, it’s easier to just ignore it than to dive deep. Especially since I’m afraid of what I’ll find at the bottom.

“I get it,” she says, taking another sip of the whiskey. “My dad died, and I don’t want to talk about it ninety-eight percent of the time. That’s why I go to therapy.”

“Wow.”

“What?” she asks, turning back to me, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“You really are fucked up if you go to therapy.”

I expect her to retort, but instead, she smiles sadly. “That’s me. Diagnosably fucked up since 2014.”

We fall into a tense lull. Lily clutches her glass with both hands, running her thumbs over the condensation accumulated on the sides.

Finally, she looks up at me. “Why did you save me?”

“I didn’t save you.”

Her brows crease in confusion. “Yes, you did. You got me out of that auction—”

“After I put you in it,” I snap. “Or maybe you don’t remember that part?”

She pinches her lower lip between her teeth. “Oh, I remember.”

“Good.

I’m supposed to be drawing Lily in, but I can’t. For reasons I don’t understand, I want to save her.

Even if what I’m saving her from is me.

“Don’t be confused, Lily. I’m not the good guy, okay? I’m not your white fucking knight in white fucking armor. I’m the bad guy.”

She licks her pouty lower lip and levels her warm brown eyes on mine. As much as I try to resist it, I can feel them melting me from the inside out.

“Did you hurt Dallas Martin?”

The image of Dallas, slumped at the bottom of the staircase after falling, flashes in my mind.

I blink it away.

“I’m not an idiot,” she continues. “I know me telling the police won’t mean shit. You and your dad own this town, and I’m not looking to get caught up in something this big when I have less than a year left in this town. I just want to get out of here with my life intact. But that involves not spending time with people who hurt people. So, if you hurt him, if you’re the one who put him in the hospital… I need to know.”

Once again, it shouldn’t matter what Lily thinks of me. But I hate that I can see the fear in her eyes right now. I want her to understand the worst parts of me, but only if they’re true.

Even batshit crazier, I’m not telling Lily the truth to scare her away the way I do most people. I don’t want her to run or steer clear. I don’t want her to cower when I walk down the hall towards her.

I want something else.

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