Page 65 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

He is trying to make me feel ashamed of wanting him.

He is trying to turn a beautiful night into something dirty. Into something I should regret.

Dr. Sharon’s advice plays through my head.I can’t control his actions, but I can control my response.

“You’re right,” I purr, pasting on a seductive smile.

This time, Finn can’t hide his surprise. He blinks several times before his eyes narrow, suspicious.

“You’re absolutely right,” I continue, laying my hand on his knee and sliding it upward, stroking his thigh. “I wanted to be yours, and now I am.”

Finn makes a strangled noise before he slaps my hand away and slams his car into reverse. He pulls out so fast that I have to put my hand out to stop myself from smashing into the dashboard.

We are silent for the entire drive to the motel, but when Finn pulls up in front of our room number, he reaches across the car and grabs my face in his hand, squeezing mercilessly.

“You want to be mine?” he asks.

It’s hard to move when he is holding my face so tightly, but I manage a small nod.

Finn sneers. “Good. Then don’t forget who’s in charge.”

27

Lily

My mom gets home a few minutes after I do. She is smiling, so I assume all went well at her meeting, just like Finn said it would.

“Good, you’re home.” She hangs up her purse in the closet and untucks her Ravenlake Prep shirt. “Finn drove you?”

Finn? The “perfect gentleman”?The idea is laughable, but I manage to contain my humorless laughter and nod.

“Yeah. He just dropped me off a few minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up. I had to meet with Mrs. Cooprider. She let me know confidentially that Mr. Foster isn’t pleased. The man is very important in this town, honey, and he is being very kind to us, all things considered. He could’ve very well been much harsher after everything you’ve done this week.”

“All the lies he told about me in the papers all summer were very charming,” I say before I can stop myself.

She doesn’t know Mr. Foster, regardless of what she thinks. I know him better than anyone. His son is a perfect reflection of who he is. Who all the Fosters are.

Monsters.

My mom’s smile falls. “I know we haven’t had the best history with him or the school, but considering your behavior this last week, they’ve treated us very fairly. As fairly as we can expect.”

I don’t have the energy to argue with her. Or the desire to explain exactly why nothing in this town is fair or right. So, I just nod and go back to doodling in my sketchbook.

“They are still letting you go to the formal dance.”

I twist towards her in surprise, my pencil scratching through a flower petal I’d been shading. “Excuse me?”

“That girl’s parents wanted to keep you from the fall formal, but I managed to convince Mrs. Cooprider otherwise.”

“Why?”

“Exactly,” she says. “You are there on scholarship. They could have given priority to the paying family and left you defenseless, but they didn’t. We shouldn’t forget that.”

“I don’t even want to go.” I erase the errant line on my doodle as much as possible and blow the shavings off the paper. “I don’t know anyone, and the people I do know are mean.”

My mom walks over and sits on the edge of my bed, her hand squeezing my knee in a loving way. “I think you need to give everyone a chance. There are more people there than one mean girl. Look at Finn Foster. He is a nice boy who clearly likes you if he offered to pick you up from your therapy appointment. I think we both need to try and focus on the positives.”

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