Page 110 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

And she’s the one responsible.

“It is a big deal,” she argues. “You would have been seriously embarrassed to lose. Plus, you could have been seriously hurt. I couldn’t let you go in there alone. So I called J.C. and told him everything, and he didn’t care, Caleb!”

“You don’t know that. Have you talked to him since Saturday night?”

Her silence is enough for me to know that she hasn’t.

“Neither have I,” I say. “You blackmailed me, used me, and when you were done, you told my secrets. I don’t know why I expected any different.”

Her hands fist at her sides. “That isn’t what happened, and you know it.”

“Actually, I don’t. Because that is what happened. You got attacked on Friday and fought your way out, and you realized you didn’t need me anymore. So, why not go ahead and ruin my life?”

Her mouth falls open, and something like a laugh comes out of her, but there is no humor in it. “I‘ruined your life’? Come on, Caleb. Now, who is being dramatic?”

Frustration is boiling inside of me. Adrenaline is pouring into my veins, and I can feel the familiar need to strike out and hit something clawing at my skin.

It’s like an itch I can’t scratch, and if Haley doesn’t get out of my face, I’m going to do something stupid. Something I’ll regret.

I charge forward, and Haley must sense the dangerous energy coming off me because she doesn’t block my path. Instead, she steps out of the way and then follows behind me as I continue making my way through the house, checking the doors.

“Would you stop and talk to me for a second?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I growl. “Our arrangement is over. Now that my friends are gone, you don’t have anything left to hold over my head. There is no one left in my life to care about my fighting, so I don’t have to deal with you anymore.”

I lock the second door into the garage and when I turn around, Haley is blocking the exit back to the front door. She is only a few inches away.

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“And you’re being stupid,” I rumble. “You should leave before—”

“Before what? Before you push me again? Before you hurt me?” She shrugs. “That’s how you handle all of your problems, isn’t it? It’s why you can’t look me in the eye and have a conversation right now. Because all you’ve ever done is make fists and fight your way through life. Have you ever stopped to consider that you never had to go through all of this alone?”

“Get out of my way, Haley.”

She leans forward, her breath warm on my face. “You’re so certain everyone is going to despise who you really are that you refuse to show them. That’s why you lied, isn’t it?”

The itching under my skin is unbearable, and I finally muscle through Haley, knocking her to the side, and stomp through the house.

I don’t have to listen to this.

I don’t have to listen to a damn word she says.

“You’re afraid if you aren’t rich enough or cool enough that no one will care about you, so you shut them out before they can shut you out or you lie. It’s really sad, Caleb.”

I grind my teeth so hard I think they’ll crack.

I’m not shutting anyone out. Haley is the one who betrayed my trust. My dad is the one who left.

Now, my friends are dust in the wind, too.

Everything has fallen apart, and I’m not going to stand here and let Haley blame me for it.

When I punch in the code at the keypad, the alarm chirps, letting me know it is set. I push Haley out the door ahead of me, pull it closed, and lock up.

“So, that’s it? You’re just going to shut me out?” she asks.

I move automatically down the steps and to my truck, like a robot with one mission: to get as far away from Haley as possible.

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