Page 33 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

My head snaps up, looking for who could have left the note. But the yard is empty. The street is, too.

Someone was at my house.

Someone came to leave me this message.

And I know damn well who it was.

John has finally come to collect.

15

Haley

I send Estefania three texts before I even walk into Ravenlake Prep.

I found a scary note on my car this morning. I’m freaking out.

Things are weird between us, but I could really use a friend right now.

Please call me?

We’ve been best friends since third grade, and even though we drifted apart while I was dating John and even more so since he and I broke up, I still care about her. I hope she still cares about me.

No one else inside the Hell Princes is going to talk to me about what is going on, what they’re scheming…

But Estefania might.

The only reason she became involved with the Hell Princes at all was because of me. Her parents are immigrants and dirt poor even compared to the other kids at Public.

Estefania was bullied a lot throughout elementary and middle school for being “illegal” and wearing shabby clothes, but it all stopped when we got tangled up with the Hell Princes.

Once people knew who we ran with, they didn’t want to risk getting beat down, so they kept their mouths shut.

People feared us. Estefania liked being on the other side of that.

But John didn’t want me to have friends or allies or even casual acquaintances. He forced a wedge between Estefania and me.

His threats kept us apart, and then time did the rest of the work.

Until my best friend became just another face in the crowd.

And yet, when my dad got promoted at Barber and used his massive pay advance to put a down payment on our new house, Estefania was the first person I told.

I expected her to be happy that I was dumping John and starting over, but she was angry. She felt like I was abandoning her. She claimed a little bit of money had made me suddenly too good for everyone in my life.

I tried to tell her it wasn’t like that, that John was an abusive asshole, but she wouldn’t hear it.

We haven’t talked since.

I check my phone between classes, frantically refreshing to see if John or anyone else might be trying to get in touch with me, but there’s nothing.

By the time I get to lunch, I’ve spent far too much time contemplating what the threat means, wondering when John will strike again, and trying to figure out how I’m going to pay him back when he does.

I’m so overwhelmed by all of it that I’m almost relieved when Penelope LaFevre spots me in the lunch crowd and careens straight towards me, eyes narrowed.

“Where’s your bodyguard?” she snaps. “I had no idea you’d already ingratiated yourself with the Golden Boys.”

“Careful. That’s a big word, you might choke.”

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