Page 21 of Giving In

It took her so long to get over him the first time we got separated, if she falls back, she won’t get over it this time. I know it’s affecting her more than she lets on. She keeps things inside, like me. Bottles it up until it explodes or eats her up from the inside.

Sam knows how to push her buttons, he knows her by heart, and he won’t hesitate to use it against us. No matter how much it breaks my heart, the truth is her loyalty used to lay with him and the bastard knows it.

I turn to the other side of the room and watch Jamie for a few seconds. She’s focusing on taking notes and biting her cheek. Her brows are slightly furrowed, and I want to run my thumb between them to soften them. She looks up and our eyes cross.

To my surprise, she offers me a wide grin. I frown back at her and give her my most threatening look. She needs to know I’m not fucking about and to stay in her place. As soon as she drops the smile, I miss it though. It’s like she was lighting the room and it suddenly got dark. She looks away from me, but I can’t take my eyes off her lips. A sudden urge to kiss her overtakes me and I have to look away. It’s always like that when a new girl gets my attention, I just need to fuck her out of my system.

But first, I need to re-focus.

Kick Sam out of Stoneview. Keep Jamie quiet.

When Ozy and I walk out of school, trouble is waiting for us outside. Unsurprisingly, Sam is back. What takes me aback is to see him waiting by his car, chatting with Camila and Rachel.

“The fuck,” I say watching him put an arm on the small of Rachel’s back. She looks slightly uncomfortable, but I know she’s too shy to say anything. “I told you we should have gotten rid of him straight away,” I mumble to my sister.

Ozy notices right after me and she chuckles to herself, but I know what this chuckle means. It means shit is about to go down.

“Keep your cool,” I warn her but she’s already hurrying down the stairs, her hair flying behind her.

When I reach the group, Ozy is unexpectedly keeping calm. Or as calm as she can keep.

“Rachel might be too nice to tell you to fuck off but I’m not,” she says smoothly to Sam.

He smirks at her and takes his arm away from Rachel. Rose automatically puts a hand behind her neck possessively.

“My bad, just trying to meet some decent girls. I heard Stoneview was full of them.” I know he’s acting up to piss us off. This is probably the most I’ve heard him talk in my entire life. He hates making conversation, he hates everyone, and he never pretends otherwise.

So why is he outside our school trying to make friends with ours? How did he even get in? Our gate keeper is the most annoying person I’ve had the pleasure to meet in my life. He takes his job way too seriously and yet Sam gets past him twice in the same week? I guess when you look like Sam does, it’s easy to scare people off.

“You do what you have to. Just next time keep your hands off mygirl,” Rose says quickly. It’s like she’s trying to get rid of her words before she snaps.

Sam laughs and puts his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “You bite. I don’t want any trouble. Promise. But if you girls want a little fun, I’m all yours.”

My nostrils flare at his words. I fucking hate him. Everything about him makes me want to punch him. The way he thinks he’s above everyone, his stupid British accent, the fact that my own twin used to love him more than anything. And worst of all, the fact that he’s trying to win us back, no doubt for his own benefit.

Fuck. Him.

Rose laughs in his face and talks as she turns around, still holding Rachel and guiding her away.

“What for? So you can get a free pussy-licking lesson?”she sneers.

A mocking chortle escapes Rachel’s lips. Rose doesn’t wait for a reply and walks away with her. She’s leaving me alone with Sam and Camila but I’m not mad at her. I know there’s only so long she can spend in his presence without losing her shit completely.

“What’s with her today?” Camila asks. “Jake, this is Samuel. He’s a friend of Roy and Carlo.”

I try to keep my face as expressionless as possible, but this is big news. The fucker actually knows people here.

“Cool,” I reply disinterested.

I can’t really add anything else because Rose’s car stops right beside us on its way out of the parking lot. It’s a nice day and she’s got the roof down. Rachel is sitting in the front passenger seat, the one closest to us.

Rose takes a cigarette out of her pack and lights it before turning to us and smiling at Sam as she puts her right arm around Rachel’s shoulders.

I walk over to her to get in the car. Rose’s gaze doesn’t leave Sam’s. She wants to make him angry and I can see he’s biting when his face turns cold. Rose winks at him and flips him the bird with her hand holding Rachel’s shoulder. As soon as I hop in, she leaves screeching her tires.

“You made him mad,” I say when we reach the road. I’m not too worried about talking in front of Rachel. She’s a quiet and nice girl, she hears shit all the time being around Rose, and she never talks about anything.

“Don’t care,” Rose replies. “Hopefully it’ll push him away.”

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