Page 58 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

Kyle held his hands wide. “Hook, line, and sinker. I’m not afraid to admit it.” With a fancy spin, he turned and took off down the hall at a sprint.

Hunter and I dropped our bags and slumped against the lockers.

“I love seeing him happy.” I smiled. He deserved it after the hell he’d been through.

“Yeah.” Hunter glanced down the hallway. “For some strange reason, she does it for him. I never thought I’d see the day where he’d get laid, let alone bang a cheerleader. Hell, I never thought I’d see any of us do that.”

I play-punched him in the arm. “We’ll be fighting them off in the city.”

“Oh yeah.” His eyes glinted. “We already do. And we haven’t even left New Jersey. Wait until we have Colombia, NYU, and other college students coming to our shows and fighting to be with us. We’ll have so many fans, Kanye will be jealous.”

Some days it was still hard to comprehend we had fans. Not many, but every one counted. They came to our gigs and waited to see us after our shows. They wanted photos and autographs and vied for moments of our time. We lapped it up. We craved more and more. And given our tumultuous home lives, the attention had become as addictive as amphetamines.

A door down the end of the corridor slammed against the wall, shattering the air. Thunk. Our heads turned in the direction Kyle had run.

“You fucking bitch.” Kyle stormed...no, sprinted...toward us. The tears welling in his eyes looked like they burned like acid.

Vicki dashed after him, pulling her T-shirt on, threading her arms through the sleeves. “Kyle, wait. It’s not what you think.”

He stopped in his tracks a few yards from us and spun to face her. “His dick was inside you. What is there not to think?”

“Oh, shit.” I rushed to Kyle’s side. Hunter followed.

Vicki reached for Kyle’s hand and clutched it against her chest. “Quill and I were just fooling around. It’s not serious.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” He yanked his hand free. “Were we not serious?”

“Yes. We are,” Vicki cried. “You’re my everything.”

“What?” Quill rounded the corner, tucking his shirt back into his jeans. “Then what are we? We were just hammering one out in the guys’ locker room.”

“Quill?” Vicki snapped. “Stay out of it.”

“Are you still seeing this music freak?” Quill snarled, waving his hand at Kyle. “You said it was over.”

“Are you fucking with me?” Kyle’s voice jumped two octaves.

“Kyle?” Vicki pleaded. “I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

Falling back a few feet, Kyle shook his head. “Fuck you, Vicki.”

My heart bled for Kyle. This was why I never wanted to fall for anyone. It always ended in heartbreak. The pain contorting Kyle’s face and ripping through the air splintered my heart. So much for being happy. I jabbed my finger at Vicki. “Stay. The fuck. Away.”

“Get out of my face, Gemma,” Vicki snarled, slapping my hand aside.

She jutted out her arm to push past me. I blocked her move. With all my strength, I shoved her on the shoulder. She wasn’t going anywhere. “No.”

Hunter stood in the center of the corridor, guarding Kyle who paced the width of the hall. Hunter threw a noxious snarl at Vicki. “You fucked Quill Bancroft? You’ve moved onto the lacrosse team? Really?”

“Hey?” Quill hollered in defense, but everyone ignored him.

“Move, Gemma.” Hate flared in Vicki’s eyes. “You don’t own Kyle.”

“No, I don’t.” Steel set in my tone. “But he’s my best friend. You cheated on him.”

“I didn’t.” She shook her head.

“What do you call Quill’s dick thrusting in and out of you?” Kyle flicked his hand at her. “That was no cheerleading move, that’s for sure.”

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