Page 12 of Pretty Girls Never Lie (St. Mary’s)

The man that exits the car looks old enough to be her father, but I know with full certainty that he isn’t. Isla takes a step back. If I were outside, I’d hear the gravel crunch beneath her shoes in her attempt to retreat.

I bite my tongue when she’s pulled into the man’s chest. He holds her rigid body tightly against his, and I’m choked. A raging dose of protectiveness—orjealousy?—forces me toward the door. I inhale the warm summer air but freeze like I’m in the middle of a snowstorm when the car’s brake lights dim.

Her icy eyes grip me from the passenger window, but she’s gone before I can blink.

An empty pit replaces whatever was filling me, and as soon as I turn and jog up the stairs, I realizeexactlywhat it was.

Or who.

Isla just left with some random man, and I plan to find out exactly who he is to her.

SEVEN

Isla

My head pounds. I massage my swollen temples with my fingers, opening my mouth a few times to lessen the pain. I’m sick to my stomach and tired down to my bones. I’m tired of playing games and chasing someone who probably doesn’t even remember me, but if I stop now, then what?

Heavy feet pull me through the dining hall. The small number of students that are also attending St. Mary’s summer school program eye me with suspicion at the lack of food in my hands, but my stomach is tied in too many knots to even consider filling it. I make note that Brantley isn’t anywhere to be found, and I still haven’t decided if my mind conjured the image of him standing in front of St. Mary’s last night when I took off with Zachary or if he really was there.

I’m not prepared to answer questions, so even though it would make me pathetic, I’m hoping it was my mind playing tricks on me in an attempt to be saved from what I was doing in Zachary’s presence again.

I put myself in a perilous position by getting in that car. It was risky, and I knew it. Just like I know it isn’t a coincidence that Zachary is Thomas’s new foster father.

I knew he wouldn’t take me to see him, but he did make sure to show me proof with a photo.

“See? He’s safe and sound, in the same room you stayed in.”

I lean against the wall outside the dining room and bend at the waist so I can see straight. The sting of Raven’s news on my brother’s actual whereabouts still burns my skin, even a day later—just like Zachary’s subtle touches to my thigh inside his car.

“Tired from running off with a boyfriend in the middle of the night, are we?”

I pop up and glare at Brantley from across the expansive hall. He’s leaning against the other wall, foot propped behind him in the cockiest stance I’ve ever seen, with his button-down undone at the top, showing off his hard chest and bouncing Adam’s apple.

My eyes are slits, and I deliver a glare like my life depends on it.

The entire reason I’m in this position is because of his father.

“You think you know everything, don’t you?” I ask. My chest tightens, and air is hard to come by, so I put my back to him and storm down the hall with fury.

I refuse to let him see me flustered.Calm down.

The moment the warm air hits me, it makes me feel even worse. It’s thick and sticky, so I run to the closest door I can find and slam it shut.

The floor catches me, and I pull my knees up to rest my forehead on them. I shut my eyes and breathe in and out through my mouth and focus on my surroundings. The smell of chlorine fills my senses, and I think of it instead of everything else.

Time passes quickly, and I’m used to the burning scent of pool water by the time I slowly raise my head. I snap to attention when I realize I’m not alone.I should have known.

“You done?” Brantley asks. He’s leaning against the doors I rushed through, and it’s alarming that I have no recollection of him following me into the…indoor pool?

“Done regretting the day I met you? Never.” I snap. Pride replaces the anguish in my stomach, and I stand up on shaky legs. “Why are you following me? Are you some stalker or something?”

His throaty laugh echoes around me.Damn, that’s a nice laugh.

“In case you forgot, I asked you to leave this school. What kind of stalker would do that?”

“You didn’t ask.” I roll my eyes. “You demanded.”

Brantley pushes off the door and creeps closer to me. “And I stand by that. I’ll take you anywhere, just as long as you’re far away from me.”

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