Page 13 of Pretty Girls Never Lie (St. Mary’s)

The nerve.

“I don’t understand your hatred for me.” I throw my hands up with angry confusion and step backward so I can be farther away from him. “Youwere the one who hid me in a closet andsavedme.” I use air quotes for more dramatics, but I’m certain Brantley is smart enough to understand my sarcasm. “How dare you act like Idid something wrong to you!”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have saved you, then.” His shoes squeak on the floor as he matches my steps one for one. “I didn’t realize you’d be showing up years later to fucking tell me that I oweyou.”

Anger is a force I’m used to, but standing a mere foot away from a guy who makes me burn hot is something I’m unfamiliar with. I turn, and he does the same. The dark water of the pool iscalm behind him, and if I knew how to swim, I’d probably jump in just to put more distance between us.

“You do owe me,” I counter. “You and your father are the whole reason my brother isn’t with me. Don’t you get it? I’m all he has! You can act haughty and almighty, but you and I both know that we witnessed a murder that night. A murder that wrecked my brother’s and my entire fucking lives.”

“So you’re here to wreck mine? I don’t give a shit about you wanting to find your brother, Isla. I’m not helping you, so you might as well leave now before my father realizes who you are.” He chuckles, and a hot line of anger pins me to the floor. “For what it’s worth, youoweme, Ice Princess. I saved you once, and I won’t do it again,” Brantley snarls. “Oh, and by the way… you’re welcome for shoving you in that closet and keeping you calm enough so no one knew you were there. He would have killed you that night if it weren’t for me.”

Words are nonexistent. I’m angry and resentful, but I’m also indebted to him in a way, and I hate owing someone something.

“I have a great idea.”

I move my stare from the pool and meet Brantley’s smirk.

“Why don’t you get that boyfriend of yours to help you on your righteous quest of finding your brother and get the hellout of my life?”

I’m seething. “He isn’t my boyfriend.”

The knowing glimmer in his green eyes sends me into overdrive. My hands fly forward, and I shove him as hard as I can into the pool. Water splashes against my bare legs, and a real smile curves onto my face for the first time since entering St. Mary’s.

Shit, that felt good.

My smile deepens while I wait for him to emerge with surprise all over his stupidly hot, wet face. A little laugh eruptsfrom my mouth when he pops out of the water like a fish before falling under again.

My smile falls right away, and my heart skips a beat. His hands slap the chaotic waves like he’s trying to grab on to something to keep him afloat, and the longer he stays under, the more I panic.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Before I know what I’m doing, my shoes are off, and I’m diving headfirst into the water.

Brantley was right.

I do owe him.

EIGHT

Brantley

The weight of my uniform helps the fake drowning act. I allow the pull of wet cotton to drag me under with a closed-lip smile on my face. It’s a dick move, but that’s what she gets for shoving me into a pool. Isla wants to act like some violent little brat and feel powerful for pushing me, well she’s going to understand the panic that comes with that power.

The air hits my wet face as I spring up out of the water with flailing arms. I catch a quick glimpse of the worry on her face and go back under, hardly holding back my laughter. I pop up again, but she isn’t there.

I fling my head to the left and wipe the water from my face. After scanning the area, I finally see her beneath the water. Surprise renders me speechless.She jumped in after me?I hover in the water, waiting for her to appear and tell me how much she loathes me, but the longer I float, the more confused I am.

I inhale air, dip under the water, and fight through the burn to see what she’s doing. My heart skips a beat when I can’t findher. My head emerges, breaking through the waves.Where is she?

My eyes sting when I dip back under to search for her. My brain takes a second to catch up to my feet kicking as I dive down to the bottom. A lump of panic pulls me faster when a tangled mess of blonde hair thrashes in front of me.Fuck.

I swim fast, ignoring the pang in my chest, and cup her in my arms before pushing off the floor of the pool and shoving us above the surface. She’s still coughing when I make it to the side, and I expect her to scramble out of my arms, but she surprises me again. Her shaky arms wrap around my neck, and she holds on tighter. My heart is thrumming like a guitar string, and my body jerks every time she coughs and sputters for air.

The wet strands of her hair get caught in my fingers as I push them out of her face, and I have the sudden urge to put my mouth on hers to give her air. “Are you good?” I clear my throat and look away because my voice came out softer than it should have.

She nods but coughs some more. “I—” Cough. “Thought yo…u—” Cough. “You were drown–” Cough. “Drowning.”

I hold her tighter and fling damp hair off my forehead to see her better. “So you jumped in to save me?”

---