Make it go away.
“Interrupting?” A voice breaks our embrace, but Brantley stays there, looking down at me, and then grins.
“Depends,” he says, looking over his shoulder at Bishop, who just walked in the room. “Care to join? Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve shared.”
Bishop stays silent, so I inch up onto my elbows to look at him.
He looks at me and smirks. “Naw, I’m good. I’ve already had her. I don’t feel like shoving my dick in dirt for a second time.”
“Ouch,” I reply deadpan. It hurt more than I care to admit, but being told I was being used has somewhat numbed any pain afterward. I hate Bishop Hayes.
“Yo! Brantley has—” Nate walks into the room, speaking directly to Bishop, when he sees me and Brantley on the bed. He rolls his eyes. “Get off her, dawg.”
“What if I don’t want him to get off?” I snap. If I’m dirt and mean less than nothing to these boys, then what’s the point of walking out with my dignity? “Or what, Nate?” I smirk at him. “Mad it’s not your tongue down my throat?” Then I push off Brantley’s chest, crawling out from under him toward the edge of the bed. “I’m leaving.” I walk toward the door, straightening my tank.
“Oh, come on, sis. We’re just playing.”
“Fine, but find a new toy.” I look to Bishop. “One that doesn’t feel like you’re fucking dirt.” I pull open the bedroom door.
“You fucked her?” Nate barks at Bishop.
Oops, did I let that slip? My bad.
I walk out the front door and then break out in a jog. I know my house is only a five-minute walk, but I don’t feel like talking to anyone right now, and I have a feeling Nate will try to chase me. Bishop, Nate, Hunter, and Brantley have already stirred shit with me. I don’t even want to see what Saint, Ace, and Jase are capable of, what with them being the older brothers. It was all a game. Bishop pretending to give a fuck, they played me like a fucking fiddle.
THE NEXT DAY, I’M SITTING beside Carter in the cafeteria, when Tatum drops her bag beside me. “I fucking can’t wait for Halloween this weekend.”
“I can’t believe we’re doing it in the woods,” I answer, taking a bite out of my apple.
Carter nudges my arm with his. “Leave your guns at home?”
“Maybe.” I look up toward Bishop. “Or maybe not.”
Carter follows my eyes. “Trouble?”
“You could say that,” I mutter, dragging my eyes away from them. Ally walks across to their table, and I roll my eyes. Here we go. Only this time when she goes to lower herself onto Bishop’s lap, he pushes her off, and she falls to the ground in a mess. Nate laughs, Brantley grins, Hunter barks out a hyena howl, and the rest of the boys snicker, watching her with distaste. Every single one of them are assholes. I don’t like Ally, and I might even go as far as to say I hate her a little bit, but that proved there is not one redeeming quality in any of those boys. They’re all assholes. Usually, there’s at least one in a group who isn’t. But not here and not them. I’ve tangled a web with the school bad boys, and now I have to unleash my claws to escape.
“What’s going on with you guys?” Tatum asks, taking a swig of her water.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“You locked Nate out of your room last night. That’s not nothing.”
“I don’t like Nate very much right now.”
Carter hooks his arm around my waist and pulls me into him. I know I should pull away. Nothing good will come from me leading him on. But I can’t help it. Having someone who is interested in me makes me feel wanted. That’s all a girl really wants, isn’t it? To feel wanted?
“Hey.” I turn to face him. “I’ll drive out on Friday. I just need to do a couple things beforehand.”
“I can come with you,” Tatum adds.
I shake my head. “It’s fine. I have Google maps or whatever. Just give me the details on where we’re going and I’ll meet you all out there.”
Carter looks to me. “You sure?”
I nod. “Yeah, positive.” He pulls out a piece of paper, squiggles down the directions, and then slips it across the table to me. “It’s about an hour and a half drive inland. The conditions are rough. It’s called The Myriad. It’s a water hole and is literally in the middle of nowhere. You have to park your car and then follow the manmade trail into the forest. You’ll see everyone’s cars, so it should be fine, but you don’t get cell phone service out there, so I’d suggest you take someone with you.”
“Carter, I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know.” Tatum chews her lip. “What about mountain lions?”
“This isn’t my first camping trip. I have my dad’s compass too. I’ll be fine. I’m experienced in the forest like you are at shopping in Barney’s.”
“Okay, fine,” she exhales. “Me and Tillie will meet you there.”
The lunch bell rings and I gather up all my trash, placing it onto my tray.
“Madi!” Bishop yells out to me. I ignore him, but it’s obvious I heard him as the whole cafeteria pretty much stops what they’re doing. Tatum looks at me, but I ignore her too. Walking to the other side of the room, I dump my tray into the garbage and push through the doors.
Fuck him. `
My phone vibrates in my pocket just as I hit my next class.
Tillie – Hey, chica! Are we still on for this weekend? How are we dressing?
Right. Halloween. Between everything else, the drama with Bishop, camping, and wanting to keep reading The Book, I forgot about what we’re dressing as
