“Carter?” I looked up from my tray of food, and there she was, clutching her books to her chest, biting her lip as she looked down at me. I felt everyone’s stares flying between us both. The increasingly hostile looks Ana and her bitch posse were throwing at her, the football team’s curious glances, Xavier’s knowing expression, and the weight of the stares of the students at the surrounding tables. All of this registered in an instant.
The gossip about her was already rampant. She didn’t deserve any of this. Who knew what other shit people would make up about her next, if I gave her my attention?
“What makes you think you have the right to talk to me?” I spoke without meeting her gaze, unable to look at her.
A pained hiss escaped her lips. “I-I just…”
“Whatever it is, I’m not interested.” I affected a bored tone, rocking back in my seat and stretching my legs out in front of me.
“You think because you whored yourself out to him, you have the right to be here, at our table?” My fists clenched at the sneering question from Tina, one of Ana’s friends. Fuck, I needed to punch something. “Listen up, hun. People like us don’t mix with people like you. Now, why don’t you run along to your little chess club, or wherever your people hang out?”
Raine’s soft gasp fucking pierced straight through me, and I physically winced.
“Drama club,” Anastasia muttered from next to me.
“Okay, fuck off to your little drama club.” Tina tossed her hair over her shoulder and made a dismissive motion with her hand.
“Hey, I’m in the drama club,” Xavier pointed out. He glanced in my direction, and I could feel the “what the fuck” look he was boring into the side of my head.
Tina huffed. “Whatever.” She turned back to Raine. “Since you seem to like being on your knees… If you’re still hard up for cash, I heard the school is looking for a new cleaner.”
Everyone else remained silent, waiting to see what I was going to do, ready to follow my lead. Raine remained frozen in place in front of me, and I raised my gaze to hers, finally. The pain and sadness in her hazel eyes almost caused me to falter. Almost. I couldn’t let people know how much she meant to me. Fuck, no. She didn’t mean anything to me. She couldn’t.
I was only fooling myself.
The connection between us sparked to life, as she begged me with her eyes to acknowledge it, to tell her she wasn’t alone in this, to back her up. I took a deep breath and made myself hold her gaze as I forced the words from my lips. “Go, Laurent. Whatever you have to say, I’m not interested.”
She stared at me in shock for a moment, before I tore my gaze away, unable to look at her any longer. “You really are a heartless bastard, aren’t you? Fuck you, Carter. And your friends.” Her words were spoken with anger, but her voice trembled. Fuck. I didn’t look as she spun on her heel and walked away.
“Harsh, mate,” Xavier commented in a low voice, and I sighed. Yeah, it was really bloody harsh, but I’d been there this morning when she’d found her locker. She hadn’t seen me, probably too in shock to be aware of anything much around her. But I’d seen that look of total devastation on her face, how she’d crumbled and fled. I’d been listening to the whispers about her all morning. I hoped she understood that I’d pushed her away to protect her. Despite my fucking confusion about my feelings towards her, I didn’t want her to be hurt anymore because of me.
It was better this way.
What I needed to do was to get Anastasia to admit what she’d done and make her pay. I knew she was the one behind it, but I also knew her well. And she wouldn’t admit it unless she stopped seeing Raine as a threat.
On that note, I stretched my arm out along her chair, and she leaned back with a smile. I suppressed the urge to remove my arm and instead pretended I was interested in her superficial chat, while my thoughts were miles away, with a hazel-eyed girl who’d rocked me to my fucking core.
28
Kian’s wide grin distracted me from my thoughts at football practice. Today was the first day he’d been allowed to start training with the team again, although he was still suspended from the matches for now.
“Want to come over to mine for the soccer game on Sunday?” Preston asked as we stretched out our hamstrings, warming up for training drills. “My parents are out of town.”
Kian shot him a dirty look. “It’s not fucking soccer, it’s football!”
Preston grinned at him unrepentantly, and after a moment, Kian cracked a smile, too. “What am I going to do with you?” he muttered, shaking his head.
“Enough talking! Three laps around the field, then cone drills. Go!” Mr. Anders, our football coach, shouted before blowing his whistle, and we took off running.
“What’s going on with you and Raine?” Kian was jogging next to me, front of the pack, setting the pace as we rounded the first corner of the field, the grass spongy and damp under our feet.
“Nothing,” I barked out.
“Didn’t look like nothing. You want her?”
I stumbled, then regained my footing. “Fuck, no.”
“It didn’t seem that way at the party. I could tell you were really into her. What was with you icing her out earlier?”
My stomach flipped. My feet kept moving on autopilot, but my whole body was tense. “What? It meant nothing. I’m not interested in her.”
“Chill, mate. It’s no big deal if you are.” He increased his pace, and I matched him. “But if you’re not…you don’t mind if I ask her out, then?”
The memory of him chasing her at Fright Night flashed through my mind, and I saw
