“This morning when I got to school, my locker was full of pictures of you in different…positions.”
She gasps and slams her hand against her mouth. “What? Who would do that?”
“You’re the only one out of the two of us who has told anyone since we came to town…I’ll give you one guess.”
My mother fumes and paces across the floor, threatening to go to Stefen’s house to confront his son about his abhorrent behavior and then the school when I refuse to let her.
“I don’t understand why Raf would do this. I thought you guys were friends.”
“I admitted in front of his father that we’re not.”
“But he seemed so nice when he was over here that day.”
“He’s had it out for me from day one and I wonder if it got worse when you started dating his dad.”
“Well, you stay away from him. I won’t be going out with Stefen again.”
“I can tell you like him.”
“I do, but I won’t have you bullied by his son. I need to talk to him about this…just to give him an explanation.”
“Not tonight. Okay? Just…let me get through this day. It was awful. My school is the worst.”
“What about Ashton? He’s such a sweet boy.”
“He is a sweet boy…who likes mean boys. Particularly Raf Barron.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
We fall asleep talking and I wake up in the middle of the night as she’s getting up to walk back to her bedroom.
“I’ll make this right, Josephine,” she whispers. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix everything.”
The school is abuzz with something besides me the next day, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the distraction. And it’s good news. Apparently, Toby Matthison has woken from his coma and is expected to recover. News about him has been about how I assumed it would be—everyone cared when the drama was at an all-time high, but since he was never super popular, no one has kept the same level of emotion and the topic has died down. But today, the news is circulating and it’s enough to get the focus off of me.
It reminds me that I should check on Laura. She’s been quiet again and she’d mentioned her brother being sick. I should see if he’s okay. I call her during my break and she picks up, sounding much better than the last time we spoke.
“Are you okay, Gabi?”
“I am. Getting through each day. But I’ve been worried about you? How are things going?”
“Well, I’m happy to say my brother is out of the woods. The doctors think he’ll make a full recovery. He’s young…not quite 23, so he stands a chance of being back to himself soon.”
“I’m so glad to hear it. That’s great news, Laura!”
“Thank you. I know. I’m so relieved. Hey—did you ever give that other sponsor a call?”
“No, I’ve been dealing with things on my own. But I can if I ever get in bad shape again.”
“Just call me. I think my schedule will get back to normal now that I’m not with Toby all the time.”
I frown. How many coincidences could that be? Her brother is in a coma and finally recovering…and named Toby? But she said he’s older. I remember being at the coffee shop with her that day and she got a call. That’s where I know Toby’s face. His picture came up on her cell phone. What the hell?
“What caused his coma?” I ask, my heart pounding harder. I don’t know what’s going on, but something is all kinds of wrong about this.
“It has to do with his job. He has a dangerous one,” she adds. “Look, I’ve gotta run. He’s waking up and he’d kill me for talking about him. Everything is so hush-hush with him, I shouldn’t have even said what I did. I don’t know the half of what he does, so I should keep my mouth shut. I’m just so glad to have him back.”
“I’m happy for you.”
We hang up and I stare at the empty halls, wondering what is going on. Why would a twenty-three-year-old be at Longlake as a student?
Chapter Thirteen
I go for a run early the next morning. I hate running, but I haven’t been dancing or gardening or anything physical since I got here, and my mind and body are sluggish. It’s a mistake because as I get too far to turn around, I see Raf running toward me. Instead of moving past me, he turns and joins me.
I stop and face him. “You’re not welcome on this run.”
“When has being welcome ever stopped me?”
“How long have you known our parents are dating?”
“Long enough.”
“You must hate your father…to be exposing his girlfriend like that to Longlake, where reputations go to die.”
He doesn’t deny it and when I start jogging, he moves alongside me.
“My father doesn’t deserve a girlfriend.”
“Well, my mom deserves someone kind. She’s been dealt with enough bad relationship juju to last a lifetime, so I guess it’s a good thing they’re going to break up.”
“Can’t say I’m sad about that,” he says.
“You’re a cruel person, Raf.” I don’t know if I’m breathless because I’m running faster or if it’s what I’m saying and who I’m saying it to. Tears blur my vision but I keep going. “I hate you.”
He yanks my arm, pulling me to an abrupt stop before dragging me to a tree with a low covering of branches. He pulls us underneath the covering and leans down, his face in mine.
“I told you it would get worse. I told you to get out of here. You won’t listen.”
His eyes drop to my lips and in the next second, his hands are in my hair and he’s kissing me like I’m his last best chance for living. His tongue clashes with mine and I groan. He tugs my waist toward him and thrusts, his erection hot and
