Dropping my ass into the recliner, I kick my feet up on a box in front of me and stretch my hands behind my head. I watch as Trent feeds Mrs. Rhys his sob story, and I’m pretty sure my comfort in this chair is about to end abruptly when she glowers at me from across the room.
“Lars,” she hollers, “a word please.”
Fuck my life.
Kicking the box away, I get back up. Slow and steady steps lead me over to the circle gathered around the little pussy and his posse of drama nerds. But what pisses me the fuck off is the shit-eating grin on his face that he dishes out as he takes Willa’s hand in his. I’m not sure why it irks me, but it does.
“Class, please go back out and start from scene one while I speak with Lars and Trent.”
Once the room clears, Mrs. Rhys demands answers. I could throw Trent under the bus and tell her that he started this shit, but he’d deny it, and she’d believe him. Instead, I play nice. “I’m sorry, Trent. Didn’t mean to push you.” I pat him on the back with extra force, causing him to gasp. “Is this settled?”
“Don’t let it happen again or you’re out, Lars. I mean it.” Mrs. Rhys threatens, but I take it with a grain of salt.
I hold up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
When she disappears in front of the curtain, I step up to Trent. “This isn’t over, Choir Boy.”
3
You’d think that I’d be the first one out the door when the bell rings, but I’m actually the last. The thing is, I don’t like people. I prefer to avoid interaction with others as much as humanly possible. There are only a few people I trust, and not many that I tolerate. Trent just added himself to my shit list. Right next to Zed. The guy used to be my best friend, until he turned on me, blackmailed me, and threatened me. I’ve come to realize that he’d throw me under the bus just to save his ass.
Talon and Tommy, on the other hand, they’ve earned every bit of my trust. Marni is getting there, but I’m still not sure that her intentions are pure. I mean, who falls for a guy who was only using her in the first place? I’m still not convinced that she won’t try to turn the tables on us to protect her dad.
Once I’m convinced the hall is clear, I pull the lever on the recliner in the dark room and head for the door. Just when I turn the handle, it swings open with no force on my end. “Lars, what are you still doing here?” Willa asks, as she tugs the straps of her backpack tightly to her chest.
“Leaving.” I slide past her, but she grabs me by the arm. When my eyes skate down to where her graceful fingers are wrapped around me, she pulls away abruptly.
With her eyes held tight to her feet, she uses a hushed tone. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Glancing down at my nonexistent watch, I sigh. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”
When she turns and walks back into the theater room with her head hung low, I feel like the world’s biggest ass, so I go after her. But my phone vibrates in my pocket before I even make it in the door. I pull it out and read the text from Talon, telling me to hurry my ass up or they’re leaving without me.
Glancing from my phone into the darkness of the room, I stuff it back in my pocket and continue down the hall. Probably should have heard what she had to say, but I’m sure she just wanted to ask me to be nice to Trent, so it’s pretty pointless anyway. The guy put his hands on me first. I was defending myself, plain and simple. He knows better. Hell, the entire school knows better.
Picking up my pace, I hurry to my car. We’re tracking down a couple leads today to try and find out where Zed took Josh. It’s a long shot, but we can’t give up until we find him—before someone else does. There is so much incriminating evidence out there that could get us all in a shitload of trouble. We never could have anticipated that Zed would turn on us like he did.
Pulling up to Talon’s house, I only see Tommy’s car. I kill the engine and get out to check the garage, just to humor myself, because I’m pretty damn sure they did, in fact, leave already. When it slides open, That fact is confirmed. “Motherfuckers.” Digging my phone back out, I call Talon, but it goes straight to voicemail.
My attention is jerked away from my phone when I hear the sound of a vehicle coming down the driveway. I end the call, and for a moment, I think they’re coming back to pick me up. That is, until I realize it’s not them. Staring back at me behind the windshield of his car is none other than Anderson Thorn, Marni’s dad.
This is just great. Not only did they bail on me because I was ten minutes late, now I have to endure the wrath of this cocky bastard. He doesn’t even hesitate to jump out of his black SUV, leaving his door open. “Where the hell is my daughter?” he barks, as he stalks toward me with a menacing scowl on his face. I watch his feet move quickly as he comes at me.
Sticking my phone back into my front pocket, I shrug my shoulders. “No idea. I just got here.”
As he comes closer, I notice his jaw ticking ferociously. “Don’t fuck with me, boy.” His fingers tangle around the
