They The Pretty Stars (Court High 1)

I owed him nothing, and he owed me nothing.

“You okay?” she asked, frowning. “That looks pretty gnarly.”

It really did look worse than it was. I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. Just a small burn. The doctor is actually getting my final paperwork now so I can leave.”

Her head bobbed twice, that big fluffy ponytail always on her head. She gazed at the table, and I moved so she could sit.

She folded her hands. “Is it true you ran into a building after a dog? That Royal did too and saved it and you?”

If information and hot gossip were the only reason she was here, she could go somewhere. I frowned. “Is that why you’re here?”

“No,” she said, lowering her head. “I’m here because I’ve been a shit friend.”

That much was for sure. She’d abandoned me just because Royal, and most likely the others, wanted her to. One crossed him and the Court, and one put a mark on themselves, a mark she clearly didn’t feel I was worth branding.

“I’m sorry, December.” She lifted her head, breathing hard. “This is just a fucked situation.”

“What happened?” I asked, really not knowing the details or anything. “Did Royal ask you not to talk to me or…”

“No, it wasn’t like that. He didn’t ask anyone not to talk to you, but there were rumors going around that you two got into it.” She sighed. “The Court can ruin lives. I guess we all went chicken shit, but it was dumb. The Court and Royal Prinze don’t rule me, and Shakira, Kiki, and the other girls feel the same.”

Still, I wouldn’t want them to ruin their lives over me. Especially since I planned to leave.

“I get it.” I did. Royal scared me quite a few times, the power he had over the school and even the adults in this town. The only person who seemed t

o elicit any type of fear in him had been his dad, and that completely made sense—the man was scary, and I wouldn’t want to cross him. Everyone else basically bowed down to Royal. Well, everyone but me. I did stand up to him.

“I keep putting my neck out for you…”

I swallowed. “Are people saying anything about us?”

Birdie frowned. “There are some rumors, yeah. Mira saying stuff. Saying she saw you two and…”

So now, I was a whore. All of this was so close to home and what happened in LA before I came here it was scary, but I wasn’t about to have a repeat of all that.

“I’m going home,” I told her, making her eyes widen. “I thought coming here might convince my sister to come back. I was stupid.”

“Don’t go because of all this. Me? December, I’m so sorry for what happened, and Mira is a complete bitch. You’d give her exactly what she wants by running off.”

I sighed. “I don’t really have anywhere to go, B. My dad kicked me out tonight. It was actually about the dog Royal saved. My dad doesn’t want one in his house, and…” I shook my head. “I have nowhere else to go.”

“That’s not true.”

I panned, my eyes widening at the presence of my father. He’d been called too, along with my aunt, actually the first to be called, but they hadn’t been able to reach him. I figured he’d been busy, or rather didn’t care. He’d shown similar lack of care before.

He was here now, his sport coat on and his hands in his pockets. He gazed at my arm with a stern look on his face, and my heart sunk. I was in for a second round of what started tonight.

“I’m going to wait outside, okay?” Birdie stated, squeezing my shoulder before allowing my dad in. She acknowledged him with a nod, and then he was standing before me.

I slid off the table. “Dad?”

Why would he even bother coming? He spoke his position before. He said if I came back with a dog, I might as well not come back, the complete opposite of what he’d just said.

He approached. “The hospital just got to me. I saw the rest on the news. You went into the building after that dog? December, what were you thinking?”

See… more of this, and I wasn’t taking it. I touched my bandage. “You don’t have to worry. Aunt Celeste is getting me a flight back to LA. You won’t have to deal with me anymore. Just like Paige.”

I watched that flash across his eyes, and sliding his hands out of his pockets, he sighed.