Touched By The Devil (Boys of Preston Prep 3)

Her eyebrows crawl her forehead. “Oh.”

“And it was good. Everything was good. But when I woke up this morning, he was gone.”

She frowns. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”

“Not gone, but like… not in the bed with me. Come to find out, he was downstairs with Heston, who said all this shit about Sydney—and was a complete dick, by the way—and also Sebastian kept introducing me as his ‘friend’, so what the fuck is that all about, right?”

It all comes out in a rush. The more I tell her, the more it feels like some of the weight lifts. I explain how he got so cold and distant, and how I knew he was on edge, and given how my stepfather is such a dick, there was no way Bass wouldn’t get into it with him.

“To be honest,” I confess, remembering Sebastian’s words from earlier, “I think maybe a part of me wanted him to get into it with Doug, you know? To show him that there’s someone out there who’ll stick up for me. Someone that’s scarier than him.” I drop back on my bed, feeling embarrassed to admit it.

But it’s true.

“They got into a fight?” Georgia says, jaw dropped. “And they really kicked you out? For good?”

I nod, not telling Georgia just how deep the problems with Doug go. It might not be fair to Sebastian, letting her think the fight was over something superficial, but I don’t have it in me to give another part of myself away. “On the way home, we had this huge fight. It was like he just flipped.” I cover my face with my hands, feeling frustrated. “God, everything is fucked.”

“Where is he now?”

I sniff, dragging my palms down my face. “I think he’s gone.”

“What do you mean he’s gone?”

I finally look at her, hoping my eyes look drier than they feel. “Like, I asked him if he was just using me for sex and he didn’t deny it, at all, and I told him to let me out at the Nerd, and he left. He just left.”

Georgia’s face goes through a series of expressions—disbelief, worry, concern, anger—but when she speaks, her voice is carefully neutral. “That sounds absolutely nothing like Bass. But at the same time, it sounds exactly like Bass.”

I snort, shifting my eyes to the ceiling. “Whirling dervish. I know.”

“Huh?” she asks, but I just roll onto my side and grab my extra pillow, cradling it against my body.

“Did he have sex with Sydney?” I ask. “Is there something there I don’t know about?”

Her mouth forms a thin line. “I don’t know if he had sex with her or not, but if he did, it was a while ago. Syd’s been pretty much persona non grata around here since the stuff with Vandy and Reyn went down. Sebastian wouldn’t cross that line.”

Yesterday, I would have believed that, but now this constant insistence that Bass is so loyal is beginning to seem like bullshit. “I know you hooked up with him,” I say, pushing the words past the lump in my throat. “Did he, like, use you?”

“No,” she says, head jerking back in surprise. Firmly, she repeats, “No. Not at all.”

“He didn’t just get what he wanted from you and move on?”

“It wasn’t like that with us,” she insists, pitching forward to catch my eyes. “It wouldn’t be the same, anyway. I’ve seen Bass with other girls—hell, I’ve been one of them—and he’s never gotten close to anyone like he has with you. I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but something about this feels majorly off.” Her eyebrows scrunch together as she watches me. “You said Heston was there? What did they talk about?”

I take a deep breath. “Other than making it super clear Sebastian didn’t want to acknowledge me to his brother or mother? Heston was mostly bragging about boning Sydney. Bass did say something about him flirting with jail. And something about a video.”

Her expression flattens, face paling. “A video?”

“Yeah, something like ‘I bet you didn’t even delete the video of you fucking.’”

“That son of a bitch,” she mutters, eyes flashing. Suddenly, she’s shooting to her feet. “That son of a motherfucking bitch!”

I sit up. “Who? Sebastian?”

“No,” she shakes her head like she’s in disbelief. “Heston. I can’t believe he’s still doing it. I mean, he’s not even at Preston anymore!”

“Doing what?” I ask, head fuzzy and slow.

She takes a deep breath, eyes slamming closed. “If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret?”