The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

“Uh—”

“That’s great!” Molly exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. “So, it’s like you and Larkins, and me and Tray Evans.”

Oh…no. It was all I could muster. I had no idea how to derail her.

“Um,” I muttered, unsure of how to stop her.

I looked away from her, and I caught sight of Grayley wandering down the hallway, measuring each face intently before he moved on.

“Hey,” I called out.

Grayley saw me and a relieved grin broke out over his face.

“What are you doing here?”

“I have to talk to you,” he muttered, not breaking his stride as he grasped my elbow and dragged me behind him, around a corner. Finding an empty room, he pushed me inside and closed the door.

“What?” I asked. “Look, if this is about what happened at Pedlam, I swear—”

“It’s not about that,” he cut me off.

Taking a closer look, I realized he was slightly white around his lips, giving him a strained look.

“What is it?” I asked, feeling a sense of dread inside.

“You know what you said about Geezer’s dad?”

“Yeah…”

“Geezer went to Brian. He wanted to know who Jace’s competition was…who his dad was working for…and…”

“Oh no.” I already knew where this was going.

“Yeah—Brian wanted to know why Geezer wanted to know. Geezer doesn’t give a shit about a lot as long as his supply is stocked, you know.”

“Brian hurt him?” I felt a punch to my stomach when I asked.

“Brian was pissed—Geezer’s in the hospital. He’s got three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and…”

Oh God. What else.

“A broken right arm.”

“Oh my God,” I moaned, falling against the wall, slowly sliding down until I hit the floor. I wrapped my arms around my knees. Oh God. Brian had hurt Geezer. He’d hurt my best friend. Someone who I considered family. Who I swore to always protect and look out for. Brian had hurt Geezer.

That fucker.

I reached blindly for my cellphone and pressed three on speed dial. Brian’s name flashed across my screen.

Standing up, I heard his voice and I said coldly, “You just signed your fucking death warrant. See you in hell.”

I hung up and strode from the room.

“Taryn,” Tray called out, the hallways now empty again. Everyone had gone in to class, a few stragglers glanced at us in curiosity.

I didn’t slow down, but hurried to my locker.

“Taryn,” Tray called out again, jogging lightly behind me.