All the Little Lies (English Prep 1)

Christian

Her tiny, yet feisty, body climbed down the lattice like it was a rock-climbing wall that she’d climbed a million times before. The crunch of autumn leaves sounded from below as she hopped down, and I followed after her.

My mind was in a spi

ral of questions, and my dick was a little hard from seeing her in nothing but a T-shirt. I hated that she had an effect on me. I hated how I lusted after her, and I hated how I was all but salivating at the mouth when I had pressed her body up against mine. Her reaction set off a domino effect in my body: my head spun, my hands itched to touch her, my lips ached to taste hers. The past slipped through my fingers, and I was focused on one thing and one thing only: her—here, in the present.

Once she had stepped back out of my grasp, I focused on the real reason I was in her bedroom: the bruise on her side. My blood was bubbling over. An angry heat was prickling the back of my neck. I would fucking kill her foster father if I was correct in my assumptions, and don’t even get me started on her locked door. I knew very well she hadn’t had the best living arrangements since being in foster care. She’d been through some shit, according to her file, but this? Was this how her life had been since her dad died? Hayley wasn’t the same girl from five years ago, and I thought I was beginning to see why.

As soon as my own shoes landed on the soft ground, I grabbed Hayley’s hand and spun her body around the old oak tree. The bark was rough as I gently pushed her back against it, caging her in. “I don’t like this.”

Her soft breath fanned over my skin. “You don’t like what?”

Everything in my body froze. Something about Hayley turned off my brain, and my body acted in ways it never had before. She was a magnet, and I was the metal. “I don’t like that my fucking head is spinning over a girl I hate. I don’t like that I can’t figure you out. I don’t like that you have all these secrets running around in your head. And I especially don’t like that you won’t tell me a damn thing.”

The pounding of my pulse awakened the muscle inside my chest. It was beating fast and hard. Lust was swimming around the pair of us, my eyes dipping down to her pouty lips. I could see the curve of them even in the dark. I wanted to run my mouth over them. I wanted to shove my tongue in her mouth and drink in every last secret she kept.

Hayley lifted her chin a little higher, our lips no more than a breath apart. We stared at each other for far too long before she whispered, “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to tell your secrets to your enemy, Christian?” Then, she pushed me away and rounded the tree, taking my breath with her.

I was stupefied—stunned, even. No one had ever pushed my buttons the way she had in the last few weeks. I hated her two days ago, and yet, here I was, following after her like a splinter being drawn to the surface. Why couldn’t I stop trailing her? Why did I all of a sudden feel protective over her?

As soon as she crossed the street, she looked for my Charger, which was tucked behind a massive, decked-out Escalade.

“Up ahead,” I urged, nodding in the right direction. The lamppost above her head flickered, and she brought her attention to her foster house. I watched her swallow down what appeared to be nerves, and then she let out a breath and walked the remaining distance to my car.

“Are you kidding? Did you kidnap my friend?!” She spun around and glared at me, her dark hair a mess, whipping around her face.

I shrugged and climbed in on the driver's side as she did the same on the passenger side. Her body swung around and landed on Piper, who was sitting with her arms crossed over her chest. Ollie was laid back, looking relaxed as ever, a smug grin on his face. I didn’t even want to know.

“Did he kidnap you?”

Piper huffed. “Pretty much! He demanded I tell him everything, and when I wouldn’t, he said he was just going to drive here. I made him climb the window instead of knocking on the door because…”

Hayley’s scowl turned soft, her lips curving upward and her eyes darting down. “Thank you.”

“Okay, now fucking talk,” I interjected, tapping my fingers along the steering wheel, staring at the ugly square house she called home. Even though being so up close and personal with Hayley muted my anger for a moment and distracted the hell out of me, I was back.

My temper was rearing its ugly head, and ol’ Pete was about to be the casualty.

“If I tell you, will you leave me the hell alone?” She flew back into her seat, exasperated. “I still don’t even know why you care. You’ve made it perfectly clear the last two weeks that you hate me and obviously blame me.”

Ollie stuck his head in between us, resting his elbows on the leather center console. “Yeah, about that. Christian doesn’t blame you. His reasoning is whack as fuck.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I bristled. Not the fucking time.

“Yeah, I’ll leave you alone.” Not a chance in hell.

Hayley looked at me from her peripheral vision. The car went silent. Ollie sunk back into his seat, and Piper stopped scowling at him. We were all on edge, waiting for her to explain. Hayley swallowed, the truth ready to spill from her lips. “I fell down the stairs.”

I growled and smacked my steering wheel. “Quit fucking around, Hayley. Who the hell hurt you? Why won’t you tell me?”

She leveled me with a stare that hit me in my core. “Because I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone.”

She looked away, wounded. I flicked my eyes into the rearview mirror, and for once, Piper didn’t look angry. She looked sad. The skin around her eyes crinkled, the dark color of her irises pleading with me to keep going. I must have proven my worth by climbing through the window.

“So what? That’s it? You’re not going to tell me anything?”

She huffed. “Absolutely not! Why would I tell you anything? The only thing you’ve proven to me since I came to English Prep is what a jerk you can be! I know you’re used to people bowing at your feet, but I won’t be one of them.” She was seething now, fuming, her voice louder as each insult flew out. “I know guys like you. Rich, entitled assholes. Just like climbing in my room and demanding I tell you who left this bruise on my side! Or demanding to know why my door was locked. I owe you nothing, Christian. When I first got to English Prep, I thought maybe we could pick up where we had left off, but I was sorely mistaken.” My name coming out of her mouth was laced with venom. Like I was a villain. And maybe I was. “You manipulate people to follow you around school with their tongues hanging from their mouths. You can’t manipulate me. I’m nothing like the people you surround yourself with. I no longer want to be in your good graces.” She sighed heavily. My stomach was tightened, ready for more. “Maybe I did two weeks ago, when I was walking into English Prep blindly, a heart full of hope, but you’ve said it and your actions proved it. You hate me. We’re not the same two kids we were five years ago. So, no. I’m not telling you anything!”