“No. I promise I’ll do it, Dad.” Fuck. That.
“You’d better. This is your last warning.” Turning his back to me, he called out for our housekeeper. “Joan?”
I took that as my cue to leave. I’d just reached the door, Joan entering the kitchen and giving me a small smile, when my dad’s voice stopped me. “Don’t forget the school rules—you’re off the football team if you don’t improve your grades.”
There was no way I was getting kicked off the team. We were already fucked with Kian’s suspension, and I was the captain. If I was gone, too, the rest of the team would be screwed, with no hope of winning the championships. Why did my dad have to be buddies with someone who had the power to take away the one thing I loved? And why did he have to constantly compare me to Raine Laurent?
“Got to get my books from my locker. I’ll be back,” I muttered, sliding out of my seat and stalking over to Raine before anyone could reply.
Her eyes widened as I neared her, and she glanced around wildly as if she was looking for an escape. I suppressed the sudden, unexpected urge to wrap my hand around that little throat again. What the fuck was wrong with me?
“Outside, now.” I continued stalking towards the doors, knowing she wouldn’t want to cause a scene in front of the other students.
Hearing a muffled curse behind me, I smiled to myself as I turned to face her.
“What do you want?” She stared at me defiantly, but she couldn’t disguise the shake in her voice.
“This way.” The last thing I wanted was for people to think I was showing an interest in her, and I checked around me to make sure no one was paying us any attention. Satisfied we were in the clear, I gripped her arm, dragging her down the opposite corridor. She stumbled, trying to keep up with my pace as I rounded the corner and came to a stop under the stairwell.
As soon as we were there, I let go of her, pushing her up against the wall and planting my hands on the wall behind her head. I was thrown for a moment at the feel of her small body against mine, before I gathered myself and spoke the words I’d dragged her aside to say. “I want you to find another way home from school on Mondays.”
She stood completely still, staring at me with wide eyes, her pupils dilated with an intoxicating combination of apprehension and arousal. Eventually, she took a breath and spoke, her voice practically vibrating with tension. “I-I can’t. What will I tell my aunt and your parents? How am I going to get home?”
“Not my concern.” As I leaned into her, the scent of apples and caramel invaded my senses.
“I can’t.” Her mouth set in a stubborn, flat line.
Pressing my body into hers, I lowered my mouth to her ear. “You will. I don’t care how it happens, I don’t want you in my car again.” She didn’t need to know that her presence made me feel out of control, that she got under my skin like nothing else, and I hated it. The best thing for both of us was for her to stay as far away from me as possible.
Her chest rose and fell beneath me, her breathing rapid against the side of my face. Drawing back, I waited until her eyes met mine, before I continued. “And you need to stop sucking up to my parents.”
“I’m not,” she whispered, lowering her gaze.
“You are.” I laughed. “You know, they only praise you because they feel sorry for you. You’d have to be completely naïve not to realise that they don’t mean any of the things they say to you. Don’t forget your place, Raine Laurent. You’re insignificant. Nothing.” The cruel lies fell easily from my lips, and she stiffened beneath me, a tiny, pained whimper escaping from her mouth before she clamped it shut.
Glistening tears gathered on her lashes. One fell, and my eyes followed it down her face to her cheekbone. Before I knew what I was fucking doing, I gripped her chin in my hand and licked away the tear, the saltiness bursting on my tongue.
She let out a shocked gasp, and another tear fell.
“Why?” she managed to say. “Why?”
She didn’t deserve an explanation from me, and I didn’t have one to give her. “Because I fucking can.”
Back in the cafeteria, I pushed all thoughts of Raine Laurent from my mind. What had just happened between us, I had no fucking idea. I’d lost all rationality when it came to that girl. All I knew was, my dad needed to get off my back, and she needed to stay well away from me.
The boys didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, and we fell into an easy discussion about the logistics of our plan for Fright Night. Preparation was key—it was no good going in without any idea.
Once we had everything together, we headed outside to join some of the football team before the rest of our lunch break was up.
My ex-girlfriend, Anastasia, was hanging out in the quad area with Imogen and their little group of friends. She caught my eye, tilting her blonde head at me hopefully, and I gave a slight shake of my head. Yeah, she was hot, but way too high-maintenance for me. If she thought there was a chance we’d be getting back together, she had another think coming. I’d been there, done that, and I had no intention of repeating myself. Playing the field was much easier—no commitments, no burden of having to constantly take the other person into account when making decisions. It sounded selfish, but my only goals this year were to stay at the top where I belonged, graduate with the grades I needed to get into Alstone College, and to keep my spot as football team captain. If we could win the football league this season, even better.
I noticed Xavier glancing over at Imogen when he thought no one else was looking, and I rolled my eyes. These were two people who were in serious fucking denial about wanting to get back together. They’d broken up at the beginning of the summer, and Xavier had been a miserable fucker ever since.
Not that it was my problem to sort out. My attention turned to the football game we were playing after school on Wednesday against our biggest rivals.
“You think we can beat Highnam Academy? Blount’s got a serious chip on his shoulder after the last match. I wouldn’t put it past him to try something sneaky.”
“I’ve got it covered,”