“Hey Hunter,” I begin, a little more cautiously than I would ordinarily feel approaching him. It’s that gleam in his eye that’s throwing me off.

“Riley,” he acknowledges, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I just…” I pause, swallowing, and glance at his friends seated around the table, watching me. I shift my gaze back to Hunter. “Can we talk?”

Still holding my gaze, he shakes his head. “I don’t have much left to say to you.”

“Oof,” one of his friends comments to another.

“That’s cold,” the other one remarks back.

Hunter’s lips tug up in a smile that doesn’t quite seem friendly.

Mark Poplowski, never the brightest kid in the bunch, speaks up. “I thought you two were cool. I thought you liked her or something.”

“Eh.” Hunter shrugs almost noncommittally. “We were, but things have been a little weird since her mom walked in on us in bed together.”

My eyes widen and I feel the color drain from my face. I can feel the surprise in the guys at the table, but Hunter is as casual as can be as he decimates my reputation.

“You two…?” his one friend trails off.

Poplowski doesn’t dither. “You’ve been banging the nerd?”

My chest starts to tighten as Hunter shows his pearly whites, smirking across the table. “Why else would I be hanging out with her?”

“Aw, shit,” one of his friends says before busting up laughing.

I can’t breathe.

Hunter looks back at me, the malice in his eyes no longer camouflaged or confusing. He hates me, and he wants me to know it. “I told you it’s over, Riley. Don’t make it harder on yourself than it has to be.”

His friends laugh at me—the stage five clinger who apparently can’t let go after the prince of assholes took my virginity and got caught in my bed the next morning.

I cannot believe he just did that. My whole body feels shaky, and my stomach is sick. Not because everyone’s laughing at me now, not because of the lewd way Mark looks at me after hearing I put out, but because Hunter did this to me. He knew exactly what he was doing. He’s punishing me, just like he punished his old best friend for whatever he must have done to earn Hunter’s wrath.

I feel like I’m going to be sick and I can’t face further embarrassment right now, so I turn on my heel and make my way out of the cafeteria as quickly as I can without running.

My insides are so restless and unsettled. I can’t go back in there. I can’t sit through the class after recess, knowing by then the juicy gossip he just created will have spread and everyone who isn’t talking about him will be talking about me.

Before I entirely know what I’m doing, I head to my locker, collect all my things, and flee the building.

I want to walk straight home so I can curl up alone in my bed, but I don’t. Mom hasn’t left for work yet, so she’d want to know why I’m home from school early. I can’t explain, because I can’t tell her what just happened.

I stop at the bridge instead. I sit down and dangle my feet over the edge, staring down at the water until I feel calm again.

After a little time passes, I open my backpack and take out my homework. I might as well get started on it. Maybe by the time I finish, Mom will be gone and I can walk the rest of the way home.

I get carried away in my work. It’s a great escape, but more time passes than I intended. I don’t realize it until I hear footsteps on the bridge. Until they stop and Hunter laughs a little.

“Wow. You’re still here after all that.”

I start to put my things back in my book bag, casting him a guarded look over my shoulder. “I’m not here for you. I didn’t realize school had already let out. I was just killing time until I could go home.”

“Maybe you should suck my dick first since everyone thinks you have been anyway,” he says, apparently amused by the destruction he caused.

I don’t bother to dignify that with a response. “Did that make you feel better? You completely ruined my reputation. Every single person we go to school with will have heard about this by the time I get to school tomorrow.”

“I know. But hey, this makes me look better than the other things they could be saying about me,” he states.

I shake my head, zipping my bag back up and standing. “That is without question the most selfish statement I have ever heard.”

“You brought it on yourself,” he says, completely remorseless. “All you had to do was keep your mouth shut, Riley. All you had to do was keep your word.”

Tags: Sam Mariano Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net