We The Pretty Stars (Court High 4)

Ugh, that was horrible. I warmed fingers on my cup. “I wonder what happened. Mrs. Hastings… Lena is so nice. I met her at your family’s Christmas party.”

Idly, I wondered how someone so nice could be with such a stiff like Principal Hastings, but again, none of my business.

Ramses tossed the pillow. “From what I understand, he didn’t call it off.” He picked up the remote. Turning on the TV, he let some random movie play before staring back at me. He smiled. “Hopefully, they get it figured out.”

Eighteen

Royal

I threw my fist so hard into Ramses Mallick’s motherfucking door I nearly shot my fist through the wood. He opened on the third knock, just barely getting a “What the fuck, Prinze” in before I shoved past him.

“Where is she?” I bit, having been calling his ass for the past two hours. I had Knight, LJ, and Jax scouring the city for places the two could be. She’d called me, and I missed the calls since I didn’t have my goddamn phone. I hadn’t gotten it until after our away game at Kingston Prep, and after I tried to call her, she didn’t pick up.

Ramses had been MIA as well, my calls alternating between both of their phones. The whole thing was sketch as hell, and this fucker was nothing but the opportunist. December told me how he’d gotten her to be his fake girlfriend so he could play out his little revenge plot on me. She hadn’t said it exactly that way, but in so many words, I knew that’s what was up.

Mallick wasn’t speaking fast enough, and taking the initiative, I forced my way through his home. He shut the door behind me, stalking after me, and when the asswipe attempted to grab my arm, I shoved him away.

I directed a finger. “Keep your goddamn hands off me.”

“And you keep quiet in my house.” He got in my face, a bold motherfucker. “My whole house is asleep. December is sleeping.”

“Where is she?” I got even closer, nostrils flaring. “You got two seconds.”

We were in a stare-off, me and this guy. The dick actually had sleep in his eyes, looking tired himself…

Had he slept with her? I’d kill, destroy everything in his life the way he knew it. I’d end him with not even a blink, and I think I only allowed my mind to escape the thought because he waved me to come with him.

“She’s on the couch,” he said, my breath releasing a little. He scrubbed through messy, dark hair when we approached the living room. “We both were.”

I lost his voice as I saw her, approached her. He had her curled up on his couch, blankets tucked around her.

I went there immediately, sitting with her. I touched a hand to her cheek, and she barely moved, such a heavy sleeper.

“She’s okay?” I asked, cupping her face. I could breathe again, my thumb brushing her skin. “What’s up with her dad?”

Her voicemails had been frantic and her texts the same.

Ramses joined us both on the couch, pinching his pant legs up like a little priss before sitting. He laced fingers across his chest. “Sounds like he wants them to move. According to December, he’s been freaking out. Really heavy-handed with her lately. He seems nervous, scared.”

Scared…

He had given her that mace, and maybe after losing Paige, he was turning a new leaf on how he was handling things. I thought the mace had been for me, but really, he did have reason to worry. Paige’s killer was still out there.

I brought December into my lap, holding her. Her body curled on me, and I made sure she was held close. She seemed okay, just sleeping. I tipped a chin in Mallick’s direction. “Where did you sleep?”

Like I said, the motherfucker had sleep in his eyes, and he rolled them as he grabbed a blanket from the other side of the sectional couch. He pointed there. “Over on that side. We were watching a movie. Fell asleep…”

“And that’s all?”

“Yes, Prinze.” Bunching the blanket, he tossed it. “She loves you. You don’t have to worry about that.”

I wasn’t worried, but I didn’t like that he was up on her, that she called him when she couldn’t get to me.

I held her close, forgetting about him. Thank God that was the last fucking game of the season. I wasn’t going to leave her alone again, whether she didn’t want to get up early or not.

“And I guess you love her,” Ramses observed, but actually hadn’t sounded spiteful about it. If anything, he looked content, that he cared but not necessarily in an aggressive away.

My attention drifted away and back to December. “Thanks for taking care of her.” The words felt foreign in my mouth, and I nearly spat saying them.