“And you’re saying it would if I stay here?”
“We can’t guarantee your safety,” Daisy said.
“What you did was stupid,” Tabitha said.
“No, but I also know someone in class has it in for the Dogs. Don’t you see it? The school is divided. I was just curious to see which way it would fall.”
“Don’t fuck with my sister and get out,” Miles said.
Luke smirked. “Until next time, Tabby.”
She went to defend her name but Daisy was there, holding her back.
Luke left the bathroom and now Tabitha turned to her friends.
“What the hell?” she asked.
“Don’t talk to us like that,” Miles said. “Do you have any idea what he could have done to you? How hurt you could have been? Next time, you don’t go with him willingly.”
She laughed. “You think I went with him willingly?”
“He’s strong,” Anthony said.
“I had it handled.”
“Did you?” Daisy asked. “From where I was standing, it looked like he was the one in control. You, you were waiting for him to strike.”
Tabitha shrugged. “You can believe me or not, I don’t care. I’m telling you I had it handled. There was no way he was going to get past me.”
“Why does he want to know about the school?” Rachel asked, coming further into the room.
“We better head back to class,” Tabitha said.
“We need to meet up about this,” Miles said, looking toward Anthony.
“Agreed,” Daisy said.
“No!” Tabitha sliced her hand through the air. She’d heard enough. “Have you ever thought this is exactly what he wanted? Luke … he’s not like Ryan. If this was fuckface, I’d say we’ve got to worry about his deal, but he’s not. He’s different. We all know this. No, I think this is him fucking with us. Trying to distract us. We don’t bite. That’s what we do.”
“You’re sure?” Daisy asked. “You seem to know Luke better than anyone.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Wow, you’re the one who has told us you keep an eye on shit like this. No need to be a bitch.” Daisy shook her head and stormed out of the bathroom.
Tabitha winced. She had told the crew that, and now, fuck, she’d been mean.
“I’ll let you deal with that problem.”
One by one, her friends left until there was only her and Anthony.
“I didn’t mean to bite her head off.”
Silence.
She tapped her foot, impatient. “For fuck’s sake, Anthony, tell me what you’ve got to say and then we can move on.”
“You’ve got to learn to be careful,” he said. “I don’t trust the Dogs. We know their club is wrapped up in illegal shit. When we’re old enough, the club will be ours, unless you’ve made your decision about moving to Chaos Bleeds.”
“The club will be yours, Anthony. I’m not going to be your old lady.”
He wrinkled his nose.
“Nice to know what you think of me.”
“Be careful and make it right with Daisy.” He stepped out of the bathroom.
Alone, she wrapped her arms around herself, wincing. Being thrown against a wall had hurt. She’d have a few bruises.
Leaning against the same wall, she tilted her head back and stared up at the ceiling. The Skulls, the club, this wasn’t supposed to be so complicated.
“Fuck it, it’s too soon to make any kind of decision right now.”
Out of habit, she washed her hands, dried them, and headed back to English. Luke was still there and the teacher paused as Tabitha entered.
She kept her head held high and made her way to her window seat, right next to Luke.
Sitting down, she waited.
The teacher continued to teach the class.
A piece of paper was slid across to her.
She ignored it.
Luke pressed a finger on top.
Picking it up, she opened to find his note.
Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you.
There was no way she was going to justify an answer. Closing the note, she slid it right back to him.
Watching the teacher, she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Holding her pencil, she copied everything off the board and she’d have to go over everything with Darcy, who was no longer in school because she was happily married to Ink and was still in recovery. She was another friend she wished was still in school.
She stifled a yawn but the note was slid right back to her.
Don’t ignore me. It’s rude.
Was this guy for real?
She didn’t respond.
Again, he scribbled.
If you don’t respond, I’ll make another scene.
She responded.
Make a scene. I don’t care.
Are you okay?
This is pathetic. I’m not talking to you.
I didn’t mean to hurt you.
It takes a lot more than being thrown into a wall to hurt me.
I’m sorry.
You’re sounding like a pussy now. I’m bored.
She slid the note over for him to read. Before he could respond, she snatched it back and tore it up. There, done.
The bell rang, and Tabitha was more than happy to get the hell out of there. She met up with Daisy and they hugged. Her best friend couldn’t stay mad at her for too long, which she was thankful for. So long as she had Daisy, she’d be fine. Her best friend meant the world to her.
****
Eva, her mother, had gone all out in the Halloween decorations this year. Standing at the front gate, she laughed at the gravestones and the coffins with arms peeking out.
“You think this is too much?”
“Not at all. In fact, you better have a whole lot of candy ready. I just know we’re going to get a lot of visitors.”
“It was Angel’s idea. Each of The Skulls with a yard have decorated the whole house.”
She wasn’t surprised about it being Angel. Being the club president’s old lady, she’d brought it on herself to start working toward a better image to all of the people of Fort Wills. Angel worked so hard. She offered charity runs throughout town, helped with fairs, created food competitions, and anything with a fun edge, she was there.
For the most part, it worked.
“Look at you,” Eva said, holding her arms out.
“Mom, don’t.” She stepped into her mom’s arms, accepting her kiss to the cheek.
“You look stunning.”
She’d gotten a costume of an eighteenth-century woman, complete with a corset. To help turn it into a Halloween costume, Daisy had helped her to tear the fabric, adding on some fake blood, and of course, there was more risqué with her boobs pressed tight and up.
She looked good.
She knew she did.
“It’s a good thing Simon’s busy. Dad wouldn’t let you out because he’d know all the kinds of naughty you’d get into.”
“Oh, enough with you, Tate,” Eva said.
Tate, her older sister, laughed.
“What do you think?”
“You know I think you look beautiful, and you do.” Tate came toward her, hugging her tightly.
Once again, Tate was heavily pregnant. There were so many babies being born, it was hard to keep up with all the latest developments.