Every glare they believe I’ve earned. Without question, my classmates believe what they heard instead of being willing to look through to the truth.
I’ve been made the criminal by the real villains.
But why? Everything that has happened between Marek and me has seemed genuine, and although a little fucking twisted, there’s no way it can all have been a lie.
“What the hell was that?” Delaney finally catches up to me as I’m pushing my pin number into the dorm keypad for the third time. My room is the only place I want to be right now, and of course, access is denied.
The sun glints off the shiny black paint on Breaker’s Escalade. From the passenger seat, Dixon winks, then rolls up the window, disappearing behind the tinted glass.
“God dammit!” I shout, gesturing for Delaney to try her code.
They are responsible for this. All of it. The pulling me into their vortex. The making me feel safe among the monsters. The baffling false recording. Now, my safe haven. Locking me out of my dorm is their way of showing me they’ve got my number.
They know how to make me weak.
I run the steps two at a time and slam my door once Delaney and I are safe behind it. The rug shifts as I pace back and forth.
“That wasn’t you, was it?” She plops down on my bed. “I mean, it couldn’t be you.”
“No, it wasn’t me.” I swallow the lump in my throat, hoping to stop the threatening tears.
“Do you know who it was?” Her tone strikes me as interesting. She doesn’t want to believe Breaker could be capable of something like this. “It can’t be who I think it is.”
“They fooled me, had me believing something that’s been a game all along.”
“I’ve been around when Marek looks at you, Palmer.”
“Do you see him here now? Don’t you think he’d be knocking at my door, trying his hardest to explain that he didn’t play any part in this mess?” I argue, collapsing on my mattress. A minute later, I sit up and look into Delaney’s sympathetic face. “Everything is falling apart.”
“It’s going to be okay. This will pass, and everyone will move onto the next thing. I’m certain of it.”
“No, it won’t. I’m their new target.”
******
It’s been a week. Things are eerily quiet. Everyone is acting as if they didn’t witness my mother slapping me, like they didn’t hear the doctored recording of me and Marek. Missing girls seem to be a topic we’re so accustomed to, that everything seems normal on campus.
Paranoia is starting to set in. If the boys are quiet, then they have to be plotting something.
Their absence has given me ample time to process everything I know. It’s been a year since Reed disappeared. The boys were convincing enough that I fell for their nice guy act, only to find out it was a cruel joke. But why? The only thing I ever did was not die when she did.
Are they cruel enough to hold that against me?
Their absence should give me a sense of relief, but the opposite is true. I’m more scared than ever. Sleep is evading me. There’s no place where I’m not checking over my shoulder. Behaving like a victim before I become one has a way of twisting my sense of security.
I walk into English and find the room empty. The time on my phone says class should be starting any minute now. I sit in my usual seat, take out my notebook, and read over the paper that’s due today. Nervous energy fills the space around me, and I catch myself fiddling with the hem of my skirt.
A quick check of my phone lets me know class is now ten minutes late. Pulling up my email, I assume I’ll find a message I’ve missed informing me of the change, but my inbox is empty.
“Huh?” I sit up a little straighter, examining the large, empty stadium-type seating in the lecture hall.
The lights flicker, bringing unease through my mind, and I twist back to the front.
Marek stands in the center of the room. He has on his uniform, and his hair is a fuss on the top of his head. He stalks towards me. It’s then I notice Breaker slipping through the left side door, Dixon at the right, and one quick glance behind me shows Byron guarding the top exit.
“What’s the plan, Marek?” I gather my books and stand. He’s on me before I can take a single step. “There has to be a plan, right, for this all to make sense?”
“Sit down.” His flat palm lands on my chest and shoves me into the chair. “We need to talk.”
I try to stand again, and I’m put back in my place. “This isn’t funny, Marek. Tell me there’s a reason for all this fucked up bullshit. Put me at ease.”
“Does it look like I’m laughing, Palmer?” He bends down and puts his face in front of mine. I turn away, and his fingers dig into my cheeks, forcing me to look at him.
“Let me go,” I plead, clawing at his hand.
Marek leans in closer, pressing his lips to mine, catching me by surprise. I melt into him, hating myself the whole time I do. When he pulls away, a knowing, sinister smile turns up his lips in the corner.
“Go ahead, baby.” He releases my face but places his hands in the front of my hair. “Fight me. Try your fucking hardest, but don’t forget, we will always be stronger than you.”
“But not smarter,” I bite back, straightening my spine, a false claim of the strength he thinks I lack.
“You so sure about that, Palmer?” He bites his bottom lip and backs away, his eyes on me the entire time. “Trust me enough to give you what you need.”
“I don’t trust you at all.” I narrow my eyes on him and stand, moving to the side to get around his large frame. “Don’t you get that?”
Marek’s jaw clenches tight, and his fingers wiggle at his sides. He’s an uncontrollable force, and like any other force, once it’s started, there’s no stopping it.
“Will you just listen to me, hear what I’m trying to say?” He steps in front of me, blocking my escape and demolishing that sense of security I’m trying desperately to get back. “Don’t you get it by now?”
“Marek.” Byron’s tone is menacing, challenging him.
Marek’s head jerks towards the top of the classroom. When Marek’s eyes break from Byron back to me, I see it. That thing he so desperately wants me to understand.
Trust him even when I shouldn’t. But why?
Weighing my options leads me to believe Breaker is the easy choice. Dixon and Byron release a mutual guttural groan when I don’t go to them.
“You think I’m soft, huh?” Breaker lifts his hand, blocking the door. I shake my head, too afraid of how frail my voice will sound if I try to argue with him. “Don’t mistake my pretty boy face for niceness. Two of them have already tasted you, and I’m looking for mine, Palmer.” At his warning, I swallow the large lump in my throat, instantly aware of the threat nipping at my heels. “Have a nice day, sweetheart.”
Once I’m out the door, their laughter chases me through the front entrance and onto the lawn. I rest my forearms on my knees, allowing my bag to hit the dirt. Every breath is needles poking into my chest.
“Whore.” Two hands slam into my back, and I’m shoved forward, falling to my knees. Rocks grind into my skin. I glance over my shoulder and see a lot of blonde hair wrapped in Marek’s arms. “That’s where you belong, anyway.”