Then there was his old man, a piece of shit who only loved one thing… the bottle.
His dad took another step toward Reese, but he refused to back down. Reese was still primed from the fight earlier, and if Hugo wanted to do this, after Reese had proved he would no longer let himself get knocked around, then so be it.
So he cracked his knuckles, rolled his head around on his neck, and straightened to his full height. But then something flickered in his dad’s eyes, maybe realization that something nasty churned inside Reese, just waiting to be released.
Or maybe after getting his ass handed to him the last time his old man tried this shit had common sense settling in through the alcohol brain.
Hugo cursed under his breath and waved a hand in Reese’s direction before turning around and snatching the bottle of vodka from between Reese’s mother’s legs. He sat back down, and a moment passed before Reese headed to his room.
He shut the door and closed his eyes. He was fucking tired, not just physically but mentally too. And although the night had ended fucked up, he did feel his heart start to race a little at one thought.
Keira.
7
Keira knew there’d be talk about Alistor’s party come Monday at school. It was inevitable that someone would have found out about Josh and the fight—or the beatdown Reese gave him—and the rumors would get twisted as they made their way through everyone.
BMA was a cesspool of people wanting to know everyone’s business.
On top of the rumor issues, there was also Reese and how she felt about him. Ignoring it wasn’t doing any good, and she found her interest for the bad boy growing daily. But then there was also worry about her brother Alex finding out about what happened at the party.
Although Alex was a few years older than her and didn’t go to BMA anymore, he still had friends and connections to the academy. That meant he heard about everything.
And once he found out, her once coveted BMA-football-playing brother would then want to beat Josh’s ass all over again. He may not know Josh, but he’d sure as hell find him, and then more shit would hit the fan.
Molly pulled into a spot in the academy parking lot. Luxury cars were lined up as far as the eye could see. Every once in a while, you’d see a Honda or a mid-price SUV, but those usually belonged to a staff member. The students here drove cars that cost more than most people’s yearly salary.
It was kind of disgusting.
“You gonna be okay today?”
Keira looked at Molly.
“I’ll be fine,” Keira said and looked out the window.
“You know the whole academy probably heard about the shit at the party, then the rumor mill will start about you and Reese. They’ll assume you guys are fucking.”
“I know.” Keira groaned and rested her head back on the seat. She forced her eyes open, the silence in the car thick and heavy. When she looked out the window again, she saw students milling around the front of the building. Black Mountain Academy was elite, prestigious, and the students within that coveted circle had their noses so far in the air Keira was surprised they could even breathe.
She didn’t miss a few of the girls close to Molly’s BMW glance their way then promptly start to snicker.
No doubt, there had been texts, phone calls, and a parade of gossip over the weekend.
“Don’t worry about them. They are nothing but a bunch of rich, stuck-up bitches,” Molly said and took Keira’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. “Don’t show your fear,” Molly joked. “They can smell it.”
Keira chuckled and exhaled roughly. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
They climbed out of the car, and the sensation of stares was a physical touch. They made their way to the front of the school, but Ian’s voice stopped them.
Keira glanced at Molly and saw how tense she’d become. What in the hell is going on with them?
Ian jogged up to them, and although he smiled, Keira didn’t miss the tightness around his mouth as he glanced at Molly.
“Hey, I tried calling you Sunday to hang out, but you didn’t answer,” he said, directing the question at Keira.
After the party, all Keira had wanted to do was hunker down and sift through her feelings.
“Yeah, I saw. Sorry I didn’t call you back. I wasn’t feeling very well.” It wasn’t too much of a lie. She wasn’t feeling well, but it was all in her head.
He nodded, but his focus was on Molly. “Hey. How are you?” Ian, with his blond hair and brown eyes, had the boy next door look going for him. He was also a genuinely nice guy, unlike most of the assholes they went to school with. He was also incredibly smart, especially in the computer department.
His good looks got him enough female attention, but his book smarts tended to keep him out of the popular category with the guys.
Molly refused to look at him, and Keira was too tired and conflicted with her own shit that she wasn’t about to touch on that subject right now.
“Yeah, okay,” Keira said, feeling the tension growing between them. Maybe they needed to talk this out alone. “I’ll meet up with you guys in English Comp.”
“I’ll go with you,” Molly said tightly.
“Can we talk, Molly? Please?” There was a pleading tone to Ian’s voice.
And the look in Molly’s face told Keira now was the time to go.
She made her way inside, and a look over her shoulder showed Molly waving her hands furiously between her and Ian. Facing forward, she kept her head down and walked faster, aware of the students staring at her and whispering to each other.
She entered the school, the sound of lockers being slammed shut and voices raised in conversation surrounding her. It was white, red, and black as far as the eye could see, the uniforms they were required to wear at BMA making them all look like lemmings on any given day.
She started rummaging through her bag for a second then glanced up and felt her step falter when she noticed Reese right away. He closed his locker and turned, facing her, their eyes locking.
It was this weird moment where everything felt thick, where time seemed to stand still. And then Nate was in front of Reese, cutting off their eye contact and the spell Keira felt wash over her.
The bathroom. That’s where Keira found herself after she put her books she wouldn’t need right away in her locker. It was a reprieve before first period, when no doubt the hushed murmurs would commence before someone outright said whatever was floating around about her.
The bathroom was thankfully empty when she entered, and she set her bag down and rested her hands on the edge of the sink. She stared at herself in the mirror and sighed, because… well, she didn’t know why.
That’s a lie.
She was plain. In every sense of the word. And she wouldn’t even be on the radar for a guy like Reese.
But I had been. He’d come to my defense.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. He was a good guy; that was all. Nothing like the snobs who went to school here who would have seen a fight or assault and grabbed a beer to watch the show.
Reese would have helped anyone if they were in trouble. But these feelings she had for him weren’t sane. They didn’t feel normal, like a passing crush. He consumed her thoughts, made her body feel things it never had before. And he’d never even touched her, yet she lit up when he was around.