Damn-near unmovable.
No shake rattled his meaty arms in his embrace. This boy was unshakable. Dorian wet his lips as he brought me to my feet. He and his bastard friend Ares were two members of Legacy I actually hadn’t seen lately. The gifts of food and attention stopped at Thatcher and Wells.
Dorian and Ares had been noticeably absent.
They may have let the younger of their ranks indulge in my company, but they sure as fuck weren’t doing the same. This was something I’d definitely noticed too, which annoyed the ever-loving fuck out of me. Of course, I wanted nothing to do with Ares “Wolf” Mallick. I mean, the guy hated me as much as I did him. I wanted nothing to do with Dorian either, but for some reason, I always made note when the two Legacy juniors showed up and Dorian didn’t.
This was something I simply stopped questioning, accepting it. I cataloged it as I noted all the different shades of brown in his eyes while he held me now. The hallway’s fluorescent lights seemed to make them appear more hazel instead of the dark brown. They hinted at a lightness inside him, but I knew this to be a lie. There was no light inside this boy.
He stabilized me.
“Watch where you’re going,” he grumbled, point proven. His jaw tightened. “This floorboard sticks, always has.”
I noted his warning, and I almost told him I knew about it. Though, I didn’t. I mean, I never tripped on this floorboard but suddenly I felt like I should have known that. Like there’d been a space in my memory reserved for that very thought.
Shaking that off, I nodded at Dorian. He passed nothing more than a hard glance my way before he stalked down the hallway like a Neanderthal. He filled up so much of the hall it was crazy, and the students around him parted like the Red Sea for him to pass. They all filled in after that, everyone always shifting in his wake, and I shook my head.
Dick.
He still was, and I glanced down, seeing a sharp piece of metal on the locker. Had I actually fallen (had he not caught me), I would have hit that, punctured myself or even worse.
I played with my sleeve, rubbing beneath my forearm. The ghost of a feeling caused me to turn my arm around, and I unbuttoned my sleeve.
A faded scar faced me on my skin. It was something I’d always had. In fact, I’d had it so long I didn’t even remember when I got it. The weird thing was, had I fallen into th
e metal shard on the locker, I would have hit that same place where my scar was located.
I guess I should thank the dark prince.
He probably saved me some more damage to my skin.
I buttoned my sleeve. I was already late for my next class but stopped when I noticed a glint of something between the lockers. It was something metal, small, and I didn’t even know how I spotted it.
I placed my books down, getting on all fours. I had long arms, so I was able to touch the back of the wall pretty easy. I couldn’t see for shit, though.
I pressed my face to the dirty floor, well aware of how stupid I looked but whatever that was beneath the lockers was within reach. I just had to get it.
“What the fuck are you doing, little?”
My jacket ripped.
Like literally, I ripped my sleeve at the hem, the voice surprising me. The lockers caught on my sleeve, and when I slid my arm from underneath them, I made the tear worse.
“Nice,” I grumbled, forgetting about whatever was under the locker when I analyzed my jacket. I shook my head at the hole. “Really nice.”
“Well, what were you fucking doing?” Ares cast a dark look down on me, a wash of dark curls shrouding his face. His hair was more feathered some days, and odds were, he normally put something in it to tame his curls. Today, they were on full display. His big shoulders popped up. “Tell me it hasn’t gotten to the point where you’re rooting around for trash to get by? You see some food down there, yeah?”
This guy’s asshole energy was off the charts. I flipped him off, and he chuckled, backing off so I could get up. I noticed he didn’t offer to help. I brushed myself off. “No, I thought I found something.”
“What kind of something?” He angled a look down. “Something where?”
It was probably nothing. I shrugged. “Just something. Doesn’t matter.”
It probably was nothing, and I managed to look like an idiot in front of the guy who’d bullied me from day one, the one who’d started this whole thing.
Well, technically you did when you parked in his spot.
I didn’t care what I’d done. It gave him no right to treat me the way he had, nor to continue talking to me like I was his personal piece of shit.