She swallows again before hanging her head and dropping to her knees before me, making every single student in the hallway suck in a gasp.
Haven Falls has a new queen now.
Candice straightens out and walks towards my locker, knowing exactly where it is after the millions of times she’s poked rotten eggs or dog shit through the little gaps.
I follow her and put in the combination, opening it up and watching as she delicately places my things inside. “I really am sorry,” I tell her, for no one else’s ears. “It’s sick that Monica has taken a photo of a private moment like that, and had you not done what you did to me and treated me so fucking poorly over the last few years, I probably would have brought it to you to burn, but instead, this is what you get. Just remember, you keep the fuck away from me and be a civil human being and you’ll get your little porn photo back at graduation. If not… well, you wouldn’t want that, now, would you?”
Candice’s expression hardens, clearly not liking being backed into a corner, but she’s not about to risk what would happen if she was to fight it. “So, if I’m not your target, I’m assuming Monica is?”
I look over my shoulder, taking in the cheer skank in question, loving that she’s seen just how easily I’ve taken down the queen of Haven Falls Private and love the fear pouring out of her eyes even more. She knows without a doubt that she’s next.
All I do is grin and Candice takes that as confirmation before realizing that whatever the hell this is between us is over and quietly slinks away as victory spreads through me. One bitch down, one to go.
Candice Fucking McGillies, I own you.
I walk away from my locker and meet Tully at hers with a shit eating grin. “Today is going to be awesome,” I tell her. “You know when you can just feel it in your gut?”
“Yeah,” she agrees, raising her eyes to take in Rivers walking through the entrance of the school at the opposite end of the hallway. His eyes meet hers and I wait for the inevitable smile to light up both their faces. Tully beams at him, her cheeks even flushing, but Rivers…his eyes drop away and guilt flashes deep within them.
Oh no. Not good.
Tully’s whole demeanor shatters. She sinks back, her shoulders drop, she sucks in a breath and starts shaking her head. “No, no, no,” she murmurs to herself, keeping her eyes locked on him. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t break me, Rivers.”
She drags me forward in her desperation to talk to Rivers and within the blink of an eye, she grabs his arm, slings him into the closest classroom, and slams the door behind us, locking me inside with them when whatever is about to be said clearly needs to be a private conversation.
I go to step back out the door and Tully stops me with a simple look. “Don’t fucking move,” she yells at me before jabbing her finger into Rivers’ chest. “I fucking knew it,” she seethes. “How could you do that to me? I knew it, the second I let you touch me, you were going to shred me to pieces.”
His eyes flick to mine, clearly realizing that I know exactly what went down last night before he focuses back on Tully with nothing but guilt shining through his dark eyes. “Baby, I’m sorry,” he murmurs, wrapping his hand around hers on his chest. “I just…I can’t. You and me, it’s not a good idea. To be with you would mean to destroy you and I can’t do that.”
“I fucking knew it,” she repeats, absolutely devastated, “but if this is how you want to play, then that’s what we’ll do,” she adds, drawing in a breath and fighting tears, but in the end, the tears more than win. “Screw you, Rivers. I’m through with you. We’re done.”
With that, Tully pulls back her shoulders, runs a hand across her face, wiping the tears that sprung from her eyes, and storms out the door with a new resolve to make his life a living hell.
I stare after her, unsure of what to do.
“What did she mean?” Rivers questions with panic, watching the space she just left from. “What did I just do?”
I let out a sigh, absolutely hating being in the middle of this. “She going to make you hurt. She’s about to make you regret it.”
“Regret what though? Touching her or not being with her?”
“Both,” I cringe. “She’s going to make you wish you never laid eyes on her.”
Rivers lets out a deep breath before running his hand through his dark hair, looking absolutely shattered, though I don’t know if it’s because he can’t have what he wants most in this world or because he just hurt the woman he’s most likely in love with. Probably both. “Fuck,” he curses, “she’s never going to forgive me.”