I shot out of my chair immediately, my knees banging the wooden desk as I climbed out.
“Mr. Powell? Is there a problem?”
Christian stood up, too, blindsided by my sudden need to jump out of my desk. “Ollie? What’s wrong?”
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, Mr. Calhoun. I just remembered I left my book in my car.”
My eyes averted from him as I lied, and I caught Eric’s gaze. His dark brow was crinkled, and he shook his head slightly. Oh fuck. “I mean, in Eric’s car.” Christian now knows I’m lying. “Do you mind if I go grab it?”
Mr. Calhoun sighed. “Be quick.”
Eric tossed me his keys at the last second, going with my story as the lies flew out of my mouth. Christian slowly sat down in his desk and adjusted his tie around his neck, as if it were suffocating him. He stared at me all the way to the classroom door, but I kept my face steady. Everything is just dandy, big bro.
As soon as I was through the door, I quickly made my way to the doors of English Prep, passing by the front office as casually as possible. As soon as the daylight greeted me, I rushed to the side of the school, and that was where I saw Piper pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. Her head snapped up, her ponytail from earlier now loose with strands of copper-colored hair floating around her face.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, wide-eyed.
“What happened?” I walked a little closer to her as I glanced around. No one else was near. The parking lot, which was several yards away, was silent and unmoving. I didn’t see Madeline, either.
Piper appeared nervous. Her hand shot to her mouth, and she nibbled on her thumb nail. The closer I got to her, the more my anger with her faded away. She looked so delicate and innocent standing there. It made me forget that she had so many secrets closed away behind her pretty lips.
“Why aren’t you in class, Piper?” I was surprised at how soft my voice came out. I was a wolf approaching a lamb, treading nice and easy because I didn't want to scare her away. I wanted her to let me help instead of clamming up and shoving me away.
Why can’t you just leave her be, Ollie?
Piper’s shoulders dropped slightly before she took both hands and put them on her face. She disappeared into her palms, and I almost reached out to her. Is she crying? Jesus.
Suddenly, her hands dropped, and she leveled me with an intense stare. “I’m not in class because my skirt ripped, and I can’t drive home to change because I left my stupid keys in Mrs. Dewinkle’s classroom.”
Her skirt ripped? My eyes dipped down to the blue fabric to see if I could get a glimpse of the hidden goods, but I hastily brought them back up to her. “You don’t have an extra in your locker or something?”
“Ugh. No. I lent it to Hayley a while back when Madeline stole her clothes that one day.” Ah yes, I remember that. Piper rolled her eyes. “I forgot to put it back in there when she gave it back.”
My brow furrowed. “Why is your skirt ripped?” I looked around the area again. “And why are you on the side of English Prep when you should be in class? I didn’t peg you for a rule breaker.”
Piper only stared at me. She didn’t roll her eyes or give me a sassy response like in the past. She just stared, her green eyes glassy, as if they were part of the sea. “Piper? Does this have something to do with Jason?”
Her eyes clenched tight, and that was when I really took the time to take her in. Her hair was messy, the perky ponytail now sad and limp. Her usual pink cheeks were pale, and the bags under her eyes almost seemed worse than when I saw her a little while ago. “Piper, tell me who Jason is. Tell me why you’re involved with a known drug dealer who’s been to jail several times. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Why can’t you just stay out of this?” Her eyes opened, and the spark was back. Piper was back. “I have everything handl
ed, Ollie. Why are you even out here?” she growled. “Ugh! Just go back to class!”
“Madeline texted me. Said you needed help.”
She scoffed, crossing her arms over her white blouse. “Madeline? What is her deal with me? Oh, and by the way, she knows you race on Saturdays. She was there.”
What? Fucking Madeline.
I stalked closer to Piper, and she immediately raised her chin and met me with a look that somehow held both fear and strength. “Stop fucking around. What’s going on, Piper?” I held her attention for a moment before I took my hands and threw them around her waist, flipping her around at the last second. Her breath caught, and mine did, too, as I scanned the tear in her skirt. The wind picked up just at the right moment, and the plaid material swayed with the breeze. Her panties were a dusty blue, and they looked as soft as silk. I swallowed back a hot lump in my throat. “Why is your skirt torn?”
Piper growled again and swung her body around and hit me with a glare. Her arms flew upward as she shouted, “Because Tank sent his girlfriend to warn me not to go to the cops about our deal and to tell you to get ready for Saturday. They wanted to scare me.” Her breathing was labored as she seethed at me. Looking from the outside in, someone would think we were ready to brawl. She was simmering with anger, angling her delicate chin in my face, and I was towering over her with furrowed brows and a look that could kill.
Her voice grew higher as she continued to shout at me from down below. “Since you can’t take a hint, I’ll tell you something that’ll hopefully resonate with you and make you back the hell off.” I kept my face steady, my brows still a shadow over my eyes. “Jason is my brother! And I’m going to do whatever I can to get him out of this mess without anyone butting in! So just stop butting in!”
I pulled back instantly, almost as if she had punched me in the stomach. She has a brother?
As if she could read my thoughts—which I wouldn’t put that past her; she and I had an unusual connection to one another—she nodded. “Yep. I have a brother. And now you know the whole secret, Ollie. You got a small taste of it a year ago, locked away in that dark room together, and now you get to gulp it down. So just stay out of it!”