Still, it doesn’t stop the laugh that erupts from my chest when her mouth twists, puckering. Her disapproval evident.
“What’s a hellhound?” I ask when I can breathe again.
Her eyes grow large, mine level out.
“You don’t know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I did.” My voice shaded with disdain, neck prickling in heat.
“It’s the nicknames for the three almighties at this school.” Her words carrying a slight shake in her voice. My heart sank.
She had to have been talking about Cole, Finn, and Eli. Who else walked around with such overinflated egos?
A silence settling between us as I process the pompous, titled name.
I had witnessed it firsthand yesterday. The power they carried but hearing confirmation made it more evident I needed to detach. Association with them would draw attention and that was something I did not want.
“You’re one of them now.” Eyes glowing insincerity, boring into mine. “Aren’t you?”
My expression stayed blank; lips tightly pushed together. She exhaled, but it deflated like a balloon losing air gauging my reaction. “I won’t say anything.”
Hailey’s face softened and I believed her. That single sentence relieving tension I didn’t know needed freeing.
My shoulders contract. “Hale,” I say, swallowing my emotions. “Rory Hale, that’s my name.”
She stared me down a long second before her eyes lightened, shiny. Cheeks pinching at her depraved thoughts, grin growing across her flawless face.
I cringed, an unsettling awareness sinking in.
Hailey’s lips parted. I wasn’t going to like this —
“All Hale, Rory.”
I frown, her play on words unamusing. I knew I wasn’t going to like it.
twelve
Rory
“Alright,let’sgo,”atoo chipper Hailey barks, storming into my bedroom. “Up and at ‘em.”
“I could have been changing,” I berate.
She scoffs, rolling her eyes, pulling at the covers and I want to mar her. Also, a lock. I needed to invest in one of those.
“Like either of us hasn’t seen a vagina before.”
Hailey’s look turns pointed when I shift, pulling back at the comforter. Her resilience winning out, shoving them off my body.
I shoot up in a huff. “How did you know where I live?”
She looks at me like I asked her what color the sky was. “Your brother is Finn Casper, everyone knows where you live.”
I open my mouth, but she waves her hand dismissively.
“I know, I know you don’t want people to know. What I meantis, he’s thrown parties here for years, so people are familiar with the location.”
Okay, that made me feel a little better,I guess. At least I knew she wasn’t some crazed stalker.