I slam my locker with a grunt.
“Dang, what’d that locker ever do to you?” Hailey whistles, coming up beside me. “Must have been something bad if you're throwing things.”
“I didn’t throw anything.”
She mulls that over for a second. “Not this time, but I’ll know better for the future.” Hailey jokes.
“Why does everything have to be so confusing?”
Hailey’s lids lower, briefly flicking down the side hall Finn just wandered to. Her tainted mood evaporated in an instant.
Hooking her arm through mine, we make our way in the opposite direction. Back to the boisterous friend I know and love.
“You’re asking the wrong person, girlfriend.”
thirty-five
Cole
Myphonelightsupagain, same as it has been since yesterday after I didn’t show up at Hardin. I slide it into my pocket, same as I have every other time Silas’s texted since then.
If Rory is willing to give this friendship thing a try, then I want as much time as I can get uninterrupted.
A pebble isn’t as heavy as a boulder, but it can still make a dent.
Progress is all I’m asking for.
Rolling my neck, I try shrugging out my shoulders as I force out some of the knots. Sleeping on the floor hadn’t been the most comfortable, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was leaving last night.
Not that I’ve been getting much sleep anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
Dropping my things, I start to strip right in front of my boys. I have no reason to be bashful. The length and size of my dick well above average.
My mouth lifts into a secret grin, Rory’s never complained.
Having the same clothes as yesterday will have to do, but I need the shower.
Finn levels me with a stare, the matching one Eli gives telling me he’s been updated on Rory’s ankle. Him leaving and arriving to school before us.
I finish grabbing my shampoo and the rest of my things, wrapping a towel around my waist. If they want to bring it up, fine. I’d tell them what happened, but I’m not about to be their bitch.
I take my time in the shower. Enjoying the solitude that comes with an empty locker room.
I know I’m going to be late. I might even miss all first period but that’s one perk that comes with the school being named after your family. No one questions anything when I’m around.
And if they do, well, then they get to deal with the repercussions.
After I climb out, I change back into the uniform I had on when I picked Rory up and check my phone. Not surprised to see another three messages from my father.
I check the time, giving him a response before the guy has a heart attack, dies, and finds a way to indite me for murder from beyond the grave.
Six school hours and a two-and-a-half-hour practice later, I finally give him what he wants.
Me.
Rubbing my eyes, I watch out the windows from the top floor of Hardin. The moon hidden tonight behind a line of lifeless clouds. Stars typically aren’t visible downtown from all the lights, tonight no exception.
Leaning, I reread the same files Silas had given me earlier. He assumed they’d take me hours to go over, but they only took about thirty minutes. I don’t tell him this, instead using the extra time to observe him while he thinks I’m busy.