I can’t think of another option right now. I know better than to try to change the Dolce boys’ minds. They’re already suspicious enough of outsiders. Once I showed any doubt, it was over. They won’t trust me to know more.
I reach for the door, but Baron grabs my wrist. “Keep your mouth shut about anything you think you heard today,” he says. “We’ll know if you talk, and it won’t change anything for her. It will only change things for you.”
Our eyes meet, and a shiver crawls down my spine. I don’t even want to think about what he means by that. But I also know I’m not going to sit back and do nothing and let them destroy another girl’s life. I’m tough. I can take whatever they dish out. Lindsey can’t. An eighth grader can’t. And who knows how many other girls’ lives they’ve already ruined, and how many more they’ll destroy if I don’t stand up and fight for all of them. For all of us.
I climb out of the car. Halfway up the walkway, I hear a door slam behind me. My first instinct is to run. To race up the walkway and into the house and lock the door. Fear bolts through me as I hear heavy footfalls on the concrete behind me. The Dolce boys always announce their presence with their footsteps, as if even their stride dominates everything around them. They are here, and the world better take notice.
Royal falls into step beside me. He doesn’t say anything until we reach the door. If I ever imagined Royal walking me to the door, it wasn’t like this. There’s only dread inside me. I feel like I’m on death row.
Dead girl walking.
“Can I come in?” he asks.
No fucking way. Even if we were on good terms right now, he’s not seeing how I live.
I turn to face him, shaking my hair back. “Whatever you have to say, just say it.”
He meets my eyes squarely, and his voice is flat when it comes. “It’s over.”