The same bitch who was doing everything possible to make my senior year hell.
“Are you seeing this shit?” Mads said in disgust beside me. “He is goddamn shameless. Elmwood Academy’s manwhore. That will be his yearbook caption.”
Mads really was a good friend. “I couldn’t care less who he hooks up with. Any of them,” I said, tightening my jaw.
“Uh-huh,” she said, clearly as unconvinced as I felt.
A body wormed its way between Mads and me, and Micah threw his arms around our shoulders. “You’re sitting with us now, new girl.” He began guiding us toward the Elite table.
Like hell I was. I dug my heels in, refusing to take another step. I didn’t freaking care if I made a scene. Everyone should be used to it by now, considering it was all I had done since school started. “As long as she is there, I’m not going anywhere near your table.” My gaze pinned Ava.
Micah rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll get rid of her. Now stop being difficult or I will throw you over my shoulder. Don’t test me, James.”
I couldn’t decide if I was more curious to see Micah get rid of Ava or if he would actually haul my ass across the cafeteria. “You win,” I replied.
The devil winked at me. “I always win.” He squeezed Mads’s neck. “Come on, little Maddy. You’re coming too.”
“Oh, goodie.” Her fake enthusiasm made me smile, and I momentarily forgot that I was pissed off.
Micah flashed her a thousand-watt grin, and my poor friend scowled at him, but I saw through her farce. She totally was still hung up on Micah Bradford and his dimples.
When we got to the table, Micah hauled Ava off Brock’s lap, who didn’t seem to care one way or the other. “Get lost,” Micah said, dismissing Ava.
She flipped her glossy red hair over her shoulder, shooting daggers at Micah. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
The playfulness vanished from his features. “You want to bet?”
“Leave,” Brock told her, not bothering to even look up at her when he gave the order. If he had, he would have seen the hurt flash through her big hazel eyes, but he was too busy staring at me. Ava’s cheeks grew as bright as her hair right before she whirled on her Jimmy Choos and stormed off.
“Why was she here?” I demanded as I sat down as far from Brock as I could manage. Mads took the seat next to me. Of course, the entire cafeteria was watching us. Mads and I changed the dynamic at the Elite table, and they were all waiting to see what would happen next.
So was I.
Mads leaned forward on the table, setting her bottle of water in front of her. “Seriously. Everyone saw you kissing Josie this morning, and now you have Ava throwing herself at you,” she pointed out. “What the fuck, Brock.”
She took the words right out of my mouth. I flipping loved her.
His narrowed eyes flipped from mine to Mads. “You know how things work. What I do is my business.”
Mads snorted. “I don’t buy into your bullshit, remember? Why do you let her hang around? That bitch is imbalanced. She needs to be committed.”
Micah and Fynn chuckled. “She has you there, Brock. That bitch does belong in a psycho ward,” Fynn agreed.
Grayson frowned at me, and I scowled back. “Is anyone going to tell me why I’m here, sitting with the four of you?”
All eyes turned to Brock. “Carter gets out of the hospital today, isn’t that right?” He completely ignored my question, and distracting me with my stepbrother was a dirty trick. “Unfortunately,” I groused, a rock of dread dropping into my empty stomach.
“Grayson, Micah, and I have practice after school, so you’re going to ride with Fynn,” Brock informed me in his no questions asked tone.
I smoothed my suddenly clammy palms down the sides of my plaid skirt. “Since when do you dictate with whom I go home? Or anywhere, for that matter?”
“You might as well just accept defeat now,” Mads said beside me. “He’s got that look. He won’t take no for an answer, and if you don’t do things the simple way when Brock asks—”
“You’ll find out just what an asshole I really can be,” Brock interrupted, a sinister grin on his lips that made me think he might just be capable of bad things.
So this did have something to do with Carter.
My face must have shown my displeasure, because Brock lifted a brow at me, daring me to challenge him. I actually believed he half hoped I would so he could throw his dominance around us lesser mortals.