“Fine,” Hunter muttered. “I’ll leave her alone.”
Charles smiled thinly. “Good,” he said, his tone suddenly pleasant again. “Anyway, I have to go and meet with the headmaster now. I’ll see you at home for dinner.”
He strode away, and Hunter’s lips pressed into a thin line as one hand curled into a fist at his side. He looked like he wanted to hit the locker, just like his father did, but then he spotted me peeking around the corner.
“What the fuck are you staring at?” he snarled.
I took a deep breath and stood up straight. “I need to talk to you,” I said as I stepped over to him.
“Why? What the fuck could you possibly want from me now?” he asked, crossing his arms as he stared down at me, eyes lit with fury.
“I want you to tell me why you put me on the blacklist.”
He let out a derisive snort. “This shit again?”
“Yes. Tell me,” I said, lifting my chin higher.
“You already know why.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit.” I took a step closer. “I don’t know anything, so I need you to say it. Right now.”
Hunter’s lips parted slightly, and his brows lifted. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
He moved his face closer to mine, lips curling into a smile. There was no mirth or happiness in the expression. Only cold amusement. “You really haven’t figured it out yet?” he said. “After all this time, you still can’t think of a single reason why I might hate you?”
“No, and I’m tired of the guessing game,” I replied, narrowing my eyes. “So tell me right now. I won’t let you walk away from me until you do.”
He rubbed his chin, and the smile twisted into a cruel smirk. “Okay. I’ll tell you what I know about you, Laney Collins,” he said, voice threaded with violence. He leaned even closer, breath ghosting over my right ear. “You’re a murderer. A filthy fucking murderer.”
I leapt back, eyes bulging wide. The hallway seemed to press in on me from either side, and the air was suddenly hard to breathe, like someone had sucked every ounce of oxygen out of it.
I turned away and fled down the hall, heart hammering painfully as pure shock ricocheted through my system.
Not because Hunter was wrong.
Because he was right.