Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest Series) (20 page)

“You think they’ll follow her?” she sneered back.

“No, but they’ll like her. No one liked you. They were scared of you, but no one’s scared anymore.”

“They should be.”

“Why?” There it was. She was starting to show her colors. I could see inside of her now. “Are you going to go after every single girl? You don’t have the time, and all you’ll do is piss ‘em all off again. They haven’t turned on you yet, but they will. You go after every person, it’ll happen.”

“So maybe I’ll make an example out of her? Maybe that’s what I’m doing because people should be scared. They have no idea what I can do.”

It would be so easy to pull everything out from underneath her. I wanted to. I wanted to see that look on her face. She couldn’t match me, but I held back. “One word of advice, let it go. You’ve already lost power. You’re not going to get it back.”

“What do you know about it?”

“You have three friends right now.” I saw the scorn on her face. She was thinking she had more. She was wrong. “If you keep targeting Sam, you won’t. I’ll take them from you.”

Her sneer vanished. “You couldn’t.”

“I could.”

She eyed me, studying to see if I was bluffing. I let her see the truth. “Here’s your last chance. Drop it all and you can keep your friends. I won’t destroy that for you, but keep doing what I know you’re planning on doing, and I will ruin you. You’ll have no friends. You’ll have no allies. You won’t even want to come to this school again.”

A strangled laugh ripped from her and she shook her head. “Listen to you, big fucking deal here. You’re not God, Mason.”

“He wouldn’t do these things to you.” The cruel mask lifted. I let her see how lethal I could be. She saw it and shrunk back. “If you came here to make sure, one last and final time, that there’s a chance of you and me, there never was. There’s no chance you’ll ever be friends with the guys again. I know how you liked to hang out with them. You liked being at the top of the social chain. Those days are dead.”

“You shouldn’t talk to me like that.”

Really? She had no idea, but I fell silent. She was losing her control and I wanted to hear what else she would say.

“You have no idea, no fucking clue!” she shouted now.

Keep going, Kate. Tell me how I don’t have a fucking clue. Lay out the rest of your plan for me.

“No idea,” she continued to seethe. “Everyone forgets about you, but I don’t. You’re slumming when you go to this school. They forget about the rich daddy you’ve got. No one knows about the moneybags your mom has. No fucking clue, but I do. It’s not fair. You’ve got a scholarship. You’re going to college. Your life is set, Mason. Most the people at our school are going to community college. They can’t afford your NCAA football school.”

“That’s where this is coming from? I’m going to a better school than you?”

Her chest began heaving. The fury was bright and burning in her eyes. “Haven’t you seen my home? You know my folks. My dad’s a drunk. My mom works all the time, but when she’s not, she’s just as drunk as him. You think they saved up money for me? I’m not going anywhere, Mason, not like your precious princess. I’ve heard about her running. Track scholarship. Isn’t that what you were thinking, to get her here? You’re right, too. I know you are. She’s going to get a scholarship, probably at the same fucking college you go to, and you wanna know why? Because of you. They’ll give her one because you asked, because that’s how your life goes. You ask and people do it. I’m so sick of it—”

“You’re sick of it?” My eyes narrowed to slits. “Or you’re pissed because it isn’t you?”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Been called worse.”

“This is my school. This is my time.” She grew quiet, but the hatred still burned. “And you declared that we’re out. Just like that and it was done. You have no idea how much worse you made it for her.”

“If you’re pissed at me, take it out on me. Leave her alone.”

“Oh no.” She shook her head. “You’re unfuckingtouchable. You know it and I know it, but your girl isn’t. She’s going to hurt by the time I’m done with her. She’s going to beg me to stop, but I won’t. I’ll keep ruining her long after this year, even after you go to college. You’ll be gone, Mason. I won’t. My life’s over after high school. My biggest problem is going to be who I’ll marry, if it’ll be some jackass, or if I’ll win the lottery and get someone who sticks around. That’s the life I’ve got to look forward to, but the one thing that’ll give me pleasure is going to be destroying your girl. Just watch it.”

“Rethink all of this,” I warned. “This is my last offer. Walk away.”

“No,” she whispered, but her tone was murderous.

“You’re not going to destroy Sam.”

“Oh really?” She snorted.

“You fuck with who I love, and I fuck with you. You’re no exception. I’m going to destroy you, Kate. You’re going to have nothing left when I’m finished with you.” I didn’t wait to hear any more crazy shit from her. I got in my vehicle and left without looking back.

The weekend passed with little drama. There was a basketball game. I went. They won. There was a party. The only big event there was when Logan took my advice and planned on going home with a new girl, but she had a friend with the same hopes. The two got in a fight. It was full of name-calling. Someone’s hair got pulled and the other girl got scratched. Eventful. And Logan? He bypassed the fight and went home with Tate. I had an entire speech ready to deliver over breakfast the next day for why he needed to stop seeing her. I had it all memorized, but the speech died in my throat when Tate showed up at the same restaurant with a different guy.

Logan didn’t care. Really. I studied him the whole time to catch the slightest reaction—twitch, twerk, eye-roll—but nothing. Then it dawned on me. He really didn’t care if she was with another guy. I was at a loss after that. Later that evening, Helen wanted to have dinner with her sons, but I was spared another run-in with her.

I was also spared another run-in with Kate. Mason told me she had something planned for me, but it never happened. I wondered if she’d been distracted.

When I went to school on Monday, the words ‘Roussou Sucks’ were spray-painted on a banner. It hung over the archway at the front entrance of the school. Heather explained it was the big rivalry game. Fallen Crest Public’s basketball team was going to play Roussou High that Friday night.

Great.

Not.

She further spoiled my day when she told me Fallen Crest Academy didn’t have their own basketball game that night so my old friends would be in the stands.

Double great.

Needless to say, I wasn’t in a great mood during the next week. Logan noticed and brought me a latte one day during lunch. It didn’t work. I still wasn’t happy so he told Mason to give me a quickie in their coach’s office. That certainly didn’t help.

It wasn’t until Friday morning when another bomb was dropped.

Helen Malbourne was going to attend their basketball game. From the way Mason worded it and how Logan started laughing behind him, I knew there was a joke somewhere. I didn’t care enough to figure it out. Instead, I remarked, “I’m sure she’ll have a great time.”

“Heather’s working.” Mason gave me a confused look.

“Yeah. And …”

“And …”

Logan finished for him, “Don’t you want to sit with our mum for the game? She gets box seats every time. Thinks she’s a goddamn celebrity for a high school basketball game. Jokes on her. She’s got to share the box with the announcer, and they won’t be farting out popcorn for her.”

“Logan.”

“What?” He glanced at his brother. “Mom thinks she’s a big-time celebrity, and you know it. I love her, but her ego’s massive. It’s gotten worse in the last few months. Wait.” He paused, frowning to himself. “Fuck. Is she dating someone new?” Logan gestured to me. “I’m surprised she hasn’t tried with Sam’s other dad, David.” He asked me, “Is he still dating Mark’s mom?”

“Um …” I wasn’t expecting the question, but my heart sank. I didn’t know. An image flashed in my mind. He looked so different when Mason had dropped Jeff off at Academy. He was heavier, muscled, and looked healthy. He looked good. He looked like he was better. I jerked a shoulder up before I turned away. “I guess so.”

As I grabbed my bag and headed for the door, I heard the sound of someone getting whacked behind me. Logan muttered, “Ouch. What was that for?” But I was already in the hallway and headed into the elevator.

I drove myself to school that day.

People were screaming in the hallway. Everyone wanted to murder Roussou that night. I knew Mason and Logan were both itching to do the same. Even Heather seemed excited, and she was going to miss the game. She had me sit with her friends at lunch. Since the clothes incident, her friend Cory had thawed towards me a little. I only got two glares instead of the fifteen. Baby steps. On a normal day, that would’ve been a big deal to me, but this wasn’t a normal day.

Logan’s comment about my dad had blindsided me.

Their parents were around. Their mother had come back to town. Where was mine? My mother was unfit. My biological father had disappeared back to Boston and David, there’d been no recent contact from him. I saw him the day I registered for school at Fallen Crest Public, but that conversation had been so slight, it’d been meaningless to me.

He moved on. That was the bottom line.

“Yo!”

Someone snapped their fingers in front of me, jerking me out of my daze. “What?”

“Bitch Crew Walking. Head’s up.”

I think that came from Channing’s half-brother? Max? I wasn’t sure. None of them had made overt steps towards friendship. I was tolerated because of Heather.

Kate stopped at our table, and the other three fanned out behind her. Like the rest of the school, she was wearing the school colors. She had on red pants and a black shirt. The pants were more like tights, and the black shirt was transparent, showing off her red bra underneath. Her hands went to her hips and she glared at me.

I was getting used to all the glares. I felt naked without seeing a couple a day now.

I grinned up at her. “I feel like I should be a hot-air machine. For every bad look I get, I could pop out a balloon with a smiley face.” I smirked. “Bet the glares would stop then.”

Heather snorted.

Some of the guys snickered.

I added, “Like right now. You’d get one in black and red.” I gestured to Kate’s clothes. “It’d match your outfit.”

I caught a faint grin from Cory, but it was masked as soon as she saw me watching. Her eyebrows fixed and her face went blank again. I sighed. So close.

Kate’s sneer turned into a snarl. “You think you’re funny?”

One of the three added, “Maybe she’s taking lessons from Logan?”

Another snorted. “Probably. She needs all the lessons she can get.”

My smile had stretched from ear to ear now. It was genuine, too. “Is this another warning from you? I thought you moved past the cliché insults and name calling. Oh wait. You said lessons. Yes, that’s referencing that I’m dumb. That’s another cliché insult.” With my hand in the air, I lifted a finger with each point. “I’m ugly. I’m dumb. I have too much sex. Those are the three main ones most simpletons use to insult others. The clothes and the mannequin gave me hope. I thought you were starting to progress, but then I heard that you’ve already done that before. It’s recycled material. You guys need to find new stuff. You know what they say about comedians?” At their blank faces, I nodded. “What I expected. If they use old material, the act is boring. People move on. If you’re going to keep drawing fresh fear from everyone, you need new stuff.” I stood and patted Kate’s head. “You can do it. I believe in you.”

Logan stood by the door and held it open. Mason came in behind him. Both found me immediately. I wondered who had notified them, but then Kate grabbed my arm. She twisted it and got into my face. Her hand tightened on my arm and she lowered her voice, “You have until the end of the day to drop out of school. This is the last warning.”

A taunt rose to my tongue, but I swallowed it. The jokes were gone.

Three thoughts happened at the same time. David’s image flashed again. “Fuck it,” came next. Third, when I knew what I was going to do, I thought, “Let’s see how this goes.”

Kate’s eyes widened as she watched the myriad of expressions before she saw my intent. Her hand let me go, and she started to back away, but it was too late. My hand latched onto hers instead, and I took one second to comment, “Bet you weren’t expecting this,” before my other hand grabbed the back of her head and used all my body weight to slam her head into the table.

Everything went silent for a moment. The only sound I heard was my heart thumping. It was calm and steady.
Thump.

“You bitch!” someone shrieked from somewhere, but the voices were so far away. They were a slight buzz to me now.

Thump.

People screamed. I heard a few guys swear. Footsteps pounded on the floor. I kept track of all that was happening in the back of my mind. I got a better grip on her head and held her arm down while I tried to lift her head for another slam. She was yelling. I saw her mouth open and caught the flash of terror in her eyes, but then I was jerked backwards. Someone punched me on the cheek. It hurt, but it didn’t penetrate the numb sensation that had taken over me.