when I stopped to catch my breath.
Dude was Slim Shady junior.
All too quickly Jasper pulled up at my place, and I blinked when they all got out. “What are you doing?” I asked. “Don’t you guys have to get home…?”
Jasper snorted. “We are home, babe. We now own this entire building.”
Okay then. “You moved fast on that,” I said, surprised.
He shrugged. “I mean, not everyone is out yet, but all of your floor is vacant, and the rest should be out in the next few days.”
Two days ago that would have pissed me off so bad, especially since they’d emptied the entire building. But now … now I was happy and excited. This was the best of both worlds. I got my independence from Catherine, the evil bitch, and still had the protection of my very well trained friends around me.
“Well, then,” I said, jumping out onto the sidewalk. “Better pick out your apartments.”
22
If I ever ended up back in my poor neighborhood, I would probably be astonished when it took people thirty days to buy a place and two days to move in. By the time we left for school on Monday, all four of the guys had an apartment on the same floor as me. Fully decked out with sweet as fuck furniture, and looking like they’d lived there for years, rather than hours.
“There are some parts of this world I could get used to,” I said as Beck drove me to school. “The money definitely opens a lot of doors for you.”
It felt weird to be alone with Beck, even though I’d seen him quite a bit yesterday helping to move furniture and picking out the thick quilt and cover for his room. He’d even managed to set a room up with guitars. I was pretty sure they were all new, his originals back in his mansion, but I loved that an important part of who Beck was, got to come along to this new place. I’d tried my best to forget that song he sang when he thought I was asleep, but there were nights, when I closed my eyes, that the music would be in my head. His beautiful voice. Destroying me note by note.
“I’ve always had money, and I’d definitely struggle without its power, but at the same time, it’s fucking soul destroying. People kill their families for it. They lie and steal and hurt, and maybe it’s never that I’ve had that desperation, but part of me wishes that all of the money would just disappear.”
I hesitated to ask the question, one which had been hovering in my mind for days now. “Do you think we could visit my brother’s grave?”
Beck was silent, his hands tense on the steering wheel, and for a moment, I thought he was going to just completely ignore me.
“Yeah, it’s been too long for me as well,” he finally said, pulling into the school. “We can go this afternoon.”
I nodded, relieved that he hadn’t bitten my head off. Oscar was a touchy subject for all of them, and I really knew fuck all about my brother. Part of me wondered if I was just a morbid freak, because his death was often on my mind. It felt like there were pieces missing. Not just for me either, because the police had never figured out whether it was murder or suicide.
Maybe when we were at the grave, Beck would be more willing to talk.
The others joined us in the parking lot, and the five of us walked in together. A united front. Game faces on.
Katelyn was center stage, holding court with her minions. All of them watched as we walked past, and for the first time, I didn’t bother to hide my hatred for her. I met her gaze with one of my own, a slight smirk on my lips.
Her smug expression faltered, and as her gaze ran across the five of us, the way we walked so close together. In sync again. I saw the red tinge her cheeks as her eyes blazed. She was not happy about that, and it made me happy to know that we’d ruined her morning.
“Claws in, pussy”—Jasper paused, and I rolled my eyes at him—“cat,” he finished. “That bitch will get what’s coming to her, don’t you worry.”
I turned so I could see him better. “What does that mean? What do you have planned?”
Beck shook his head then, reaching out and threading his fingers through mine. “Not at school, Butterfly.”
Fair enough, but