asshole.
“I don’t think that’s possible until the people responsible are brought to justice. Anyone willing to commit such a heinous crime deserves to have the book thrown at them.”
Shit. Probably shouldn’t have said that.
Charles’ icy blue eyes narrow in suspicion. “Yes, well, of course. After the perpetrators are brought to justice, we can put this whole thing behind us.”
We stare each other down, reading one another’s body language. His is saying that he’s the king of this jungle and nobody dares to defy him. Mine’s saying, try me, old man.
My father’s face reddens as he straightens his tie. “Have a nice day at school, Jasmine. I have business to attend to.”
With that, he spins on his heels and walks toward the corridor leading to his office. Madeline is still standing right in front of me, obviously waiting for her husband to get out of earshot.
I prop a hand on my hip. “Something you’d like to say?”
For the first time since we’ve met, the real Madeline comes out to play. Her periwinkle eyes are burning with rage as she steps forward until her giant boobs are practically bumping against my chest. I'm five-foot-four on a good day, and Madeline's easily five-ten when she's wearing heels, so she towers over me.
“Listen up, little girl. Kingston Davenport belongs to Peyton. You. Can't. Have. Him. It's best to break off this fling, or whatever it is before it goes any further. They will marry after graduation, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Trust me when I say you’ll be sorry if you try.”
“Did all that poison you had injected into your face go to your brain?” I scoff. “You and your daughter are deranged. Whether or not Kingston and I are together, he’ll never marry Peyton.”
Fuck. Definitely shouldn’t have said that.
Madeline’s orange face turns cherry red. “You little—”
“Madeline!”
Both our heads swing in the direction of the booming voice. Sperm Donor’s face is rosier than his wife’s, only his anger is clearly directed at her, not me. Well, that’s a nice change.
Once she gets over the shock, Madeline’s mask is firmly back in place. “Darling, it’s not what it looks like.”
Charles’ jaw tics as his meaty fists clench at his sides. “I need to speak with you in my office.”
“But,” she sputters.
“Now! Do as you’re told, or face the consequences!”
Madeline glances at me before averting her gaze to the marble floor, scurrying past my father like her ass is on fire. Damn, can’t say I blame her. The dude’s pretty scary right now.
“You!” He points a finger at me. “Go to school!”
“Consider me gone.” I give a flippant wave before rushing out the door.
I lean against one of the pillars for a moment to catch my breath. Holy shit, what was that? Kingston's still not here, but I have no desire to wait around and risk running into either Charles or Madeline. I text Kingston as I start walking down the long driveway.
Me: ETA? I need to get the hell out of Dodge.
Kingston: I’m driving with Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on. I’ll see your message when I get where I’m going.
Crap. Well, at least I know he's on his way. The Davenports live in the same gated community I do, so I know it won't be long. My phone rings by the time I make it to the end of the driveway, and Kingston's face appears on the screen. I smile when I see the picture he took of us at the park. He must've updated his contact info when I wasn't looking.
“Hey. How far away are you?”
I can hear the rumble of his engine in the background. “Look up.”
Kingston’s flashy black Agera RS flies down the road and rolls to a stop in front of me. I guess that engine sound was coming from down the street and through the phone. I hang up the call and tuck my cell into the inside pocket of my blazer. I round the car as he flips open the oddly hinged door. One time, I called it a weird-ass door, and Kingston acted like a big baby, saying they were dihedral synchro-blah-blah-something doors. The boy is really sensitive about his car. Although, I suppose if I spent an obscene amount of money on a vehicle, I’d be touchy about it, too.
He frowns when I get in and buckle my seat belt. “What happened?”
“Why do you think something happened?”
Kingston gives me his Are you kidding me? look. “Waiting at the end of the