Trick Me Twice - Becca Steele Page 0,27

made it my mission for the rest of the week to stay as far away from Carter as possible.

Wednesday was another day filled with snide remarks and more repulsive texts and comments, but by Thursday, the gossip seemed to be dying down. People were bored, hungry for new drama. Other than the dwindling texts and comments on the photos that I did my best to ignore, I managed to make it through the rest of the week without incident. A photo appeared on the AHS gossip account on Friday morning showing one of the teaching assistants in a very compromising position with a student, and just like that, I was forgotten as the new gossip spread like wildfire.

Forgotten by most people, anyway.

On Friday night, my phone buzzed with a message as I lay on my bed, Netflix playing on my laptop as I sketched out a rough dress design in my sketchpad. Placing the pad down, I grabbed my phone, and almost dropped it in shock as I saw who the message was from.

Carter: Enjoyed your time in the spotlight, Raine? Your moment of notoriety?

As much as I hated his harsh words, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of his name on my screen. My fingers hovered over the keypad as I debated how best to reply—I didn’t want to antagonise him, not when the gossip had finally died down.

Me: Please leave me alone. I’ve stayed out of your way

Carter: Out of sight but not out of mind

What was that supposed to mean? Eventually, I sent a simple response to see if he’d elaborate on his words.

Me: ???

After waiting for over fifteen minutes with no reply, I rolled onto my stomach and pulled up the conversation thread again, staring at his last message to me, before I closed it with a sigh. My eyes strayed to the Fright Night mask, taunting me from the corner of the room where I’d thrown it.

Before I knew it, I found myself reopening the conversation thread and texting Carter again.

Me: Did you leave that mask in my bedroom?

This time, he responded instantly and my stomach flipped as I read his response.

Carter: Yes. A reminder of what you did and how I won’t forget it. You can’t escape me, little trickster

Me: Breaking into my bedroom is a criminal offence

Carter: You sure about that? Who are you going to tell?

There was nothing I could reply to that. Whatever I said, I knew the outcome wouldn’t be good. Instead, I turned off my phone and attempted to lose myself in my drawings.

On Monday, walking into school with Lena, no one looked twice at me. In fact, it was back to normal. I was my usual, invisible self. Could I dare to hope that Carter had given up? Even lunchtime, which was the one time of the day I was dreading, was fine. It was an unseasonably warm day, and I sat outside in the courtyard with Lena and her friends, aware of Carter’s presence but successfully ignoring him for the most part.

I actually attempted to join the conversation instead of letting the conversation flow around me, like I normally did, and managed to hold up a conversation with Sammy, a girl in my textiles class, for almost twenty minutes, discussing the costumes I’d been making for the school production. Who knew, after the initial five minutes of awkwardness, I was surprised to realise I was actually having a good time.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Lena whispered, nudging me as we headed back into the school building after lunch.

“No. No, it wasn’t.” A smile spread across my face.

“Ready for later?” We stopped by our lockers, exchanging the books we needed.

I closed my locker with a bang. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Are you sure your brother doesn’t mind? I’m sure he’s got loads more important things to be doing.”

Lena smirked. “My brother lives to interfere with people’s lives. Trust me. He wants to fuck with Carter just as much as you do.”

“If you’re sure. I’m not convinced that any of this is a good idea, but I guess it’s too late to change the plan now.”

All the air left the hallway as cedar and spice hit me, and my world shrank as my eyes met a pair of brown and gold ones. A dark look appeared on his face as he held my gaze silently, and then he stalked in my direction. I held my breath as he brushed past me, and that small