to make his life hell, and he doesn’t even realize it yet.
By Friday, I’ve fallen into the same routine as the week before—meet up with Emmett and Mari at my locker, walk to first hour together, have lunch with the two of them plus a freshly-shaven Karsyn, and then head to cheerleading practice. Through it all, Elias continues to follow me to and from school. Sometimes, he drives his Jeep. Other times, like this morning, he rides his motorcycle. But no matter what, he always plays that damn classical music as he hums softly beneath his breath.
The weather this morning is humid, a warm mist permeating the air, causing my clothes to stick to my figure. The end of September draws near, and the elements are beginning to reflect these changes. Auburn leaves now grace the trees, and already, I see Halloween decorations dotting the driveways and front porches. I spot a jack-o’-lantern displaying a serrated mouth of square teeth, a tiny triangular nose, and two rectangular eyes. On another house, an eerie skeleton dangles from a tree, its plastic bones swaying in the light fall breeze.
I firmly believe that it’s too early to decorate for Halloween, but apparently, I’m in the minority. Maybe my distaste stems from being a witch. It gets redundant to see sexy witch costumes and pointed hats every damn year.
Real witches are much more terrifying.
The motor of Elias’s motorcycle revs as he crawls along beside me. Since he’s driving this time instead of walking, he’s forced to go slightly faster than I can walk. He’ll make it a few blocks ahead of me, stop, and then wait for me to catch up.
After the tenth time, I blow out a raspberry and give him the side-eye. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
His gorgeous mouth twitches, eyes sparkling with mirth behind the translucent helmet, almost as if he’s been waiting for me to say exactly that.
Or…
As if he was just waiting for me to acknowledge him.
“Nope,” he says calmly, putting the bike into neutral and jumping to the side. He removes his helmet, shaking out his purple-highlighted hair, and begins to walk beside me.
“This isn’t permission for you to join me,” I huff stubbornly, but his grin only broadens. Unlike Emmett and even Karsyn, he doesn’t have any dimples. However, his smile extends to his eyes, causing them to glow in the darkness. At this hour, the sun still hasn’t quite set, and dark, oppressive shadows sheath the entire neighborhood. The only saving grace is the street lamps lining the length of this street.
I won’t admit this to anyone, let alone Elias, but his presence every morning serves as a comfort. I feel…protected. Safe. I don’t know if I would feel as comfortable walking to school at seven in the morning if he wasn’t beside me.
But the mere thought of admitting that out loud sends cold fear trickling down my back, almost as if someone is squeezing out a sponge above my head.
I shouldn’t feel comforted. I know that. Being with him is the equivalent of standing on a tightrope and having the rope suddenly cut. You don’t have enough time to grasp the building’s edge before you fall, fall, fall.
Isn’t this just like before?
He made me feel safe then, too.
A memory sweeps through me before I can shove it beneath the proverbial rug.
Elias’s kiss was like a soft spring rain. It feathered across your bare skin, but you weren’t cold. Instead, you wanted to open your arms wide and embrace the rain like you would a long-lost friend.
“Attention, everyone!” Lucas called from the makeshift stage erected in the school’s gymnasium. “We have an important announcement.” Even with hundreds of kids pressing in on all sides, obscuring me from view, I could feel his eyes searing my skin. Somehow, someway, he found me in the crowd. “Can Peony Simone come up here, please?”
I turned towards Elias hesitantly. He had apologized, but his friends? Not so much.
Elias offered me a tentative smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Looking back, I should’ve seen that smile for what it was. I should’ve noticed the way it twitched ever so slightly, transforming it into a grimace.
“Go,” he whispered with an assuring squeeze of my shoulder. “Maybe they want to apologize.”
Apologize.
The thought sent my heart into overdrive.
All I had ever wanted was to be a part of their group. One of the Devils. And then they had begun their incessant bullying, destroying piece after piece of me until I feared there was