Deviant (Boys of Winter #3) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,37

I don’t want that for you, and you sure as fuck shouldn’t want that for yourself. The thoughts inside my head … fuck, Winter. If you even got a glimpse of what it’s like to fall off the edge, you’d be running for your fucking life.”

Silence falls throughout the cab and I’m left with way too many thoughts, but when Carver brings the car to a stop in his usual spot, a sense of dread fills me and all the heavy thoughts fade to the back. I don’t want to be here. Don’t get me wrong, spending the day with Ember is never a bad thing, but sitting in a class and doing schoolwork in order to graduate while someone out there is plotting my death just seems like a colossal waste of time.

I should be out there trying to catch the slimy bastards, trying to save my life and give the boys peace of mind that I can walk the street without someone jumping out to attack me.

The whole situation is absurd. Why did I have to be the heir to a society who gets off on death, corruption, power, and secrets? Fuck me. I must have done something terrible in another life.

Is it so much to ask to be able to live an easy, happy life with the four boys?

“Come on,” King says, swinging his door open and climbing out of the Escalade, wanting to get out of the dark, gloomy mood that consumes the car. “Let’s get this over and done with so I can get you back home where it’s safe.”

I roll my eyes and pull my hand out of Cruz’s while he opens his door and jumps out without a backward glance. “Why don’t you just take me back home where it’s safe now? We can spend the day naked in bed,” I comment, hoping the idea is enticing enough to ditch Carver and his mood, steal his car, and drive my ass back home where I can spend the day consumed by the sweetest type of pleasure.

King groans as I scoot out behind him, knowing damn well that it was a long shot. He takes my hand and helps me down from the Escalade, not trusting me to jump—probably assuming that I’ll either fall and wind myself or somehow get shot, blown-up, or kidnapped in the process. After all, getting screwed over by the world seems to be my specialty.

I safely get my ass to the ground, and I don’t miss how Carver watches my every single movement. It’s been three weeks, and he’s still torn up about the whole shooting me thing. He puts on a good act for everyone else, but I see the regret in his eyes, and every time I do, it tears me up inside. I wish I could take away his pain, but he’s intent on letting it consume him.

King takes my hand and leads me around the front of the car as the boys fall in beside us. It's almost as if they’ve created some kind of protective shield around me. “Geez, would it hurt you to give us a little smile?” King teases. “It’s just school. It’s not like we’re sending you here to be tortured.”

“Aren’t you?” I grumble.

“Sorry, Ellie,” Grayson says. “I had a meeting with principal Torsney a few days ago to discuss your options, and it’s not looking good. There are only a few weeks of school left, and if you don’t show up and catch up on the work, you’re going to fail. You’ve gotten this far, and after going through so many schools, is failing really an option for you?”

I let out a sigh, knowing he’s right. Ravenwood Heights is my eighteenth school. I went from home to home, suffering a new way at each one, but I toughed it out. I stuck with it because I was intent on making something of myself after graduation. I never got a chance to figure out what that was going to be, but if I give up now, if I allow myself to fail, it will have all been for nothing.

“So, was online learning not an option?” I ask, glancing back at Grayson, just as everyone else does. “Couldn’t Principal Torsney have organized something with the teachers to have them email me the work? That’s what happened when I had to have time off in middle school after my appendix burst.”

Grayson’s face goes blank, and I watch as his jaw clenches. “Fuck. I