Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,144

the cottage, I didn’t get to delve so deeply into his psyche. Is he damaged? Sure. Ignorant in many ways? Yep. But he’s not a bad person, and there’s enough good in him that I just want more. More, more, more.

When the cold gets unbearable, we put the top up on the Caddy and let April sit inside with the heater while the rest of us clean up the mess we made, leaving this sacred site just as we found it.

“I haven’t had anything to drink for hours,” Luke says, standing in the beams of the car’s headlights in her panties and bra, keys clutched in one hand, her phone in the other. “I’m good to drive.”

“You’re sure?” Raz asks, closing the trunk and moving around to stand beside me, ruffling up his still-wet hair with his fingers. “I just got Karma to tattoo my name on her fucking body. I’m not about dying tonight.”

With a laugh and a shake of her head, Luke takes one, last look around to make sure we’ve got everything and then turns back to us.

“We’re all good. I would never risk the lives of the people I love by doing something that stupid. Hop in.” She puts her seat forward, so Raz and I can crawl in the back. With the top up, we can’t climb over the side like we did before. Besides, we’re all too wet and tired and—in mine and Raz’s case—drunk for that.

April is asleep in the back seat, while Sonja sits in the front, glancing back at me and Raz with a sated smile as Luke closes her door and puts her seat belt on.

“I’m so tired,” I murmur, curling up against Raz’s side and laying my cheek on his chest. My eyes close of their own accord, but I won’t let myself fall asleep, not just yet. Not fucking yet. Forcing them open again, I dig my phone out of the pocket of my discarded blazer.

“Sleep, babe,” Raz murmurs, his own head leaned back against the headrest, eyes closed. “Come keep me warm.” As if in response to his statement, Luke turns the heater up and off we go.

My hands shake as I take my phone off of airplane mode, shaking from more than just the cold. No, I’m terrified about what I’m going to find there. Without Luke and April, there’s nobody at the party to give me updates, so I don’t expect any. What I want to do is try Pearl’s social media accounts, or the accounts of our fellow classmates. If Pearl is dead, I’ll know about. The students at Crescent Prep are incorrigible gossips.

Instead, when I turn the phone on, I find several texts from Calix’s number. I know it’s his because he put it in my phone last year, and I’ve never had the heart to delete it.

Pearl killed herself. Oh, and Erina had the video; you were right.

My mind goes blank, a dizzying buzz taking over my hearing, white splotches killing my vision. For a moment, I wonder if I might pass out.

“You okay?” Luke asks as I shoot a quick text back to Calix, my heart racing, wondering if he’ll ignore me, or if he’ll respond.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine,” I whisper, swallowing the lump in my throat. I don’t want Luke to know anything’s wrong, just in case she crashes the car again. “Just a stupid text from my mom.”

How? Where? is the text I sent, but while I’m waiting for Calix to reply, I add, Are you okay?

Glancing over, I find Raz sleeping peacefully beside me. Luke and Sonja are talking, but quietly enough that I can’t quite hear them over the whir of the heater.

Barron’s the one that found her. She was dead in the treehouse, gunshot.

My hands shake as I stare down at his response, trying to put things together in my mind. The universe most definitely hates me. Despises me, more like. I should’ve known that sending a stupid stone heart wasn’t going to make a difference. That was too easy. Why did I let myself think it would ever be easy?

I just wanted one, last day to myself. Selfish. I’m still being selfish. Do I deserve to be punished for that?

But I should know that the universe doesn’t punish anyone; all things are balanced. I’ve been given wonderful days on this time loop, time with my mothers and sisters, time to understand my feelings for the boys, time to appreciate and forgive my best friend.

I’m not