Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,152

darkness, naked bodies shining as revelers fuck or drink or laugh, the sounds echoing like the cries of the devilish spirits that live in the land.

When I stumble out of the trees and into the clearing, still clutching my lacy skirts and panting like crazy, I see Sonja, Raz, Luke, April, and a handful of other Knight Crew members clustered on the far side. Between the trunks of two huge trees, there's a red and white bullseye set up.

As I watch, Raz moves into the center of the clearing and lifts a handgun, firing off a single shot. The sound echoes through the woods, making my ears ring.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I demand, coming up behind him as he lowers the gun, and everyone turns to look at me.

“Hey Karma,” Luke says, looking a bit nervous in her sequin dress shirt and goblin mask as she jogs over to us. April is sitting on a stump on the left side of the clearing, still wearing her Crescent Prep uniform and the same pixie mask that Luke gave her on that very first day. She’s talking to a girl whose name I don’t know, laughing and nursing sips off a water bottle. “Where have you been all day? I've been texting you.”

Sonja saunters over to join us, smirking at me behind her red leather mask and wrapping an arm around Luke's waist as my bestie pales and her eyes widen in fear.

I don't have time for her and Sonja's secrets though, not today.

Raz turns to look at me, wearing a different mask than usual. This time, his mask looks like death—a skeleton face with a black shroud molded above the forehead.

“Hey Karma,” he says, dropping the magazine to the forest floor and loading another one. He hands the gun out to me. “Do you want a turn?”

“What is wrong with you?” I ask, wishing I could tell him about the day we spent at the cottage, how he ate chocolate ice cream with me and cuddled me naked. But we can't talk about that, now can we? “Put the gun down, Raz, and let's talk.”

“Talk?” he scoffs, dropping the gun to his side and stepping close to me. His voice gets dark and quiet, almost menacing. “About what? About your baby with Calix? I haven't told him yet, but maybe I should?” Raz lifts his head up and gestures with his chin in the direction of Calix and Barron as they step out of the trees.

Holy shit, is this it? I wonder as I glance down at the black handgun clutched in Raz's tense fingers. Is his jealousy going to end the night in bloodshed?

Pearl appears just a moment later, coming over to stand beside me.

“Don't you dare bully her about her pregnancy,” she hisses, and I realize just how out of control this has gotten. I started the day with good intentions, but my lie is becoming twisted. I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

“Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?” Raz retorts, stepping closer. The thing is, regardless of the mistakes I've made, today is for Pearl. Just Pearl. She's owed that, at least, a single day.

I push Raz back, desperate to keep him from saying something to her that he might one day regret.

“Please don't drag her into this. You're mad at me, and I know why.” Calix and Barron are coming closer, and I really don't want to have this conversation with them around, so I rush on. “You love me and you're jealous. Well, guess what? I love you, too.”

“What the … what?” Raz asks, rearing back, his fingers loosening on the gun. “The hell is wrong with you?”

“I'm in love with you,” I choke out, my heart aching so fiercely that I'm afraid I might have a heart attack and wake up at the gas station before I get a chance to finish this day. Pearl must live, that's my only goal right now. “So please don't do this.”

Raz just stands there, dumbfounded, as one of the other Knight Crew lackeys steps close and grabs the gun. It takes me a second to realize that it’s Erina fucking Cheney.

“If you're just going to stand there and chat, I'll take a turn,” she says, and bile rises in my throat. That girl, with a weapon in her hand … this can’t be good.

“You're telling me this now that you're pregnant with Calix's fucking kid?” Raz asks, just as