Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,20

better.”

“Put the others in with her, for company,” Sonja suggests, looking straight at Luke as she says it. Luke’s shoulders tighten, a familiar disappointment clouding her face. With all the subtle hints, the flirting, the gift this morning, Luke thought Sonja might actually like her. But it was all a bunch of bullshit. I wore that same look on my face when Raz and Barron stumbled on me and Calix, naked together in the treehouse. I remember watching his expression, marveling at the change in his face, even as my heart broke into pieces. It was like watching the moon eclipse the sun, cutting off all the light, plunging me into darkness.

“April’s pregnant,” Luke says, like the crowd gathered around us doesn’t already know. “It’s cold and wet in there. Your prank will be a hell of a lot less funny if something happens to her.”

“She’ll be just fine,” Sonja says as the demon-faced girls drag April toward the cave. She doesn’t fight them, which is probably for the best, but panic settles in my chest as I turn back to Calix. There’s something just behind his eyes that makes me want to plead, like maybe I could crack through to the other side where he hides all that misery I saw on his face this morning when he thought nobody was looking. “We’ll let you out in the morning, won’t we, Raz?”

“What Sonja means is, we’ll let you out when we wake up tomorrow.” He flashes a sharp grin, reaching up and sweeping his hands through his dirty blonde hair. “Considering the amount I plan to drink tonight, it might be more like late afternoon.”

“Not April!” Luke screams, struggling against the boys holding her as they pull her toward the cave entrance. “This is a huge, fucking mistake! This is false imprisonment. Do you think I won’t report this?”

“Nobody cares what you have to say,” a girl with raven-hair and ice-blue eyes says, shoving Luke forward into the cave. She trips and falls, cutting her hand on a stalagmite with a hiss. I can see the ruby red blood blooming as she falls to her knees. “Your parents don’t even give a shit if you live or die.”

Some of the other boys move forward to grab me, but I keep my eyes on Calix, Raz, and Barron. One of them is smirking at me, one is grinning, and the other looks impassive, almost bored. The monster boys push me into the cave next to April, slam the gate, and lock it tight.

The last thing I hear before the Knight Crew moves away is Raz’s laughter, echoing through the trees.

It’s cold and dark and wet in the Devils’ Den, the pleasant trickle of the spring and the constant sound of water droplets falling from the roof echoing strangely in the narrow space. The music from the Devils’ Day Party is loud enough that we have to shout to have a conversation of any kind, but I suppose that doesn’t matter because it’s pretty obvious that Luke doesn’t want to talk to me at all.

One of the demon-faced girls kicked over all the lanterns after they dragged April into the cave, so the only light we have is from the massive bonfire. I’m a little concerned at how big it’s getting, fed with logs and old furniture and gasoline. The heat makes the rusted bars warm against my fingers as I hang off of them, my heart beating so fast that I feel dizzy.

“You just had to poke the bear, didn’t you?” Luke asks finally, lifting her face up from her knees, her goblin mask discarded and stuffed into a back pocket. “After you promised me …”

“I said I wouldn’t go looking for trouble,” I say, but as soon as the words are spoken aloud, my excuse sounds as weak and pathetic as I feel. “Trouble found me.”

“Come on, Karma,” Luke says, turning to look at me, her brown eyes dark with fury—and not just fury for the Knight Crew, but for me. “You started it this morning when you hit Calix’s car. As amusing as I’m sure that was—and as deserved—you knew what would happen, how things would end.”

I turn away from her, focused on the crowd of masked students, sweaty and drunk and high, the skunk-y scent of weed mixing with the stink of the campfire. I’m not sure what I wanted for tonight, but this wasn’t it.

“So I’m to blame for their bullying?” I ask quietly, even though