Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,42

the fuck out. Where are you?”

Before I can reply, Raz tears the phone from my hand and chucks it into the road. A passing car drives right over it, shattering the screen to pieces. It's a strange echo of yesterday, when I knocked Calix's phone into the road. My throat closes up, and I feel the first edges of panic creeping in.

Raz grabs my arm and tries to yank me to my feet, but my body is boneless. In the narrative of my own story, I was drunk all of ten minutes ago. Got in a car crash all of five minutes ago. Saw my friend's dead eyes staring at a thankless sky two minutes prior.

I am not okay.

“Stand the fuck up,” Raz growls, but my legs are weighed down by the heaviness inside my heart, and I end up slumping back to the ground. When I turn my tear-stained face back to Raz, I catch him in a brief moment of surprise. He releases me and shakes his hand out, like I've burned him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Back off of her,” Barron warns, glancing back at the curious stares of our fellow gas station patrons. “People are watching.”

Hearing him repeat the now familiar phrase wrenches something inside of me and I bend over, wrapping my arms around my midsection and doing my best to breathe. If I don't force myself to take in some air, I'll pass out. If I pass out, I'll wake up inside Little Bee again. There'll be blood on my steering wheel again. I'll wish I really were fucking dead.

The tears change to wracking sobs and my body begins to shake as I struggle to pull in enough air. My head swims, and I lean forward, putting my palms into the wet grass.

“This is … unusual,” Barron says, pulling the lollipop from his mouth with a sharp popping sound. He bends down next to me as Raz backs away, like the sight of true pain is too much for him to handle. “Should I call an ambulance? It wouldn't likely end well for you, considering you fucked Calix's car up. But I think it'd be even worse if you died.”

“Leave me alone!” I scream, shoving up to my feet and stumbling like a newborn fawn. I turn to look at Barron, still crouched down with Raz behind him. Calix has yet to move from his position near the cars, dark eyes boring into me. “You want to fuck with me today? Go for it. Do your worst. Kill me, if that's what you want.”

My gray eyes meet Barron's dual-colored ones in challenge, daring him to come for me. He stands up slowly, sliding his red lollipop back between his lips, staining his tongue the color of blood. His rainbow Mohawk is the only color in an otherwise gray day.

“Kill you?” Raz spits out, scoffing and spitting before tucking his hands into the pockets of his purple Crescent Prep slacks. “I always knew you were screwed up in the head, Karma, but this is a new level. Just remember that when today sucks for you, you started it.” He points at me and turns, sweeping back toward the Aston Martin and yanking the rear passenger door open. It slams into my yellow Bug with a screech of metal on metal, and I cringe.

“Why do you hate me so much?” The words come out in a whisper, drowned by a passing truck. I'm not sure that Barron hears them.

“I'm calling an ambulance,” is what he says instead, more to himself than to me. His voice is distant, almost distracted as he turns and starts to dial 911. Calix stops him, tearing the phone from Barron's grip. Calix turns an apathetic gaze in my direction, as distant and cold as the spring waters inside of Devils’ Den, buried deep in the dark mouth of that awful cave with its stalagmite teeth.

“She doesn't need an ambulance,” he says, turning his gaze back to his friend. “Get in the car; we're late to get Sonja.” Calix nods his chin in the direction of his car and Barron narrows his eyes. Like I said, the Knight Crew might be a convenient name for their group of merry assholes, but they have no leader. They're wanton, ribald, lascivious little mischief makers. They have no king.

Barron looks at me once more, snatches his phone back from Calix, and takes off.

After a moment, Calix steps toward me. He reaches up with