After the little run-in with Breaker at the party, it’s as if I’m someone else living inside of my body and mind. This isn’t me. I’m behaving more like . . .
Like Reed.
I focus on the windows lining the side of the room. Buckets of rain pour from the sky. My sister loved the rain. Reed was the most carefree person, always pushing those around her to live better, faster, and in the end, I wonder if that’s what got her hurt.
As close as the two of us were, she had her secrets, deeply hidden in the recesses of her mind. How did she handle the relationship with them? This was the biggest secret of all. I understand and can justify this unbreakable bond between them, and have often wished for something similar for myself, but that’s as far as she ever explained their situation.
Marek has said things that make me believe their relationship with my sister hadn’t been simple. Nothing with Reed ever was. So, when the opportunity to slither in among them presented itself, it had been an easy choice. Looking for a link to my sister forced me into the lion’s den. They bit me down to the bone, where it hurt, made me second-guess my own sanity and choices, all to rip everything out from under me.
What I still don’t understand is why?
“Class is over, Miss Weston. You’re free to go.” Byron’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I turn away from the window to see the lecture hall empty of students except Dixon. Shit. I pack my bag and swing it over my shoulder. They’re on me before I hit the bottom step.
“What has you all in a daze, huh?” Dixon bumps into me, almost tripping me. “You seemed in deep thought all of class.”
“Don’t you think, at some point you should worry about yourself, and a little bit less about me?” I attempt to walk around him. A hand wraps around my bicep, tightly tugging on me. Dixon grins. “It’s the quiet ones that we need to really worry about, isn’t it, Dixon?” I yank my arm away.
“You have no idea what I’m capable of. I can destroy your entire world with the click of a button.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that, Dixon, because you’ve already destroyed my entire world.” I sneer at him. “Wouldn’t surprise me if you had something to do with my sister’s murder.”
My head snaps to the side. An instant sting shifts through my cheek. Marek walks into the room, the door closing behind him to announce his entrance. His eyes shift to my searing pink cheek.
“What’s going on here?” Marek asks.
“About to teach this bitch a lesson.” Dixon pushes into me, anger fueling him. His breaths are erratic and uneven. He may be trying to keep his anger under control, but he’s failing miserably.
“You’re the only one who put his hands on me, and I’m supposed to believe you’re some kind of saint because my sister liked to be passed around your little circle.” I point over Marek’s shoulder as he nudges between us. “Go fuck yourself, Dixon. If you ever put your hands on me again, I can promise you, you’ll find my sister and I have more in common than you think.” Marek grabs me by the waist and yanks me to the door, me fighting him the entire way. “I will fucking bury you.”
“Say hey to Delaney for us, will you?” Dixon calls out, every word sounding exactly like what it is. A threat.
Out in the hallway, I place my hands on top of my head, pacing back and forth.
“Damn, princess. Looks like there’s a fighter inside of you after all.”
“Is this where you make some dumbass joke about being that fighter?” I puff out a lungful of air and drop my arms to my sides. Everything inside of me says to go find Dixon and prove to him I’m not someone he messes with. “Because I’m really not in the mood for your bullshit right now, Marek.”
For the first time, I notice he’s not wearing his usual uniform. He’s in black gym shorts and a white cut-off to show off his muscular arms. My eyes roam over his body, from toe to head, and he knows it by the grin he flashes me.
“I’m impressed, is all.” He holds up his hands in defense of the claws I’m sure he’s half expecting. “I thought the only fight you had in you was with