Make My Move (Hannaford Prep #5) - J. Bree Page 0,84
covers up, falling asleep like none of this ever happened.
“I’m staying here tonight,” I murmur, and Avery huffs at me.
“Well, of course you are. Ash and Blaise will too because you’re all stupid, pig-headed boys who can’t get your acts together without me doing it for you.”
I blink at her but she shoves a blanket into my chest and pushes me toward the pullout bed.
She’s completely right because we are all that fucking hopeless.
Ash and Morrison get back in a little after midnight and pass out here too without a word. We haven’t all bunked in together like this since Joey’s campaign of terror last year, when Ash was in over his head and wouldn’t ask for help so we had to just fucking stalk the both of them and pitch in on Avery Watch.
I go to swim training early the next morning because I need the distraction from all of the anger balled up in my chest. I meet the girls back in their room to walk down to breakfast together and I plan on fucking glueing myself to Lips’ side for the rest of the day. Sharing our classes means she probably wouldn’t notice except that I blatantly tell Avery that I’m sleeping on the rollout bed in their room until Lance has been dealt with. Lips chokes on her toast and almost dies.
I don’t care.
I’m not letting this situation turn into another Rory.
Lance needs to fucking go.
When Ash and Blaise leave with Avery to walk her to class, I follow Lips as she takes a detour on the way to ours to check out the photography room.
Fuck knows why she’s suddenly so interested in photos; you’d think after seeing her stalker’s work she’d hate being down here, but she looks around at everything intently.
I stand guard over her the entire time, ignoring the little sighs and huffs she lets out in my direction. She’s always going to be a loner at heart, a kid who’s had to do everything by, and for, herself but that doesn’t mean she can’t learn to lean on me a little.
She leans on Avery… not often, but she does.
“I can take care of myself,” she murmurs as we slip out and head to our class.
I shrug. “You can, but that doesn’t mean you have to. I’m not fucking risking it, Mounty, nothing you say is going to change that.”
She clamps her mouth shut and doesn’t say another word about it, not until we’re back in the dining hall for lunch with everyone else, food spread out and Avery more focused on her phone than what the topic of the day is.
“I don’t need a guard, just leave me alone to deal with this myself.”
I peg her with a look across the table. “I’m not doubting you’re skilled with your knife, I’m just saying any guy at this school is twice as big as you and Lance is clearly fucking deranged.”
Ash glances between the two of us and then shrugs at me. “She took down Rory. Don’t baby her like we do Avery, she doesn’t need it.”
I want to kill him. “She had the element of surprise with Rory and he had his dick out. She’s inviting Lance somewhere and I doubt she’s going to get him in such a compromising position.”
Lips shudders at me and pretends to gag. “I’ve seen more of him then I ever wanted to. If it means that much to you then you can keep watch for me but you’re not coming into the classroom. I’ve got something very specific in mind for the little fuck.”
Well… that at least sounds devious and promising.
She sets the meet up for after classes and the fucking creep agrees to meet her as if we didn’t spend the night destroying his life. Lips and I bicker about her plan for the rest of the day and finally I relent, but only to stay out of the photography room itself. I take up watch in an alcove outside the room where I can still hear if the little fuck tries anything, and I make Lips swear to call out for me if she needs me.
She doesn’t.
I can barely fucking believe my eyes when after six and a half minutes—I was timing—Lance comes bolting out of the photography room like his ass is on fire. He’s beyond pale, shaking, and looking like he’s going to throw up. I catch the whole thing on camera, sending the clip off in the group message right as