RIOT HOUSE (Crooked Sinners #1) - Callie Hart Page 0,7
his students in a more relaxed setting.”
This is relaxed alright. I’ve never even seen a sofa in a teacher’s classroom before, let alone planted my ass on one.
“Hey, Carina? Who’s that?” I jerk my chin in the direction of the guy who gave me such a warm reception last night; he’s taken one of the floral print cushions from the couch he’s lying on and has placed it over his face.
Carina stills, arching an eyebrow at me in a way that makes me feel like I’ve made yet another faux pas. “Uhhh, yeah. That is Wren Jacobi. He’s more feral dog than human being. I…honestly…” She sighs heavily, making herself busy by pulling a large notebook out of the bag at her feet. “I’d tell you to stay away from him, but it’s kind of impossible to avoid anyone in this place. Plus, Wren has a way of bullying his way into your business whether you like it or not, so…”
Wrinkling my nose, I tilt my head to one side, squinting at him. “Y’know…I’m pretty sure he’s wearing the same clothes he was in last night.”
This earns me a brittle laugh. “Yeah. He is.”
How the hell does Carina know what he was wearing last night? Unless…she said a few of the girls waited up for me. She was obviously waiting with him; he said he’d drawn the short straw and had to stay awake until I arrived. I don’t know the first thing about the guy other than he smokes, but somehow I can’t imagine Wren hanging out with a bunch of girls, waiting to greet a new Wolf Hall student.
“Wren and his guys, they like to fuck with people, Elodie. And when no one’s willing to play their stupid games, to live by their stupid rules, they’ll fuck with each other instead. Pax bet him he couldn’t bag ten girls before Christmas break. And when he failed the challenge, his friends told him he had to wear the same clothes for an entire month when we came back. So yeah. Wren’s definitely wearing the same clothes he was wearing last night. He’s wearing the same clothes he was wearing two weeks ago. I think they let him wash them every couple of days. But you can bet your ass he’ll be wearing that same black shirt tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, right up until February first. Because the only thing worse than losing a bet to a Riot House boy…is failing to settle the bill when they lose. No matter what it costs them or who gets hurt along the way.”
“Riot House boy?”
“Yeah.” Carina scowls. “Those three idiots have a house halfway down the mountain. They call it Riot House. Everyone does. They’re allowed to live there, for some unknown fucking reason, while the rest of us have to shiver our asses off here during the winter months and cook during the summer.”
“The academy has off-campus housing?”
Carina’s bemused by my confusion. “No. Wren’s loaded. His family owns the place. Or he does. I’ve never been clear on the details. All I know is that they can do whatever the hell they want down there and the rest of us have to stay up here and toe the line.”
There’s a bitter note in Carina’s voice. She’s plastered a sunny smile on her pretty face when she looks up from her bag, though. “Anyway. Pax, Dashiell and especially Wren. Watch out for them is all I’m saying, girl. You’ll wind up regretting it otherwise, I can promise you that.”
“Pretty speech, Carrie. Glad to see you’re giving lovely little Elodie Stillwater the lay of the land.”
Neither of us have noticed the guy who was sitting on the floor get up and walk over to us. He’s handsome in the same dangerous way that snakes, and spiders, and wolves are beautiful to look at. His hair is shaved back to dark stubble. Tattoos peek out from beneath his long-sleeved white t-shirt. His blue eyes spark like they’re brimming over with live electricity; when they home in on me, pinning me to the back of the couch, I feel like I’ve wrapped my hand around a live wire and I can’t let go.
“Go fuck yourself, Pax,” Carina hisses through her teeth; it’s the first time I’ve heard her sound anything other than friendly, and the venom dripping from her words takes my breath away. She doesn’t just dislike this guy. She fucking hates him.