Saint (Angelview Academy #1) - E.M. Snow Page 0,25

white summer dress, and act as excited for the night as she is.

The party ends up being not terrible.

In fact, I would go so far as to say I’m having a good time. Loni was right, Martha and her friends are cool people. They all kind of claim to be fringe-types at Angelview—none of them are really friends with Saint’s crew and they wouldn’t consider themselves that popular, but they’re happy to keep to themselves and avoid the drama that seems to follow the “cool” kids wherever they roam. It’s a chill group, and none of them so much as shoot me a stink-eyed glare.

I have to admit, it’s pretty great not feeling totally despised.

Loni comes bounding up to where I’m standing by a large bonfire, a red Solo cup clutched in her hand.

“Having fun, my love?” she asks, her eyes glittering with hope.

I smile and nod. “Yeah, actually. I really am. Thanks for bringing me.”

An enormous grin lights up her features. “You deserve a little fun after everything you’ve put up with. I’m just glad you were willing to give these guys a shot.”

“Me too.” I take a sip of the drink she brought me—vodka and cranberry juice—and let myself truly relax for the first time in weeks.

There’s music playing from someone’s Jeep—one of Dua Lipa’s newer songs—and I feel the urge to start dancing. I sway my hips back and forth, the hem of the flirty blue and white off-the-shoulder dress I’d borrowed from Loni swishing around my hips and thighs, as I drink a little more. The vodka warms me up from the inside out, and I begin to feel like a regular teenager with no baggage holding me down. No MIA mom. No past mistakes looming over my head. No accident to weigh me down with guilt and nightmares.

I’m just a normal girl with no real worries.

History should’ve taught me that no good thing lasts forever.

As Loni and I are dancing and laughing around the fire, Henry suddenly comes running up to us, his expression a mixture of rage and panic. We freeze, and my brow puckers as dread unravels in the pit of my stomach.

“What’s up?” Loni asks, stepping toward him to rest a hand on his shoulder.

He’s not looking at her when he answers, though. He’s looking at me.

“They’re here.”

I know the answer before I even say, “Who’s here?”

“Saint and those motherfuckers. They all just drove up to crash the party.”

I feel instantly sick, the dread not mixing well with the vodka swirling in my stomach. For a moment, I think I might puke, but I keep it together and take a deep breath to collect myself.

“We should get out of here,” Loni murmurs, turning to me with concern bright in her dark eyes.

Then they’d just think I’m a coward.

“No.” I comb a frustrated hand through my hair and shake my head. “I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me run away. We were here first. I’m not leaving just because those jackasses show up.”

Loni looks impressed by my confident words but still worried. “Are you sure?”

I glance over her shoulder and spot Saint and a group of Angelview’s elite descending to the beach. Gabe and Liam are with him, of course, and I grimace when I spot Laurel giggling with her friends behind him. I turn my gaze from them and give Loni a resolved nod.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Henry, Loni, and I group together and glare in disgust as Saint and his followers reach the party. As if he knows I’m watching him, his slate blue eyes find me immediately and he grants me that self-assured, wicked grin. He elbows Gabe and Liam and points, not even bothering to hide the fact that he’s picked me out of the crowd. Gabe arches his brow, and I think he chuckles a little, but Liam watches me with a somber expression.

Does he regret not helping me? Does he miss swimming together?

I try not to think too hard about him, knowing it will only confuse me more than I already am.

“Shit, drunk bitch alert,” Loni hisses. I glance in the direction she’s looking and find Laurel heading straight for us. She’s staggering slightly, and it’s obvious she’s intoxicated. Her eyes are glassy, and her smile is meaner than ever.

“Hey, dumb fucks,” she sneers. “What’re you doing here? I didn’t think you had the nerve to show your face in public, Mallory.”

I clench my teeth until pain shoots through my jaw, angry that she’s even