Saint (Angelview Academy #1) - E.M. Snow Page 0,44
but I decide against it. He’s talking to me, and not glaring. I need to take these wins as they come to me.
“It’s okay,” I murmur, turning to dig out my textbook so he doesn’t see how really not okay I am. It’s not his fault, I know that. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that he didn’t show up last night, and Jon Eric and Finnegan were there. “Saint let me know.”
He leans closer, twisting his head to try and make eye-contact with me even as I attempt to avoid it.
“He told me what those guys tried to do to you,” he says, his tone so gentle, I’m stunned. “If I’d been there, they’d have never dared touch you.”
I finally turn my eyes to him, and my breath catches because, to my shock, sincerity shines behind his dark stare. Clearing my throat, I say, “It’s … okay. Luckily, Saint showed up when he did and scared them off.”
He stares at me intently for several moments more, and it’s a little unnerving. Finally, he releases a low noise that sounds like a growl and slams back in his chair.
“We should reschedule,” he grumbles. “Tonight work for you?”
I want to sigh in relief that he’s letting the subject of last night drop.
“It’s Friday,” I point out, which earns me a “so what?”
Dear baby Jesus, the boy is moody. “Fine, tonight it is. Library again?” The thought fills me with dread, but I force a neutral expression to hide my distress.
Thankfully, Liam shakes his head. “My family’s got a beach house not too far from campus. I’d rather go there, where no one will bother us.”
I’m intrigued by the idea, and honestly, would rather work anywhere else than the library right now. Even the den of one of the gods is preferable to that place because, for the first time in months, I hadn’t dreamt about blood and fire.
I’d dreamt about books. Books and suffocation.
“All right, that sounds good.” I nod and smile.
He goes back to ignoring me as the class begins, and I go back to pretending I hate him.
Later, in gym class, the strangest thing of all happens when Saint walks into class with a bandaged hand and a deep scowl that he directs at me.
When I ask him what happened, he only sneers at me.
Go figure.
14
The remainder of my Friday is like any other day, but I’m distracted as I sit through classes, because I can’t stop thinking about what’s happening later. Tonight, I’m supposed to go to Liam’s house, and the thought fills me with equal parts excitement and anxiety. It’s not because I like him (I don’t think), even though he’s super-hot and even a little charming when he’s not glaring at me like I swapped his Seether playlist with Taylor Swift’s greatest hits.
No, I’m excited and nervous because it feels like we could, potentially, be friends.
Best friends?
Unlikely.
Good enough friends that he stops making my life a living hell?
Possibly.
There’s enough of a chance, anyway, that I don’t want to do anything to mess things up between us.
I’m supposed to meet him in an hour, and I’m trying to decide what I should wear. I’ve rejected several outfits already and am contemplating just a casual sweatshirt and leggings combo when a frantic knock on my door breaks me from my concentration.
Frowning, I hurry across the room to see who it could be.
As soon as I open the door, Loni bursts inside in a wild mess of curls and flailing arms.
“You’ll never guess what I just heard!” she shrieks.
I quickly shut the door and spin to face her with wide eyes.
“What?” I ask, overwhelmed by her energy and expression of excitement.
“Someone snitched!”
I furrow my brow, utterly confused. “Snitched? Snitched about what?”
She reaches out and grabs my hands in hers.
“Someone on the football team anonymously reported to the administration that Jon Eric and Finnegan were the ones who attacked Nick last year.”
My jaw drops. “No fucking way!”
Loni nods. “Yeah, Henry just told me this afternoon.”
“Oh, my God, that’s amazing!” I declare. “What’s going to happen? Are Jon Eric and Finnegan getting expelled?”
When her beautiful face falls, it feels like a punch to my gut.
“So far, they say there’s not enough proof to take any action against them,” she hisses. “Which is a load of shit, but they’ve been suspended from the football team for the rest of the season.”