peeled off, closing the distance. His relief at my arrival confused me. “I was hoping to catch you before homeroom. I need to talk to you.”
“No, you don’t.” I went around him to my locker. “Go away.”
“Please. Can we just go somewhere and talk?”
“And again. No.”
“I want to apologize.”
My hand froze on the dial.
“I’ve thought a lot about what you said... that night,” he said softly. “And I owe you one that’s long overdue, don’t you agree?”
“You know I do. Say what you need to say and then go.”
“Not in the hall. Mrs. Gardener’s class is open. Please, just for five minutes.”
“Why?” I scoffed. “Because you’re afraid someone might overhear and discover just what kind of person you are? How you treated Camila gave that away a long time ago.”
“Fine. Never mind.”
His footsteps retreated.
My fist dug the lock painfully into my skin. He can’t just walk away after everything he’s done. I am owed that apology.
“Wait.”
The footsteps paused.
“Five minutes.”
“Thank you, Ember.”
Mrs. Gardener’s class was the nearest to my locker. Nolan rushed ahead to hold open the door. The kind, charming smile of the guy I once dated tinged with nerves and hope.
I propped myself on her desk, arms folded. “I’m listening.”
“Okay.” Nolan paced in front of the door, wringing his hands. “The other night was crazy. Waking up to their hands on my mouth, ripping me out of bed before Julian knew what was going on. Over and over I’ve thought about what you three could’ve done to me, and I realized it should have been much worse.”
I nodded. Amazing. His night in the forest did teach him something.
He took a deep breath. “I owe you an apology, so here goes.” Nolan planted his feet, looking at me directly. “Ember, I’m sorry that...
“...after two years you’re still bitching and whining about me leaving your ass in the woods.”
I blinked. What did he just say?
“I dated you for three months and you were shying away from my cock like the stuck-up princess you really were under your blue hair and fake tough act.”
The pleasant mask peeled away. The one used to trick me before and done so easily once more.
“I’m sorry I wasted my time with you. It only seemed right to teach you a lesson.”
“Get the fuck out of my way!” I barreled for the door.
“Ah ah.” Nolan shoved me back. “Believe me. You’re going to want to hear the rest of my apology.”
I dove at him, fist raised. Nolan seized it, twisting my arm behind me. Bones crunched under the assault. I cried out, pain almost blotting out his words.
“Leo tells me you’ve got a mean hook,” he hissed. “You fight for real, and if you try that again, I swear I will too. A pair of tits won’t stop me throwing you over those desks.”
“Let me go!”
He did. I stumbled away, putting as much distance between us as possible. I wasn’t afraid to fight him, but Nolan had a foot and fifty pounds on me. If we went at it, I wasn’t walking away unscathed.
I glared at him across the room, cradling my sore arm. “You’re fucked up, Nolan. In your head. Deep down in the pit of your soul where human compassion and empathy should be. There’s nothing. You’re nothing,” I spat. “Just an empty shell in a pretty wrapper. You think you can go through life like this and there’ll never be consequences? Trust me, bitch. It’s going to catch up to you.”
He laughed—a cruel, grating sound that ran up my spine. “I thought it finally did the night those disgusting thugs grabbed me out of bed. They tied me to the tree and then left. The whole time I was thinking they went back for Royal and that long-haired shit. I figured that was it. They knew what I’d done and I was looking at a knife between the ribs and a deep sleep in the river.
“Then they came back with you.” Nolan looked like he would piss himself laughing. “A-and you didn’t do shit! After everything I’ve done to you, the weak, pathetic little girl you are couldn’t pull the trigger. I cut out of those ropes and was back in my room two hours later.”
My nails pierced my forearm. A physical fight wasn’t the smart play, but damn was he pushing it. There was a single statement I latched on to amid his taunting.
“You thought they knew what you’d done? What does that mean?”
He shrugged, smirk unfolding in horrifying delight. “I thought they