quite the fan, aren’t you, Fee?”
“Fee?” She almost choked over the word.
“What?” He shrugged. “I figured you need a nickname now we’re all friends.”
Fee didn’t look convinced. “Why is it,” she said, her eyes sliding to Jase again. What was it with her and my best friend? “I never know whether to believe a thing that comes out of your mouth?”
“Because you shouldn’t trust a Raider,” Hailee spoke up.
“Now, now, Hails,” Asher said smugly. “I didn’t lie about the party, did I?”
“This has been fun and all,” Sarcasm dripped from Jase’s voice. “But are the two of you planning to get the fuck out of here anytime soon?”
Silence fell over the Bennet’s breakfast counter. Felicity lowered her eyes, chewing her lip anxiously. But Hailee didn’t look surprised. In fact, she looked oddly relieved as she met his icy stare with her own. “It would be my pleasure.” She rose from her stool quickly, the metal legs scraping across the tiles, and snapped at Felicity. “Coming?”
“I… uh, yeah. Bye.” Hailee’s friend gave us a small wave and they both fled from the kitchen.
“You’re a dick,” Asher ground out, shoving his plate away from him.
“And you only just realized this?” Jase shot back, continuing to eat his breakfast like he hadn’t just dismissed his step-sister and her friend away from the table like naughty children.
Hailee
I marched out of Asher’s house with Flick trailing after me. God, my step-brother was an asshole. He couldn’t just be civil for ten fucking minutes while we ate breakfast. The breakfast my best friend had made for him no less.
Bastard.
“Hails, will you just slow down a second?”
“I need to get away from here, Flick.” Anger propelled me forward until I was stomping down the Bennet’s driveway, arms swinging by my sides, breaths coming in sharp bursts. “This, coming here, it was a bad idea.”
“He’s a jerk, you’re right. But Asher is—”
I whirled around, glaring at her. “Please don’t tell me you’re developing a crush on Asher Bennet, the same Asher I know for a fact has slept with the entire girls track team.” Probably all at once knowing him.
“No, I don’t like him. Jeez, can you just breathe for a second?” She smoothed her hair back, composing herself. “I just think he’s funny and he likes us.”
“He likes us now, Flick. Now. After Thatcher discovered who I am. Don’t you get how messed up that is? If we’d have never gone to that party with Toby and Jude do you really think we’d be here now?”
“Well... no.” Her shoulders sank in defeat, hurt glittering in her eyes as they darted to the ground.
I felt like a mean bitch, but she was too quick to see the good in Asher. Too blinded by the promise of parties at his house and being sweet-talked by him in the cafeteria. Flick hadn’t been the brunt of their jokes and mean pranks for the last five and a half years, but she had been right there beside me to witness it. So the fact she was ready to overlook that, made it all seem trivial somehow. As if none of it really mattered because they were Raiders. And if they extended you an invitation into their inner circle, you took it, regardless of whatever bullshit had come before.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay.” I tried to school my irritation. “I know you want to fit in. I know you have your list and you want to make senior year one to remember. But it can still be fun without them.” My eyes flitted over her shoulder and back to the house.
“What about Cameron?”
“What about him?” My chest ached remembering how he’d rejected me last night and then acted as if nothing had happened this morning.
“You like him,” she added. “I know you do.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said quietly, feeling my chest constrict. “He’s Jason’s best friend, Flick, a Raider. Our worlds aren’t supposed to co-exist.” The quicker I got that through my stupid head, the better. Cameron was loyal to Jason, which made him my enemy. So despite any attraction between us he was a bad idea. Really bad. Because Cameron Chase wouldn’t only hurt me. Given half a chance he would completely ruin me.
And I couldn’t let that happen.
I wouldn’t.
“But—”
“Come on.” I cut her off, done talking about him. “We can walk back to your house.”
She nodded, following me down the long winding driveway. “Hey, were you crying last night?” I asked, the vague memory suddenly flooding my mind.
“What? When?”
“When you came