I’m going to die in this closet.
They’re going to find my body bound to a storage shelf by a pair of white cotton panties, while my equally plain, boring bra is on full display.
And let’s not forget the mascara streaks staining my cheeks thanks to Jace—the royal asshole—Covington.
I blow out a breath, attempting once more to unknot the undies holding me hostage. No dice.
Whoever discovers me will probably think my assailant took off due to my spectacular taste in comfortable, but lackluster underwear.
My only options are to either scream my lungs out and hope some poor soul walking by hears me, or wait for someone to notice my absence and start a search party.
In which case it will be at least another twenty-four hours because the only person who will realize or care that I’m gone is my aunt Crystal, and by then school will be closed for the night.
My only hope is Sawyer.
However, we don’t know one another well enough yet so she’ll probably assume I went home.
My stomach sinks. Option A is not just my last resort, it’s my only resort.
I gulp down as much air as my lungs can take, then I open my mouth and yell, “Help.” So loud I’m surprised my vocal cords don’t shred.
If I’m lucky, it will be a teacher who finds me and not a student.
“Hel—”
The doorknob turns, and my hero pops their head through the crack.
Or not.
“Dylan?” Oakley’s eyes—make that eye—because the other one is swollen shut, widen. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
He says it like I’m inconveniencing him by being tied up.
His brows furrow. “Why are you standing there in your bra?”
I glare at him. “Oh, you know. Just working on my suntan.”
Puzzled, he looks around the dim confines. “Really?”
“No, you imbecile,” I screech as he walks in.
He swiftly closes the door behind him. “Keep your voice down. There are people coming down the hallway.”
And yet, none of them were selected by whatever higher power is currently shitting on me to open my storage closet of doom and unleash me from this hell.
No, that would be too easy. Instead, I get stuck with this knucklehead.
This has got to be some kind of sick joke. Actually, with the way things are going, I wouldn’t rule it out.
“Let me guess, Jace sent you in here so you can really drive the cousin-fucking rumors home and ruin my life even more.”
He scratches the back of his head. “Look, I’m gonna need you to calm down and put the Jace shit on the back burner for a bit. We have more important stuff to worry about.”
It’s the most intelligent thing he’s ever uttered.
He walks over to me. “My dad and your aunt are on their way up to the school.”
“They are? Why?”
This time, it’s him who looks at me like I’m high as he points to his face. “Because you made chopped meat out of my pretty mug in front of everyone and then took off to go have nakie time in a storage closet.”
He can’t be serious. “Wait. Are you suggesting I did this to myself…on purpose?”
He holds up his hands. “Some people are into the exhibitionist and BDSM lifestyle.” He wags a finger at me. “But I’m gonna need you to partake in your kinky shit on your own time. We have less than ten minutes to pull it together and come up with a story before the parental units come through.”
“I’m not…that’s not… I didn’t strip and tie myself up.”
“Whatever.” Rubbing his chin, he assesses me. “So what exactly am I working with here? What’s your bondage of choice?”
“I don’t have a bondage of choice. Jace tied me up with…” My cheeks heat and I swallow hard. “On second thought, does it really matter? Just get me out of here.”
I want to punch him when he starts whistling. “Damn, he really went the extra mile. This knot is tighter than a motherfucker.” He makes a face. “Are you sweating? The fabric is kind of—”
“Oh my God, shut up.” I kick his shin. “Just stop talking.”
“All right. Jesus.” He gives the fabric a forceful jerk, freeing my wrists. “Don’t get your panties in a—never mind. Too late for that.”
I snatch them from him. “Turn around.”
Remarkably, he does as I ask. “Relax, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Although if you want my honest advice, you’d benefit from a trip, or five, to Victoria’s Secret.”
I tug them on and rub my chafed wrists. “I’m good, thanks.”
He stops me when I head for the door. “Not so fast. We still have to figure out what we’re going to tell them.”
“Tell who?”
“My dad and your aunt.”
“I don’t know, but the truth sounds like a pretty good start.”
He rushes over when I turn the knob. “Woah, hold on. Let’s not do anything crazy.”
He must be higher than usual. “You really expect me to lie to them for you after all you’ve done?”
Although now that I think about it, he didn’t really do anything. Jace did.
No. Oakley’s not exactly free of fault. Jace had to have gotten the information to use against me from someone.
I grind my molars. Oakley could have stopped the rumors and refused to feed Jace my secrets, but he didn’t.
He gloated and made everything worse.
I can tell he’s trying to choose his next words carefully. “I already let you kick my ass in front of everyone, isn’t that en—”
“You’re unbelievable.”
I swing the door open, but he lugs me back inside and stands in front of it.
“Dylan, please.” His expression is solemn. “I’m sorry, okay? I was mean to you and you didn’t deserve it. But my grades are shit and if I don’t pull my act together, I might not graduate. I really need you to have my back out there.”
I snort. “Like all the times you had mine these last few days?”
He opens his mouth and then clamps it shut.
I jab his chest with my finger. “Do you have any idea how much I dreaded coming back to Royal Manor?” My throat thickens. “I know how these people can be, and I hated the idea of returning to the place where people like Britney and her crew of mean girls reign, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter.” I shrug helplessly. “I figured maybe, just maybe, things wouldn’t be so bad at RHA, because I’d have a friend—no, family—here and we could look out for each other. I didn’t expect to be super close or anything, and I didn’t want to insert myself into your circle of friends—but I definitely didn’t anticipate coming back to everything being a complete one-eighty from the way it was when I left. Or that you’d be helping my childhood best friend destroy my life because he insists on holding a grudge against me for some unknown reason.”
He exhales sharply. “I didn’t know you guys were so close. He never once mentioned you over the years. Not even after my dad married Crystal.”
It’s like a kick straight to the heart. Jace Covington isn’t the boy I knew.
“Yeah, well. There are probably lots of things you don’t know about him. He keeps almost everyone at arm’s length.”
“Truth.” He leans against the door. “Then again, we all have our secrets.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?”
I shift uncomfortably. “If this is another trick, I’d rather just lie to my aunt than fall for it.”
“It’s not a trick,” he insists. “I mean it.”
“Well, forgive me for not trusting you, but just yesterday you called me a skank and said you could have me and my aunt tossed out on our asses like—” I snap my fingers like he did. “That.”
“I say a lot of shit I don’t mean when I’m angry. A lot.”
“Understandable, I do it too, but let’s get one thing straight. My mom’s dead and my dad’s in the slammer. The only person I have in my corner is my aunt. She’s been the most stable, solid person in my life and the only one who’s never let me down. So if you think I’m going to let you threaten her marriage and happiness—”
“I’m not. I wouldn’t.” A flicker of sadness passes in his gaze. “I’m not my father.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Forget it.” He holds out his fist. “Friends?”
“Even when Jace and your harem of Britney followers are around?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure? Won’t it cause issues with you and Jace?”
He shrugs. “Probably. But he doesn’t control me. He’ll be mad at first, but eventually he’ll get over it. No one understands the value of family more than he does, so even though he won’t like it, he’ll deal.”
Despite my apprehension, I give him a fist bump. “Don’t pull the wool over my eyes, Oak. I’ll kick your ass ten times worse than I did today.”
“I won’t fuck you over. But for the record? You only kicked my ass because I don’t believe in laying my hands on a female.” Grinning, he puts an arm around my shoulder. “Now, when Principal Ryan asks us what happened, don’t say anything.” He slaps a hand over his heart. “Take it from the kid of a district attorney, cous. Silence is your friend. If neither of us says a word, it’s like it never happened.”
I’m almost positive that’s not the way it works, but I give him a thumbs up anyway. “Got it.”
He looks at me, but then quickly averts his gaze. “You’re gonna need to fix the situation you’ve got going on before we walk out.”
I look down and curse. “I can’t. Jace ripped all the buttons off.”
He holds a hand in front of his face. “TMI, Dylan. Just put your blazer on…backward.”
“I can’t. I left it in Crystal’s car this morning.”
He frowns. “I don’t have mine either. I’m pretty sure Hayley’s making a voodoo doll out of it.”
I make a mental note to ask him about their relationship later.
I almost do a happy dance when it occurs to me. “I need you to find Sawyer. She’ll give me a shirt.”
“Consider it done.” His movements come to a halt. “I have no idea who this Sawyer girl is. What does she look like?”
“She’s short and curvy, has waist-length dark hair and wears black-rimmed glasses. Oh, and she’s a junior, not a senior.”
He makes a face. “Yeah, sorry, doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t hang out with losers.”
I pinch him and he yelps.
“She’s not a loser. She’s awesome. Go find her for me.”
He raises his arms. “How am I supposed to find some girl I’ve never met—”
The sound of the second-period bell ringing cuts him off.
I shove him out the door. “Go. Try and catch her before her next class.”
“Sawyer,” I hear him yell as he ventures down the hall, clapping his hands. “Okay, here’s the deal, fuckers. If anyone sees a chick named Sawyer, I need to speak with her immediately. We got a family emergency happening here.”
I rub my temples and groan. If nothing else, being friends with Oakley will never be boring.
When he’s not stoned out of his mind, he’s kind of…
The sound of scuffling interrupts my thoughts.
“Let go of me,” Sawyer shrieks as Oakley wrangles her through the door. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Oakley pushes her toward me. “Take off your shirt and give it to her.”
Sawyer’s mouth drops open. “Are you crazy?”
I press the heels of my palms to my eyes. “Yes. Yes, he is.”
A normal person would have told her the situation and asked if she had a spare shirt.
But not Oakley. He drags the poor girl to a closet for a shakedown instead.
Oakley snaps his fingers. “Chop, chop, short stack. We’re on a deadline here.”
Jesus. He’s about to ruin the only friendship I have. “Sawyer keep your clothes on. Oakley stop badgering her.” I motion to what’s left of my uniform. “He means well, he’s just trying to help me.”
Sawyer understandably looks weary. “What happened?”
There’s no point in lying. “Jace Covington dragged me in here, seduced me, tied me up, ripped my blouse, and left me to suffer.”
Her eyeballs nearly pop out of her sockets. “What the actual fuck? That’s like a bad straight to Netflix movie.”
“Tell me about it.”
She unzips her bag and hands me a spare shirt.
“Thanks. I’ll pay you back.”
She gives her head a shake. “I don’t want your money. But I will take your phone number. This way your goon here won’t have to barge into the ladies’ room while I’m in the middle of peeing next time something happens.”
I leer at my goon as I put on the new shirt. “Seriously, Oakley?”
His shoulders rise in a shrug. “You told me what you needed, and I delivered. Don’t criticize my methods.”
Sawyer gives me her phone and I plug in my number. “I owe you one…again.”
She worries her lip between her teeth. “If you’re serious, I know a way you can make it up to me.”
“Sure. But I already kicked Oakley’s ass once today and I’m not sure he’ll survive a second attack so soon.”
She laughs. “No. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing you hulk out on him again.” She fidgets with her hands. “Uh. There’s a party at Christian’s house this Saturday. I’ve never been to one and I was hoping you’d go with me.” She straightens her spine. “I’m considering it a social experiment of sorts. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to see how those at the top of the food chain get down.”
Oakley snorts. “Not to be a dick, but social experiment or not, I don’t think either of you goodie-two-shoes can handle one of Christian’s parties.”
The defiant look in Sawyer’s eye tells me that’s the real reason she wants to go.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to. “I can’t. I work six a.m. until close.”
Her shoulders slump. “Oh. Well, it’s no big deal. Maybe next time.”
I hate the disappointment on her face. “On second thought, if you’d be willing to wait until after my shift, I can make it work.”
Those big brown eyes practically sparkle. “Sure. What time do you get off? I figured we’d leave around seven, but—”
“No one even shows up until after ten,” Oakley chimes in. “Why don’t you two just meet me when you get there so you don’t embarrass yourselves.”
Sawyer raises an eyebrow. “Really? Are you sure the prince of Royal Hearts Academy will allow one of his noble subjects to hang out with two insignificant paupers like us?”
She’s officially my new favorite person.
“Oakley’s decided to go rogue and be a decent human,” I answer for him. “And I get off at eight, so you should totally come to my house early and get ready with me.”
With any luck, I’ll be able to convince her to toss the navy headband she’s been wearing since we met in the trash and try a little lip gloss.
“Okay, cool. Sounds like a pla—”
“Sorry to interrupt this little ya-ya sisterhood shit,” Oakley grunts. “But Dylan and I have a pressing situation we need to deal with.”
Shit. He’s right.
All three of us exit the closet.
“I’ll text you in a bit,” Sawyer whispers before we go our separate ways.
The hallways are empty as we make our way to the principal’s office, and after catching our reflections in a display case, I’m grateful.
Oakley looks like he lost several rounds with Mike Tyson, and I look like I woke up in a seedy alley after spending the nightclubbing.
We make quite the pair.
Principal Ryan is downright seething. “What do you mean you plead the fifth?” He thrusts a finger at Oakley. “You have a black eye, a bruised nose, and a bloody lip.” He points to me. “And you…” He falters. “Let’s just say you’re not exactly following the dress code, young lady.” His beady eyes shift between us. “Several students have come forward to report that an altercation happened between you two before homeroom this morning.”
Oakley shrugs. “Define altercation.”
I follow suit. “Define several.”
My aunt throws her hands up. “I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous. There’s no way my niece is capable of causing so much damage to a boy my stepson’s size. Not to mention, why in the world would she beat up her own cousin?” She casts a look of sympathy our way. “I think they’re not coming forward with the truth because someone is threatening them, and you need to figure out who.”
My uncle Wayne sighs. “Settle down, Crys. I told you to let me do the talking.”
I can see where Oakley gets it from.
He fiddles with his watch. “Calling us down here was a waste of time. You can’t charge either of them without firm evidence. All you have is hearsay.”
Principal Ryan looks so frustrated I bet he’s considering taking up drinking full-time. “We are not in a courtroom, Mr. Zelenka. I don’t need evidence to suspend or expel a student.”
I say a silent prayer to the good Lord up above. Please, expel me.
He huffs out a breath. “Multiple students reported the fight between them started because of a rumor about…” He flounders like a fish. “Their close relationship.”
This is awkward.
Wayne looks bored. “Really? That’s all?”
Principal Ryan’s flabbergasted. “What do you mean, that’s all? We have a zero-tolerance policy at Royal Hearts Academy when it comes to violence…amongst other things. We pride ourselves on class and dignity.” His face turns red. “Regardless of what goes on in your household, this school will not condone any immoral activities.”
It takes so much self-control not to laugh, I shake a little. Not only are we not having sex, we’re not even blood-related.
Wayne pokes the desk with his finger. “You know, for someone who claims to pride themselves on class and dignity, it’s abhorrent that you would suggest my son and his cousin are involved in some kind of sexual relationship. I should have your perverted ass arrested for slander.”
“Mic drop.” Oakley spanks the air. “D.A. Zelenka is in the motherfucking house.”
I swear my uncle beams.
“Language, Oak,” my aunt hisses before she gives Principal Ryan a tight smile. “My husband has a valid point. There’s no way in the world these two are involved.” Concern flickers in her gaze when she looks at us. “Right?”
“Right,” I assure her.
Oakley nudges me. “Stick to the script.” He places a finger over his lips and mouths, ‘Silence.’
Crystal stands up. “These are good kids, Jim. It’s obvious whatever you heard was nothing more than a rumor, and there’s no need to drag them through the mud.” She gestures to Oakley. “Instead of wasting everyone’s time blaming my niece—who by the way is a straight-A honor student—you should be looking for the real jerk who beat up my stepson.”
Principal Ryan looks sheepish. “You have a point, Crystal.” He blushes. “As always, you’re as intelligent and level-headed as you are beautiful.”
My uncle’s jaw bunches.
Beside me, Oakley makes a gagging sound. “Dude, come on.”
I look around the room. “Does this mean I’m free to go?”
Despite his crush on my aunt, he looks unconvinced. “Not so fast.” He takes a pad out of the drawer of his desk. “I’m issuing you a slip for after-school detention for the next three days. The both of you.”
Shit. “I can’t. I have work.”
“Why are we still getting punished when we didn’t do anything wrong?” Oakley questions.
He looks at my aunt and uncle. “Whether or not your parents want to believe it, it’s obvious something happened this morning based on your injuries.” He looks at me next. “In conjunction with the spray paint found on your locker, I doubt it was merely a coincidence.” Grabbing a pen, he furiously scribbles on his pad. “You might not be the culprit, but you both know who is and you’re covering for them.” He hands us both slips. “It’s the first week of school. If I don’t set an example now, it will only continue and get worse.”
“Hold on,” my aunt says. “Someone spray painted Dylan’s locker? Who would do something like that?”
“That’s precisely what I’m trying to figure out.”
Everyone turns to me.
I never thought I’d see the day where I’d squeal on Jace Covington.
But after what he did today, I don’t want to just sell him down the river, I want to drown the bastard in it.
I square my shoulders. “J—”
Oakley kicks my foot. “Don’t do it.” His mouth pulls tight. “Silence is your friend.”
I want to remind him that silence got us three days’ worth of detention, but he’s right.
There are other ways to get back at Jace.
I’ll strike when he least expects it.
Won’t stop me from pinning his crime on someone else though.
Like his precious girlfriend.
I look Principal Ryan right in the eyes. “Britney Caldwell. Yesterday she tripped me at lunch and today she spray painted the word thief on my locker.”
Oakley throws his hands up. “Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
Yup.
I’m destroying the kingdom.
And just like a game of chess.
You have to take down the queen before conquering the king.
Or in this case, the prince.
