New Girl in Town

THE END

"I do," she says. "I just wanted—" She stops. "I know it's been like a month, but you looked really freaked that day Blake broke in to my place. I wanted to call you after, make sure you were okay, but I didn't have your number. I know things got intense—"

"That's an understatement," I say. "You came at me with a bat."

"I didn't know it was you," she says. "And Blake ... she's gonna steal from the wrong person one of these days. And I don't want her to get hurt. She's got some stuff to figure out."

"Me too," I admit.

"Just ... no more aiding and abetting, okay?"

"Never," I promise. "I'll see you at school?"

"Oh yeah, us non–silver spooners have to stick together," she says with a smile before ducking back into the house.

I make the mistake of looking to my right, toward the pool.

Jennie's sitting there, all alone, her feet dangling in the water. I should just go. But the opportunity I wanted is right there in front of me.

So I find myself walking back, through the house, through the hall and living room, pushing past people, until I get to the sliding doors that lead to the pool.

The music blasts as I step outside and then muffles as I close the door. She doesn't look over at me as I come to sit next to her, but she leans into me as soon as I do. Like she knew from the very first step it was me.

Her head falls into the crook of my shoulder, puzzle pieces fitting together, and I breathe the weight of her in, wishing it would never leave me.

"I'm so tired of living like this," she says softly. "Everything hurts when all I want to do is be with you. And all I do is run."

"You could stop."

The weight of her leaves me. My head tilts, meeting her gaze.

"You could stop," I say again. "You could be with me."

She is so close. A long line of heat against my thigh and arm, my hand not pressing into the concrete, aching to reach out.

"I could," she says and there's no question in her voice. "I want to," she whispers as she leans forward.

My eyes drift shut, anticipation buzzing through me. One second more and—

—Jennie screams my name. I blink, the back of my skull aching, and I blink again, my stunned brain trying to put it together—why does the back of my head hurt?

His fingers curl harder into my hair as Kai jerks me up off the concrete only to throw me back as he yells.

Sweat trickles down my forehead as he lets me go, rounding on Jennie.

"How could you do this to me?" he screams in Jennie's face. "With her? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

I touch the back of my head and my fingers are all stained with red. Huh. Not sweat. Shit.

Black spots dance along my vision, and for a second I think they're going to blot out everything. It'll just all go dark and it won't hurt anymore because fuck my head hurts.

But he's yelling, and my mind latches on to his words instead of slipping into the dark.

"Look at me! Don't look at her!" His fingers dig into her jaw and violently jerk her head toward his. She cries out in pain.

The sound is like a sharp hook in my belly. Everything goes red. And I'm up. Up and flying toward him, fists curled and ready. I've never punched anyone before, but it doesn't matter. I have love and rage on my side, and if he touches her again I'm going to kill him.