She's Bad News

Chapter 6

“No problem,” I muttered, gripping the steering wheel harder wondering why the hell she seemed so touched by such a small gesture. I had to clench my mouth shut to stop from asking her questions about the past four years and what had happened to her to put that hollow look in her eyes.

We drove in silence until we reached the school just as the rain was starting to slow down slightly, leaving a wet drizzle behind. “Thanks for the ride,” she said, sending a smirk in my direction before climbing out of the truck. I shut off the engine and jumped out after her, rounding the truck quickly to walk beside her. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice strained as she kept her eyes focused on the parking lot in front of her.

“Making sure you stay out of trouble,” I replied easily, not breaking my stride as we moved towards the side of the school where the covered picnic benches were.

Just before we rounded the corner, she let out an exasperated breath and stopped walking. “Flynn, just go. This has nothing to do with you.”

“Tell me why you’re here. The truth.”

She put her hands on her hips and gave me a crooked grin that didn’t make it anywhere near her eyes. “And how would you know I was telling you the truth?”

“You have a tell,” I said simply, shrugging as I looked down at her, my gaze focused on the left side of her mouth, knowing that it quirked slightly when she lied.

Her hand lifted slowly until her fingers gently rested on her lips which were still smirking at me. “Noticed that, did you?” she said quietly, her voice holding a hint of surprise before her hand fell to her side, clenching into a fist. “Too bad for you, I’ve learned to control that particular habit thanks to a friend of mine.” My eyes shot to hers at the venom I heard in her voice but her gaze was focused over my shoulder, her eyes cold and emotionless. “However, I will tell you the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you. I’m here to meet─”

“Rachel!” I jumped at the feminine voice coming from around the corner of the school, the direction we’d been headed in before we stopped. “It’s freezing out here! How much longer do you think she’ll be?” the girl whined and when my eyes shifted back to Cory, I caught a flash of shock and hurt in her gaze before her eyes settled into coldness once more.

“Soon. She doesn’t have a car so she probably had to walk,” Rachel’s voice said, her tone bored.

“Walk?” A new voice said, this one I recognized as Tara Bryon, one of the school’s it girl’s that had cornered Corinna a few weeks before and given her a bloody lip. “I can guarantee that she didn’t walk. That whore probably called one of the idiot men at her beck and call for a ride. What do guys see in her, anyway? It’s just because she’s easy, right?”

“Definitely,” the first voice said as my fists clenched at my sides, my knuckles going white as anger coursed through me.

I was about to take a step in their direction when I felt Corinna’s hand on my chest and when I focused on her, she gave me a slight shake of her head, her smirk gone as she leaned closer to me. I forgot to breathe for a second as her lips came closer to mine but she turned her head slightly, her mouth ending up beside my ear as my heart pounded so hard that I barely heard her when she whispered, “Don’t move. I want to hear this.”

I blinked down at her when she moved back, her gaze fixed on the corner of the school, her head tilted slightly as she listened. I swallowed hard, unable to remove my gaze from her face as the girls continued to bash her, calling her all the names in the book but her features didn’t change. There wasn’t a flicker of pain or anger as she calmly listened until Rachel spoke. “Everyone would’ve been better off if she’d just stayed wherever the hell she’s been for the past four years. I don’t care if she whores herself around as long as she does it somewhere far away from my boyfriend,” Rachel said, her voice filled with disgust but I barely heard it as a tear trickled down Corinna’s cheek and for a second, her face was filled with the pain and betrayal I’d been expecting for a while before it vanished into her emotionless mask once more.