The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

Chapter Eleven-Lovely Audience

LUC

"DAMN..." I blew out.

Riley raked an annoyed hand through her hair and wiggled on the bench, still simmering. I could get why she felt violated on an intimate level, and frankly, I'd probably react ten times worse in that setting, but there was something alarming in the fact that her own mother—who hadn't seen her in months—could feel that something was very wrong. It was all one red flag after the other popping up. She wouldn't even tell me exactly what kind of stuff made her mother suspicious.

I wanted to know, but given what she just told me, pressuring her into spilling the beans would have the opposite effect. Out of all people, maybe I was the one she'd trust the least with that. I hadn't proven myself to be a good listener so far.

"Yeah," she grumbled, eyeing the stream of students skating over the iced ground trying to reach the doors. "So that happened."

That's Sunshine in a nutshell. Pretty little thing that looked like she couldn't do any harm but when you least expect it, she acts up and kicks ass. I bet that therapist must be shaking still. The poor guy was just doing his job.

"What are you smiling for?" Riley asked.

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "Nothing."

Her eyes slitted over my face. Her cheeks were pink from the ravaging wind, dulling out her freckles a little. "Seriously, what?"

"I told you, nothing." I smirked wider just to irk her.

It worked. She gave me the stink-eye and decided to continue reading her book. I left her alone for once and watched as Ben sauntered out of his BMW. Devin emerged from the other side. She had her own car, but the two of them always used one together for school mornings. Waste of gas, and all. 

I flagged them so they could spot me. They skidded over the ice on their way to us, and I couldn't resist sending a weak push from a distance towards Ben, just enough to disbalance him and make him fall on his ass. His arms jerked as he teetered, and Devin joined him on the slippery ground as a direct consequence. Grinning, I looked at them scramble back to their feet.

"I told you to stop being a dick," Riley said next to me, breaking my focus.

"That's harmless fun," I defended while Devin left Ben who was still laughing, sprawled over the damp cement. She came charging for me. "Quick, tell her your abilities malfunctioned or something."

Riley threw me a peeved glance. "I'm not covering for you." Her stare became meaningful, and I momentarily forgot about Devin fuming a few yards away. "Seriously, you need to be honest with yourself and work on some stuff."

I stared back, feeling like I should be vexed over someone having enough balls to call me out so directly, but not with her. I ruined it because I was an idiot and I was already going to hell.

"Says the airhead who flipped her shit on an innocent therapist. I'm not the only one here with issues."

She snapped her book shut with a scornful glare and whacked my arm with it. Hard. "That's it. Devin's coming and I'm helping her."

I turned my head to find Devin's long-legged strides approach and I received a heavy backpack smack-dab in the middle of my chest. It knocked the breath out of my lungs. Her voice filtered through, each word punctuated with another bash.

"You. Fucking. Asshole. Now. My. Jeans. Are. Wet." She stopped, then flung her bag over her shoulder for more momentum. "Idiot."

The last one hurt and I clenched my jaw to hold it in. Riley snickered under her breath without so much as lifting a finger to stop her. She prepared one last throw for good measure but I'd had enough. I caught the damn rucksack just before it struck me, fighting not to slice through Devin's legs with it and make her trip again.