“Hi Trevor,” another one giggled.

I relaxed a little and released the breath I was holding when they greeted Trevor. My relief was short lived though when Trevor bypassed the trio without responding and headed toward me with purpose. He’d never done anything to me but he was still popular and a jock, while I was too far down the food chain to think this was going to be a friendly social call.

I was apprehensive but surprisingly he didn't scare me. Only one person scared me and thankfully he wasn't in the vicinity, so I stood my ground waiting for what was to come. He stopped and scanned my face thoroughly. He probably doesn't even know my name, I thought and almost rolled my eyes.

“Lake, right?”  Wait, did I say that out loud?

I continued staring without a response. Maybe I should tell him he had the wrong person since he didn't look sure of who I was. He looked over at the trio of girls who were still standing close by glaring at me when I remained silent.

“Lake Monroe?” he tried again.

“That's her,” one of the girls offered. He continued to ignore her but grabbed onto my elbow and pulled me down the hall behind him.

“Look, I need to talk to you in private. I have a proposition for you,” he said while dragging me into the library. We passed by tables and computers and then into the bookcases until we reached an alcove. I finally found my voice once he stopped and I was sure I wouldn’t trip and plant my face in the floor.

“Listen, I don’t care what he says, I don’t perform sexual acts for money so if that's what your proposition is about you’re wasting your time. I’m sure there are plenty of girls willing to do it for free so please let me go,” I huffed out furiously.

I constantly received money and lewd notes in my locker asking for sexual favors after Keiran spread rumors last year that he saw me giving Peter Simpson oral for money in the hallway after school and then offered to do him for twenty bucks.

“I’m not after that.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what are you after?”

“We have a mutual enemy and I know how to get rid of him.”

Chapter Seven

“Yes, Aunt Carissa, everything is fine. How is Canada?” Whatever she said, I never got to hear as I walked through the door after work. The phone was ripped out of my hands and as I was being tossed on the couch, I watched it hit the wall but thankfully it didn’t seem to break. What the –?

“You seem to be hard of hearing.”

I looked up at Keiran standing over me, expecting to find him angry but instead he was standing and talking as calmly as if he was discussing the weather. Truth be told, that scared be even more.

“I had –”

“Shut up. Why did you go to see Willow?” So he had been watching me.

I lifted my chin and looked him square in the eye. “Because she’s my best friend and thanks to you she’s my only friend but she is mine and you don’t get to take that away.”

Aside from my aunt, Willow was the most important person in my life and the only one I loved. I used to love my parents or what I could remember of them, but as long as the truth of their disappearance evaded me, I would continue to have mixed feelings. Parents abandon their kids all the time.

When he stalked toward me, I scrambled to get away but he was quicker and dragged me, kicking and screaming, to him at the other end of the couch. He sat down, pulled me into his lap, and then wrapped my legs around his waist. His arm banded around my waist and I flinched when he fisted my hair in his hand and yanked my head back. His nostrils flared and I shivered from looking into icy eyes. It's like I could feel everything he felt.

"Is that what you think you are to her? Her friend? She won't even tell you about Dash. What else does she keep from you, huh? You're not her friend...she doesn't even trust you." A sound of regret and hurt ripped from my throat.

Willow didn't trust me?

I didn't want to believe it but why else wouldn't Willow talk to me about Dash? Nothing else made sense because we’d always shared everything...or at least I thought we did.

“That’s not true.” I shook my head in denial but the bad seed he’d just planted in my head had already taken root.

“Isn’t it? I can see the doubt in your eyes. Did you know that he took her virginity this summer?” he said with an evil grin. “I do. I know when he did it. How he did it. And how many times he’s done it. And do you know why I know?” I shook my head as best as I could with his heavy hand controlling it. “Because I told him to do it.”

What? No, no, no.  This can’t be happening. Not even Keiran could be that cruel, could he? He finally released his hold on my hair and used his hand to trace the erratic pulse beating at my throat.

“Why?” My voice was little more than a croak as I searched his eyes for a sign that he was lying or joking. He held my gaze as he brought his face closer. His lips touched my neck and begin trailing bites down my skin.

“Because it would hurt you,” he said between bites and I sucked in a breath. “He’s going to use her and make her fall for him…and then he’s going to break her heart.”

The hell he is. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because there is nothing you can do to stop what’s already done. He’s just waiting for my go ahead to complete the final act. Of course…that doesn’t need to happen…but it all depends on you.”