AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ms. Robin’s oversized cardigan and mane of frizzy red hair sweeps into view as she snatches up the bag, right before Dax’s big hand can close around it.
“Thank you, boys,” she says, already striding away.
“Did she hear any of that?” Rocco says in a low tone, after she’s gone.
“No,” Dax says. “And who cares—she’s a fuckin’ space cadet. You ever seen her drooling all over those crumbly rat-shit scrolls? Thinks she’s a fuckin’ medieval monk, or a nun or some shit.” He gives another of those awful laughs. “Dresses like a nun, too. I’d still bend her over the desk. I like a redhead. So does our boy Jasper, don’t ya Jasper?”
“No,” Jasper says, coolly. “I’m not interested in fucking the librarian.”
All this seems to have distracted Rocco enough that he forgets about the mystery backpack.
“Let’s go,” Dax says. “I don’t feel like studying.”
“When do you ever,” Rocco says, waspishly.
“It’s almost dinner, and unlike you two I actually like to eat.”
“If you call the pig-slop they serve at this place eating.”
Not waiting for Rocco to agree with anything like grace, Dax gathers up his books. Rocco and Jasper follow.
I stay exactly where I am, legs too weak to support me even if I was brave enough to move.
I heard every word that Rocco said. And just like Dax and Jasper, I know he wasn’t joking.
Rocco will get his revenge on my sister. He’ll wait as long as he has to. Neither time nor distance will erase his hatred. He’s a danger to her for as long as he lives.
This problem has only one solution.
I don’t want to admit it. I don’t want to allow the thought in my mind. But I know it, as surely as I can see the sun rising in the morning and the moon in the sky at night.
The only way for Zoe to be safe . . . is for Rocco to die.
22
ZOE
The last few weeks of school are the most blissful of my life.
Rocco is so bitter that he won’t even look at me, which is exactly what I like.
Miles and I are free to spend every possible moment together. We walk to class hand in hand, we sit together for every meal, we stay up late at night laughing and talking, watching old movies, or fucking like rabbits every chance we get.
The joy of being flirty and romantic out in the open is ten times greater than I imagined. I’ve never felt so light and so free.
Often Anna and Leo join us for movies or exploring the island. Chay comes along sometimes, but I know she feels a bit like a fifth wheel. She’s been in an awful state over what happened to Ozzy’s mom. She only cheered up once Ozzy started accepting her calls on Sundays. Miles gave her a cellphone, and now she’s holed up in her room for hours at a time, talking to Ozzy.
“I’m going to visit him in Tasmania,” she tells me. “As soon as school lets out.”
“As friends, or . . .?”
“It’s not a pity thing,” Chay tells me, fiercely. “I’ve missed him since he’s been gone. Missed him a lot, actually.”
“That’s great, Chay,” I say, honestly. “I always thought Ozzy was good for you.”
I’ve got my own visit planned for the summer holidays—I’m going to Chicago to meet Miles’ family. I asked Cat if she wanted to come with me. Neither of us has been to the States before, and I really don’t think our father will object. Miles showed me the ongoing transactions on the offshore server, which are already surpassing the generous projections he made that night in Dubrovnik. Our father will be too busy counting his money to do anything else.
Cat didn’t seem as excited as I expected. She’s been strangely quiet lately, almost avoiding me. She says she’s busy studying, but I wonder if it makes her feel isolated to see me so wrapped up in Miles. Like she thinks I’ll forget all about her.
