Page 168 of Wicked Brutal

Then I see Mr. Bennett at the bottom of the stairs. He’s looking at us. Maybe that’s nothing. Probably nothing. Except when Cat and I start walking, he smiles. “Miss O’Toole.”

“Hi.”

“Everything all right?”

“Yep.”

“Heading to chemistry?”

I stop. Cat does too. “Yes.”

He nods. “Don’t want to be late.”

My skin prickles again. We’re not late. We’re not even close to late.

We keep walking. Cat waits until we turn the corner. “Okay. That was fucking weird.”

Someone is watching. Maybe several someones. And the worst part is I don’t know who.

By lunch, I want to crawl out of my own skin. I sit with Cat, Penny, and Becca and tell them everything. Quietly. Daniel. Mrs. Caldwell. Bennett. The questions.

Penny looks toward the faculty tables. “Do you know who’s reporting?”

“No.”

“Could be administration,” Cat says.

“Could be more than one person,” Becca adds. I look at her.

“Helpful.”

“You want comforting or useful?”

“Today? Comforting.”

“You look very pretty.” I stare at her. She takes another bite of salad. “There.”

My notebook is beside my tray. I pull it closer. I open to where I stopped yesterday. Writing helps. It gives my brain one thing to think about instead of forty. For three whole minutes, I almost forget Switzerland exists.

Then a hand reaches over my shoulder and takes the notebook. I know the hand. My stomach drops anyway.

“What the fuck is this?”

Ryan.

I look up. He’s standing behind my chair. Kaiden, Xander, Danny, and Iz are with him. My eyes go automatically to his. Nothing. No warning. No softness. Nothing that belongs to me. Then I see Bennett near the doors. Looking directly at us.

“Give it back.”

Ryan flips the notebook open. His mouth curls. Not smiles. Curls. “What is this supposed to be?”

My face gets hot. “Mine.”

“Obviously.” He scans the page. Then laughs. Loud enough that the table beside us looks over.

“What?” Iz leans toward him.

Ryan turns the notebook slightly. “O’Toole thinks she’s a writer.”