Page 84 of Depraved Boys

“That night, Uncle Trevor came round to celebrate his new job at Cummersdale Primary School. You were supposed to be there, but you didn’t turn up. Mom checked your room and found DJ Bone’s flyers for the Hard Knott Rave all over your bed. That’s where they went.”

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

“The man’s thirty-five years old.” I scrambled to my feet and groped around in the dark. More blood trickled into my eyes, and I wiped it off with the back of my hand. “Mom and Dad didn’t want you anywhere near him.”

“Why didn’t you stop them?” she sobbed.

“From protecting their teenage daughter from a dirty old man who just got out of prison for possession?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“You could have saved them!”

“How?” I backed toward the door. “Calculus and computing can’t predict the future.”

“Look at you,” she screeched. “The moment Mom died, you didn’t show an ounce of feeling.”

“It’s called shock. You’re probably feeling it right now.”

“No,” her voice was a high-pitched wail. “That can’t be true. They didn’t love me enough to leave you home alone.”

“I’m not playing this game anymore. Twist things around all you want and change the subject. It doesn’t change the facts.” My back hit the wall, and I fumbled around for the knob.

“No. You’re just saying it to hurt me,” she said through wracking sobs.

I opened the door and slipped out.

“Willow.”

Blood continued to pour down my face, and I wiped it off.

“Willow!”

CHAPTER TWENTY

I stumbled through the dim hallways, trying to keep my bleeding, throbbing head from splitting open. If I could catch up with the boys, one of them might be able to find Dr. Forrester to check the state of my wound.

Blood trickled down my face and onto my shirt collar. My stomach churned, and my throat ached from the vomiting. I turned the corner, but there were no signs of the kings.

“Shit,” I muttered.

The last thing I wanted was to head back to the west wing while Ashley worked through her psychotic episode. Her hateful words returned with a slap, making me flinch.

Ashley and Mr. Floo? I shook my head, causing pain to lance through my skull. The man still sent me congratulatory emails every time I won an academic prize. He’d even gotten in contact to ask about my exam results.

If he’d really had sex with a thirteen-year-old, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have just moved away. They’d have gotten him slung into prison.

I continued down the hallway toward the east wing, when a door creaked open from behind, and someone stepped into the hallway. Flinching, I glanced over my shoulder to find Cormac staring at me, his face going in and out of focus.

His jaw dropped. “You’re bleeding! What the hell happened to you?”

“Oh, what are you doing here?”

“I heard the girls talking about Bianca and Geraldine ambushing you.” He crossed the distance between us and clicked his fingers. “Focus. Who did this?”

“Um… Bianca, Geraldine, a bunch of girls I don’t know, then Ashley.”

“It looks like a nasty head wound.” Cormac lifted my chin. “And possibly a concussion. Come with me to the infirmary at once.”

Cormac wrapped an arm under my shoulder blades and helped me down the stairs. Even with one hand on the banister and his support, I still stumbled over my feet. Throughout the journey, he shook his head and muttered under his breath about getting Ashley expelled.