Page 68 of That Pucking New Girl

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Don’t forget your promise.

“I have to go to a party,” I say, clearing my throat. “It’s part of what happened today.”

“You really want to be anywhere near them?” he asks wryly.

“No, I don’t, but they were going to toss me off the side of the cliff over it,” I say. “I need to figure out what their deal is.”

“I’ve been on their side of things,” Theo reminds me. “Sometimes there’s no ‘deal’, just the need to fuck with someone’s head. This is more than just mind games, Noor. It’s deja vu in the worst of ways for me.”

I’m just glad they didn’t piss on me. My hair will grow back, bones mend, and yes, I can shower off urine if it came to that. Slowly, they’re dehumanizing me, and in my experience, it’s easy to hurt those you see as less than human.

“I don’t know what else to do,” I whisper. “I was minding my own business when they rushed me as I was leaving Rachelle’s office.”

Theo shakes his head, obviously frustrated as he drives home. He drives a little too quickly as he pulls into the garage, his hand out toward me.

“I have a tracking app on your phone. I’m not going to apologize for it⁠—”

“It doesn’t bother me,” I admit. “It’s nice to know that someone will come looking if I disappear. I’m a foster kid, and the statistics are high for people like me to fall through the cracks.”

“You’re not going to fall through any fucking crack,” he growls, taking my phone and checking something on it. “Do these blocked numbers belong to Alastair and his dickweed buddies?”

“Yes.”

“I am going to see if I can hack their phones so I can track them,” he says, taking a photo of the screen. “If things go south for any reason, there is nowhere they can hide from me. Between Emil and us, they’re fucking with the wrong people. I have this odd feeling you’re trying to protect us, Noor…”

Theo watches me closely while I attempt to blank my face.

“Fuck,” he grumbles. “Rachelle will kill me for this, but do you know what her stepfather does for a living?”

“Not my business,” I reply automatically.

“He’s a mafia boss. Emil, Liliana, and Ignacio work together, and Lili’s dad is Emil’s right hand man,” Theo continues as if I hadn’t spoken. “We are covered, Noor. There’s a fucking safe room in the house in case those punks try anything. It’s the first thing Lili insisted on. That means we’re safe and so are our kids.”

I relax slightly, and Theo slams his hand on the steering wheel.

“Goddamn it,” he curses. “It’s the kids, isn’t it? Don’t answer. Those cock sucking assholes!”

Theo gets out of the car and I follow, trailing him into the house, and grabbing a hooded jacket from the laundry room’s clean clothing to cover my hair. I don’t want to see it right now in one of the many mirrors in this house.

“What do you need to feel safe here?” Theo asks as we walk toward the back door.

“It’s when I leave the house that I have issues,” I tell him. “I’m not willing to stab the guys at school. The gene that makes someone able to be that bloodthirsty must have skipped me, and I’m too small to be able to protect myself without it.”

“They’re a lot bigger than you,” he agrees. “It’s not a character flaw to not want to stab someone, Noor.”

It’s cool outside in the shade the house gives as we cross the backyard, and the view of the city from the cliffs is pretty. You’d think I’d be nauseous seeing it after my recent experience, but I’m not.

I’m resilient. I have to be. I can sweep my trauma under a rug to revisit later. I have a lot of boxes that I put things in within my mind, some of which I only look in during my nightmares. It’s why I lie so often to my therapist.

“It means I’m not able to keep myself safe,” I complain.

“Then, instead, let’s practice stabbing a pillow or something. If it becomes a reflex to stab first and ask questions later, then⁠—”

“Then you’re setting her up to accidentally stab a teacher,” Emil says, interrupting him as we get within earshot of everyone.

Rachelle is just behind us, and it takes her a second to catch up. She’s changed her shoes to boots.