AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re never in the mood lately, Nix. Is it because of her? You know, I’ve heard the rumors. We all have.”
“What rumors?”
“That she started DA. Prancing around with her new rich friends, acting like she didn’t grow up in The Row like the rest of us. I heard she’s been seen with Miles Mulligan. You know his father is the town planner, right? I bet her daddy is hoping they’ll get together and have little rich babies and Trevor Mulligan will have no choice but to give Michael Rowe whatever he wants because they’ll be fam—”
“Cher.” I slammed my fist down on the table. “Stop. Talking.”
“You’re so miserable lately.” She yanked her hand free of mine and trailed it up my neck, leaning in close until our breaths mingled. “But I can help with that. You just have to—”
“Mr. Wilder, Miss Jardin, keep it PG-13 in my cafeteria please,” Principal Marston boomed across the room.
Cherri rolled her eyes, sliding off my lap.
“Better, thank you. This is a high school cafeteria, people, not a club.”
“Don’t we know it,” she murmured. “How about I come over tonight and nurse you better?” Hunger blazed in her eyes as she let her finger hover over the waistband of my sweats.
“I can’t.”
“So come to mine? We can—”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t?” Her brows narrowed, and her expression turned icy. “Or you don’t want to?”
“Don’t start with this shit, Cher. You know the deal. We’re not—”
“Not what? Together? So that’s why I was the only girl you were fucking all summer?” She sneered.
“You said it yourself…”
“You’re a bastard, Phoenix Wilder. I’m yours. I’ve been here. I’ve been the one you’ve come to for the past six months whenever you need…” She steeled herself. “Do you know what, forget it. This summer I thought that maybe you were ready to move on. But it’ll always be her, won’t it?”
She stared at me expectantly, as if I had answers to give her.
I didn’t.
I had nothing.
Not a damn thing.
Cherri’s expression morphed into a deadly calm, but I saw the jealousy and anger in her eyes. Felt it rippling off her.
“You think she’ll really want you now she’s living it up with her rich daddy? Now she can have anyone or anything her heart desires? Little Harleigh Wren might have been born and raised here but she never had what it took to survive The Row. She never had what it took to be the kind of girl who—”
“Word of advice,” I said in a low growl. “Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Cher. I suggest you run along before I remind everyone in here why you don’t ever cross a Wilder.”
Hurt flickered in her gaze, but she quickly masked it with pure rage.
“You’ll come crawling back eventually, Nix. And when you do,” Cherri stood, looming over me as if she held power over me. “I’ll enjoy telling you to go fuck yourself.”
She sauntered off, a sight that was becoming too regular where the two of us were concerned.
She had a point—many valid points—but I was too weary to acknowledge them and too fucking stubborn to ever admit them. Besides, I’d never promised her anything. She knew the deal. She knew that I wasn’t looking for more than the occasional hookup.
From the shit that had spewed from her mouth, Cherri knew too much about everything.
She made it her business to know. Because knowledge was power and leverage, and Cherri Jardin liked to have a hold over people.
It had never bothered me before because I had nothing left to lose.
I still didn’t…
So why did her words feel like a threat?
And why did I want to drive straight to Old Darling Hill and tell Harleigh to watch her back?
