Ugly girl

Chapter 10

Three fucking nights.

72 hours.

That was the last time I got any sleep and I’m sitting here, in the front of Shay’s old Honda in an absolute rage. Slade Fucking Cruz is going down. This is taking it too far. I need that knife back. This isn’t just some prank, trying to a

I should have just climbed back through that slider window and held him in a chokehold until he relented and gave it back. That prick. All I want to do is get my knife and get my ass home so I can sleep.

If only I knew where he lived. Though, it’s not like that would have helped me. One tiny hint of me in his home and he would have overpowered me and forced me out.

There’s no wi

Shay pulls up at the drop-off area and I try my best to remain polite as she tells us to have a great day. I grunt and smile and even let her hug me goodbye. I climb out of her Honda with Blake beside me. “What was that all about? You were a cold bitch to her.”

“Really? My bad. I thought I was being nice.”

“Yeah…you failed.”

I don’t have time for this. I start storming into the school.

“Woah, hold up,” Blake says, easily catching up with me with those long legs of his. “What’s the rush?”

I don’t respond as I force my way through the big double doors of Aston Creek High. “Yo, Sky? What’s gotten into you?” Blake questions with a slight worry to his tone as his brows drop in concern.

My jaw clenches. I don’t like him worrying about me. It should be the other way around. I get into the locker-lined corridor filled with preppy students and look up and down for my target.

I see Damian first with his eyes already on me. He watches me with curiosity but I don’t have a second to waste on thinking about it. I find Slade a few lockers down with Nessa pressed into the hard metal, her hair all messed up and Slade’s tongue down her throat.

I don’t waste a second. I start bee-lining for the prick.

Seeing where I’m heading, Blake hurries behind me. “Sky, this is a bad idea. Whatever’s going on, let it go. It’s not worth it.”

It’s as though I don’t hear him speaking. All that matters is getting to Slade and making him pay. As it becomes clear that shit’s about to go down, people start talking and by the time I reach him, Damian is by his side, Nessa completely forgotten, and Slade’s dark eyes focused solely on mine.

“What do you want?” Slade says with a devilish smirk.

“Where is it?” I growl, fighting hard to keep my calm but I’m sure as hell that I’m about to snap.

Slade cocks his head to the side as his brows furrow. “Where’s what?”

“Stop fucking around with me. Where’s my goddamn knife?”

Blake steps in closer to my back. “Your knife?” he questions in confusion.

Slade ignores his presence as though I’m all he sees. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Fury grips me as he throws the words back in my face that I had used on him when he questioned me about the blue ink. I step into him and slam my hands against his hard chest, pissed off that it doesn’t seem to have even the slightest effect on him. “Where the fuck is it?”

“Oh,” he chuckles, digging into the pocket of his loose-hanging jeans. “You mean this knife?” Slade carelessly dangles the knife between his fingers and as my hand shoots out to steal it from him, he curls it safely into the palm of his hand.

I hardly have a chance to scream at him before Blake grabs me and tosses me behind him as though I’m as light as a feather. “You stole her fucking knife?” he demands, slamming his hands into Slade’s chest in the same way I had, though this time, Slade is forced back a few steps.

“Chill the fuck out, man,” Slade says with a laugh, looking at Blake as though his outrage is a huge overreaction, but he couldn’t possibly understand. “It’s just a fucking knife.”

Blake’s fist rears back and slams hard against Slade’s jaw, sending him back into the locker and making the crowd around us burst into excited cheers and chants. “Just a fucking knife?” Blake roars, getting in his face as Damian desperately tries to get between them, knowing this couldn’t be good. After all, nobody gets the drop on Slade Cruz. “That’s all we’ve got left of our dad and you fucking took it like it was trash?”

Slade’s eyes widen in horror before they flick toward me, but Blake isn’t nearly finished and demands his attention. “How the fuck did you get it in the first place? Were you in my house? In her room?”

Blake slams his hands against Slade’s chest again and he attempts to push Blake back but with the crowd and Damian hovering awkwardly between them, getting him far is near impossible. “Get the fuck off me,” he roars.

Blake doesn’t dare move, making me so fucking proud it ain’t fu

Oh, no. There he goes with his big mouth. If I don’t stop this, he’s bound to tell the whole fucking school what brought us here. I step in between Blake and Slade, getting real close and personal with Damian.

Blake scrunches his hand into the back of my shirt, preparing to tear me out of the way but stops as I glare up at Slade and let him see my absolute desperation. “Give me my knife.”

His jaw clenches and I try to ignore how damn sharp it is. He watches me for a long second before letting out a breath and offering me his hand. He uncurls his fingers and there sitting in the palm of his warm hand is my knife.

I scoop it out of his hand as though it’s my only lifeline but sensing this shit is far from over, I turn and look up at my brother. “Walk away,” I tell him, knowing I’m the only voice of reason that he’ll listen to. “Please. It’s over. I’ve got it.”

Blake’s eyes flash above my head to Slade before dropping back to mine. Anger pours out of him in waves. “We’re going to talk about this,” he warns me before stepping away and turning his back.

My eyes close for the briefest second as relief rushes through me. This isn’t good. When Blake wants to talk, he means business and I’m sure that he’s going to have a lot to say about this. But despite Blake being safe right now, I still have Slade and Damian at my back. Sensing they’re not going to do anything right this minute, I look back over my shoulder and narrow my eyes at Slade.

His are already there, waiting for me. Not a word gets said but the message is clear. This isn’t over.

With my knife safely in my hand and my world feeling somewhat normal again, I walk away, needing the day to calm down.

The noise of the excited students fade to a distant hum as I push my way out into the fresh air. Why does it feel so hard to breathe?

I expect Maze to come tearing out of the school right behind me but when nothing happens, I realize she must have missed the whole thing. Despite how much she seems to be growing on me, I’m kind of thankful to have this moment alone.

I start making my way toward the back of the school to where there’s a good size hole cut into the fencing, prepared and ready to make my escape. The fence is covered by trees and brush but the familiar smell of smoke has me changing direction.