Ugly girl

I storm right up to him and slam my hands so hard into his chest that this time he actually stumbles back a step. “Why the fuck was Lucien Valentine texting you?”

Everyone begins crowding around. Nessa, Damian, Rachel, and a few of the guys on the basketball team, but when Slade doesn’t order them away, I realize that he’s more than happy for this to become today’s gossip.

His signature cocky grin spreads across his face as he quickly figures out that last night did nothing to ease the disdain I feel for him. His tongue slowly runs over his lips, a dirty reminder that he knows exactly how I taste and I take it for what it is; an attempt to throw me off. But it won’t work, not with this.

“Why’s that any of your business?” Slade demands, his eyes narrowing to the point that I finally realize that he knows more than I ever wanted anyone here to know. He steps closer, looming over me, attempting that intimidating tactic that works on anyone but me.

“You know damn well why it’s my business.”

He smirks and the move cuts me right down to my core. The way his eyes bore into mine speaks volumes and for the first time since being here, his scrutiny makes me want to be sick. “You know what, I don’t think I do. Why don’t you remind me?”

Like hell. “What does he have on you?”

Slade scoffs. “What’s your issue? What are you ru

My eyes narrow. Clearly, Slade has done his homework. It would take one quick google search to see Lucien’s offspring listed as Skylah and Blake Valentine. “That’s what you think this is about? That I have some disturbing daddy issues? Well, fuck you.”

The people around us snicker and laugh at me, but I’m not backing down. Not now, not ever. This is too important.

“If it ain’t daddy issues, then why don’t you shed a little light on it? Did he buy you the wrong car for your birthday? Not give you enough attention? Come on, spill it, what made you run away?”

Anger pulses through me and I feel my eyes welling with tears as his intense stare seems to burn right through me. My control slips and I feel myself starting to break, but I can’t hold onto it and it all comes out like word vomit despite my desperation to reel it in.

“You really want to know, huh?” I demand, stepping forward hating that this is happening with an audience. “We were kidnapped, stolen from our home by Anton Mathers. My mother hadn’t even finished bleeding out when they grabbed us and threw us into the back of some dirty SUV. We were put in a dark concrete room. No food, water, no fucking toilet. I was only four but I remember every last detail, every smell, it’s ingrained inside my mind.”

Panic starts to overwhelm me and as I hear the gasps of the people around us, my eyes begin to flick. From face to face, I see nothing but pity, sadness, anger, heartbreak, yet even with their unwanted emotion, I find myself glancing back at Slade, focusing everything I have on him.  “We weren’t adopted into Valentine’s family,” I say, much more calmly. “We were sold to the highest bidder and Lucien was the lucky wi

Slade shakes his head, struggling to believe it. “No…that’s-”

“That’s what?” I demand. “That’s bullshit? Think what you fucking want, but that’s the man you’ve been doing dirty little deeds for, the one who you let weasel his way into your life. What does he have on you?”

“Nothing…”

I bark out a sharp laugh. “That’s bullshit. He’s got you by the balls.” Slade’s jaw clenches and a wall slams down behind his eyes, making it impossible for me to get a good read on him. “You may think that I’m just some spoiled little rich kid trying to escape my problems, but open your fucking eyes, Cruz. There’s so much you don’t see.”

I step back from him and the crowd around us instantly part. He stands in silence, watching my retreat. Not a single word is muttered from him or the people around us which only seems to make the moment that much heavier.

My blood pulses through my ears and I struggle to find control. I turn away and start making my escape, feeling that this is long from over. Too much has been left unsaid.

Rachel’s preppy tone cuts through the silence. “Don’t go after her. She’s trash.” There’s a short pause before she lets out a frustrated cry. “Damian. Come back.”

I pick up my pace while glancing back over my shoulder to see Damian jogging to catch up with me, but as I turn back to the path ahead, I find a set of watery eyes, staring at me from the side of the court.

Maze.

She looks completely horrified and I realize that now she has two-thirds of my story. She knows in detail about my parents’ murder and she now knows exactly what happened to Blake and I after it. If this has her choked up, I can only imagine how she’d feel learning what came next.

I turn away, unable to handle her pained expression. I’m not in the market for anybody's pity.

“Wait up,” Damian calls after me. “You can’t just walk away after dropping that fucking bomb.”

“Watch me,” I say, refusing to look back.

Damian catches up to me in seconds and grabs hold of my wrist, forcing me to a stop. I turn to look at him with a groan and can’t help looking back at the courts to find Slade still watching me as the boys play ball around him. “What do you want?”

“That was heavy,” he comments as though I had no clue. I raise a brow, impatiently and he continues. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. That seemed really intense. Slade can be an ass but if he knew the extent of that, he never would have pressured you to say it.”

As I watch him talk, I see something flash in his eyes. He’s getting attached and I instantly pull him up on it. “What is this?” I question. “This time last week, you would have stood by his side and laughed the whole way through it.”

Damian cringes. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just, after the party and last night…”

“No,” I cut in. “Last night was fun. I went to you because I knew you’d be down. I wanted to forget, and that’s exactly what you did. There’s nothing more to it,” I take a breath. “The party was just a drunken mistake. Don’t confuse this for something it’s not.”

He nods, completely understanding. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re hot and all, but I’m not interested in dating you. You seem more like Slade’s kind of girl and I don’t want to get between whatever fucked up tension seems to be between you, but what I’m saying is that…”

I raise an impatient brow. “You’re down to fuck?”

He grins wide and almost comes across as sheepish. “Yeah.”

“You realize that’s a big fucking no from me.”

“Yeah, I thought it was worth a shot,” he mutters, “but hey, I can be a friend if you wa

I give him a tight smile, feeling a pure genuineness coming from him which apparently is rare around here. “Thanks, but I think I’ve already said way more than I ever intended.”

“Alright,” he says, walking backward toward the basketball courts, sensing we’re done here. “If you ever change your mind…”

“Don’t count on it.”

Damian chuckles and then winks before turning around and breaking into a jog. I follow his movements and once again, find Slade gaze on mine, tearing right down into my soul.