“No, I didn’t teach her shit. She learned to walk behind me when everyone started bullying us.”
“We never bullied you.”
“No, but you all sure as hell didn’t stop it. Come on, Chloe; we’re leaving.”
“All right, calm down.” Nero grabbed her hand, stopping her again. That is really pissing me off.
“You’re right. We’re just as guilty. All three of us are sorry, and we are trying to make it up from now on. But you and Chloe need to help us out here. Chloe, listen to Amo and try to talk to him every now and then.”
“And…” Amo got out.
“And get off Amo’s ass. Walk beside him from now on. It’s safer there, anyway. Someone could grab you from behind him if they wanted.”
Chloe swallowed and nodded.
“Yeah, like she’ll have much room to walk beside the beast.” Elle stuck out her tongue.
Amo was about to say something, but Nero held up his hand. Instead, Amo started the walk to the school’s front doors. Nero tugged Elle to walk beside him and Chloe fell in behind with Vincent following them all.
“Chloe, beside.”
Chloe moved out from behind Elle with her head down while Amo shook his head in front of them. He is really rubbing me the wrong way.
When Chloe finally looked up, she gave her a sympathetic smile, but Elle thought it was nice to finally walk beside her friend again.
As they reached outside the doors, the cold air whipped her face and Nero pulled her closer. She did love the cold, but she also liked the warmth of Nero.
Elle noticed Sebastian staring at them before he entered his car. She also noticed his black eye, which is when it clicked for her. Nero doesn’t punch walls, just faces.
They reached Chloe’s BMW and Amo was the first to notice something wasn’t right.
“Someone slashed her fucking tires.”
Nero ran his hands through his hair, pushing back the dark strands from his face. “All right. Elle and Chloe, I’ll take you both home.”
“It’s okay. I’ve gotten flat tires before. I can drive on them for a few miles to the dealership.”
“Oh, God, is she serious?” Elle was shocked it had come from Vincent.
“Chloe, you are not driving on flat tires, and not with Elle. I’ll take you home. Your dad can take care of the car, right?”
“I-I can drive it. That was the whole point of buying the tires.” Elle felt for Chloe. She definitely wasn’t going to tell her dad. It wasn’t like he was going to give a shit, anyway.
“Jesus Christ, I gotta get out of here. I’ll take Leo home for you. Good luck with these crazies.” Amo walked off and yelled for Leo to come on.
“Chloe, you’re either going home with me and Elle, or Vincent will take you home.”
Vincent gave Chloe a wicked smile. Although he was the shortest of the three, Amo and Nero were freakishly tall. Additionally, Vincent was the pretty boy of their group; he was perfectly tall and had the perfect body type. Well, if you were into the whole perfect thing.
His light-blond hair and baby-blue eyes, paired with his pretty face, had all the girls vying for his attention.
“I’ll go with you and Elle.”
“I thought so. Later, man.” They went their separate ways, with Elle and Chloe going with Nero and Vincent heading toward his own car.
Nero held onto Elle’s hand as he opened the back door for Chloe to get in. She slid in and shut her door, and he then opened the passenger side door for Elle to get in. Elle climbed into Nero’s Cadillac, thinking about how practically all the other girls in the school had climbed into this seat, as well. She hated thinking about it; it made her sick. She knew, no matter what, she wasn’t going to be like one of those girls, though.
Nero didn’t have to be told the way to go to Chloe’s house; he knew exactly where she lived without asking. The whole city knew. He pulled up to her house, swinging in the cul-de-sac and stopping the car right in front of the picture-perfect, big white house.
Chloe opened the door. “I’ll text you later, Elle.”
Elle turned her head over the seat and smiled. “Okay. Bye, Chloe.”
Chloe got out of the car and shut the door then turned around and waved goodbye to her friend. Elle waved back and mouthed “good luck” to her before Nero drove off.
When they reached the long, paved road, realization hit Elle as she told him where she lived. She was now alone, with Nero, in his car.
Wonderful.
Chapter Ten
I’m Not a Rat
Elle, finally being alone with Nero in a confined space, really studied him. His battered hand held the steering wheel not too tightly. He was calm, looking like he was almost at peace. She could tell he was thinking, that maybe he drove to think. He looked like he loved being behind the wheel. His eyes, that looked like they belonged to an animal, were pinned to the road ahead of him. Why had she thought of him like a wolf earlier? Maybe that’s because of the color.
His black hair was just slightly in his face. She could tell he was still getting used to his shorter hair by the way he would push his hair straight back to smooth it down. She liked when he did that because he only did it when he was feeling something. Because he acts like he has no emotions.
His tan contrasted with his white shirt, making him look possibly tanner than he was. He always wore a light-colored, expensive button-up shirt, but he never buttoned it all the way up; consequently, you could always see a hint of his chest. He wore dark trousers, as well, always in dark gray, navy, or black. This actually was typical for a prep school; every student dressed to impress. However, Nero’s look was very dull compared to the other male students who dressed rather flamboyantly. They would have finished it off with a hideously-colored jacket and made it a full suit.