Page 25 of Knox Academy Omnibus
I spin to face the table and the bottles slip from my grasp. They hit the floor and beer fizzes and spills everywhere.
“Shit!” I jump back and quickly duck to grab the beer before any more mess gets made. My eyes are wide and my jaw hangs open. What the hell is Amelie doing here?
“Bro, meet our new sister dearest.” Kalen smirks, throwing his arm around Amelie’s shoulders and pulling her in close.
“I’m not your sister,” she says through gritted teeth, throwing him off. Kalen just laughs at her and she squirms uncomfortably under my stare. “Hey, I’m Amelie. You must be Sawyer. We didn’t get to meet on Sunday.” Her smile is so innocent I wonder if I’m wrong about the girl sitting in front of me. There has to be some kind of mistake. But...the name...it’s not exactly common,is it? I shake my head and bang the half-empty beers on the dining table.
“I’ll get more beers. Amelie, is it? Can you help me carry them?”
I don’t wait for her response, just assume that she’ll follow, and head back into the kitchen. When the door shuts behind her, I quickly flip the lock. I don’t want to be interrupted.
“What the hell is going on?” I demand, seething.
“Your dad is fucking my incubator. That’s my mother, to you,” she snarks. Her level of sass throws me. This is not the same cool, fun girl I hung out with on Friday and last night. It can’t be.
“I know what a fucking incubator is,” I seethe. “What I want to know is, what the hell you’re doing here!”
“It’s my birthday,” she says, eyes flashing with challenge.
Dread fills me at her words.
“How old?”
“Huh?” she pretends to play dumb. Shit. How did I not see through her acting earlier?
“How old are you today?” I push through gritted teeth. Fuck. I almost slept with a pupil. Please don’t let her be a fucking minor too. I have goddamn photos of us together...shit! I sent her a dick pic...I had my tongue inside her.
I blanch, barely holding in the bile that rises up my throat.
“Eighteen, why?” She folds her arms across her chest and glares at me.
I breathe out a massive sigh of relief. Thank fuck. I can’t even begin to think about how over my life would be if she was any younger.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” I feel like my safety walls are crumbling down around me. I knew it was a bad idea to get involved with anyone.
“What? That it’s my birthday today?” Her sarcasm drives me crazy, but her fire turns me on. Fuck. That’s so fucking wrong.
“Quit playing games. You obviously knew who I was. What are you playing at?”
She shrugs her shoulders and her indifference makes the red mist come down. I try hard to breathe through the rage, but my hands curl into fists involuntarily.
“I did you a favour,” she startles me out of my anger by saying defiantly.
“How?” I reluctantly demand.
“I overheard that teacher in the toilets. She was bragging about how she planned to seduce you. She’s only interested in your money. I saved you.”
“How do you figure?”
“I lifted her phone, changed the location to the pub. Borrowed her car to meet you. Made sure she couldn’t show,” she says with absolutely no remorse whatsoever. I don’t know if I should report her, punish her myself, or be grateful. As it stands, I’m pretty impressed. Shit, shit, shit.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask quietly. “You knew who I was. You did more than just save me from Miss Hart.” My voice is low, alluding to last night.
“I...wanted information on Friday. I didn’t meet any of you yet and I was nervous. I wanted a heads up before I came to tea on Sunday.”
Suddenly she looks so vulnerable and sorry that I want to scoop her up into my arms and reassure her. I don’t though. I can’t. I’m in enough trouble as it is.
“And last night? Are you trying to get me fired?”
