I hesitate, but only for a second.
The situation is escalating, and I’m not taking any chances.
My right foot comes up and I nail the redhead in the face. Blood spurts out of her nose as I scramble off the wall and shove my way through the briefly disoriented crowd. The guys stand aside as I run past, unwilling to get involved just yet, as several of the girls give chase.
Without thinking twice about it, I yank the door open to Mr. Volli’s classroom and throw myself inside, slipping on the floor and hitting my knees hard as I scramble to get up. The girls come in just behind me, pausing as Mr. Volli rises from his desk and adjusts his glasses.
“What on earth is going on here?” he asks as the redhead at the front of the pack swipes her arm across her bloody nose.
“Nothing at all,” she says, sniffling. “We just bumped into each other is all. I was trying to catch up to Dakota to let her know it was okay; I’m not mad.” The girl smiles, and I shiver, grabbing the edge of one of the desks to get myself to my feet. “Here, let me help you,” she offers, taking my arm and putting her mouth up against my ear.
“Next time I get you alone, you’ll be sorry.” The redhead releases my arm and exits the classroom with the rest of the girls.
Meanwhile, I stand there with both hands braced on one of the desks, trying and failing to catch my breath.
What … what the hell is happening here?!
“You must be very upset,” Mr. Volli offers, coming up to stand beside me. I see that he’s got Mr. Fosser’s walking stick in his hand.
“Upset?!” I choke out, spinning around to look at him. I was already in enough pain this morning, but now my whole body is on fire. My broken fingers ache, my knees are bleeding, and I’m shaken down to the very base of my core. “They tried to fucking kill me!” I throw my arm out to indicate the other students.
Every warning I ever received about Whitehall comes roaring through me.
It only gets worse from here on out.
You’ve got bite, but is it enough?
Welcome to hell.
Maybe not stereotypical, but rich assholes? Oh yeah. Don’t let them intimidate you.
What is wrong with this school, this town, these people? I grew up in a normal family, a normal house, a normal neighborhood, a normal city. This is anything but normal.
“Many people in this town still harbor hatred for Justin Prior,” Mr. Volli tells me, tapping the stick against the floor absently. “Unnecessary hatred, considering that Medina’s elite conspired against him and took everything he had—including you.”
“Including me?” I echo, thinking of Saffron and Tess and their weird conversation outside of the coffeehouse.
“The redhead’s name is Veronica Fisher; she drives a white Tesla. It’s parked on this very floor.” Mr. Volli holds out the walking stick, and I find myself staring at it as I struggle to bring my racing heart under control. “You must be very angry right now. You came into this school wanting to make friends, and look what they’ve done to you. How they’ve treated you. Your stepbrother is missing and instead of having sympathy for you, they blame you. Insult you. Attack you.”
I just stare at the stick, wondering how far those girls would’ve taken things if given the chance.
“They conspired against him?” I ask, hating that I’m taking Mr. Volli’s bait. Why should I believe anything that he or the Slayer has to say? They’re hurting Parrish, holding him captive. They kill people and keep souvenirs. But those girls … the looks in their eyes, the things they said … Why would I trust them either?
“Your father is a brilliant man. It was his work that made many of today’s apps possible. His work, his coding, his tech. The people of this town used his personal issues with your mother to steal everything he had and drive him into the shadows. Now, they’re going to do the same to you.” He continues to hold the stick out toward me. “You go to school with the children of those same crooks, those wicked opportunists. Even now, they’re working against you. Your mother’s publisher is dropping her; they’re suing her. In fact, they’ve managed to get an injunction against her to keep the rights to much of her older work … like Abducted Under a Noonday Sun. Did you know that Veronica’s mother is one of the lawyers at the publishing house?”
Mr. Volli is baiting me. He wants me to take this stick and …
My hand shakes as I reach out and wrap my fingers around it. It doesn’t matter if he’s baiting me. This has to be done anyway. For Parrish.
For Parrish.
