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“Where are you going, sis?”

“Class.”

“Was it something I said?” He was grinning wickedly at me, and I could see just how much he was enjoying pushing my buttons. I ignored the comment and left the hall, bumping into Cress as I walked out into the corridor.

She caught my arm. “Where are you off to in such a rush?”

“Sawyer’s a nightmare.”

She laughed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m wondering if he’s actually Satan’s spawn.”

“There’s a strong possibility,” she agreed. “Speaking of Montforts, on the way over here, I happened to hear people talking about a certain kiss between you and Wes.”

I let out a sigh. “I guess it was to be expected.” I knew people would talk about our kiss outside the library, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. It had been a great kiss. It just sucked that I couldn’t seem to do anything in this school without everyone having an opinion on it. And it was especially hard when I knew my actions might hurt people’s feelings—well, one person’s feelings. I was trying my best to avoid thinking about how Noah would react. I couldn’t imagine he would take it well given our fight in PE the other day.

“Don’t let it worry you. I’m sure they’ll all be gossiping about someone else before the day is through,” Cress replied.

“Want to go make out with someone in the dining hall to take the heat off me?”

She laughed. “I’m a pretty good friend, but I’m notthatgood a friend.”

“Maybe I should go back and try to convince Sawyer. I bet he’d do it.”

“Probably,” she agreed with a smile. “But I don’t think anyone would bat an eyelid at Sawyer making a scene, so they’ll probably still be more interested in you. You just need to suck it up and get through the day. It will be better tomorrow.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Despite Cress’s reassurance, the whispers didn’t let up at all that day and carried over into the next. A few girls asked me about it at breakfast the next morning, and a freshman boy even asked me if I wanted to go to the library with him. He blew me kisses and then ran back to his friends laughing.

I certainly didn’t enjoy the attention, but after dating and breaking up with Noah—and the bombshell about my dad—I was growing all too used to it. I might have been able to ignore it entirely, but the more people talked, the more I worried about how Noah would feel. He had to have heard about the kiss by now, and it left me feeling terrible. We might not be able to be together, but I knew he still cared.

I kept waiting to run into him, but he wasn’t in any of my classes on Wednesday, and there was no sign of him on Thursday either.

It seemed like too much of a coincidence that he would disappear from school at the same time everyone was gossiping about Wes and me. There had to be another explanation. Noah wasn’t the kind of guy who would let mere rumors about a girl he dumped worry him. I wanted to ask Cress if she knew why her cousin wasn’t in school, but I didn’t want her to know I was thinking about him. So, the question remained unanswered in my mind.

“I hear you’ve moved on quickly.”

I had to smother a dark scowl as Veronica turned to me, a smirk lifting the corner of her mouth. I hated that I was stuck sitting behind her in English. She always had some snide remark for me, and today was no different. She must have cheered the moment she heard I’d kissed Wes. I imagined she felt she was one step closer to finally snagging Noah for herself.

“Aw, Veronica, I didn’t know you cared,” I replied. I tried to focus on the book I was supposed to be reading, but Veronica didn’t want to take the hint.

“Oh, I don’t. I’m just pleased to see you’ve finally proved me right.”

She was dangling bait in front of me, and I really shouldn’t have taken it, but I couldn’t help myself. I lifted my gaze to hers once more. “And how have I done that?”

“It’s just clear you never truly cared about Noah. Anyone who did would never be able to forget him so fast. You were obviously just using him.”

My hands clenched into fists under the table as I tried to contain my anger. “You don’t know anything about how I feel about him.”

She shrugged. “I’m not the only one that thinks that.”

“I’m sure you are,” Cress fired back. “And anyone who couldn’t see how much they both meant to each other is clearly blind.”

Veronica turned her smug smile on Cress. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her outburst. “Where is your cousin anyway? No one’s seen him at school in days...”