Page 140 of The Darkest Note

Every choice has consequences.

She made hers.

“Hey, Sol.”

“Sol.”

“Sol, you’re back.”

Students stop and take notice as we saunter through the hallway. It feels good to have Sol walking beside me again, where he belongs.

“Man, this place is a lot fancier than I remember,” Sol says, stopping in front of his locker.

Zane slings an arm over Sol’s shoulder. “We’ve got assembly today. The text went out on our school app.”

“They’re going to announce that you’re back. You gonna be okay?” Finn asks in a sober voice.

“They’re not going to,” Sol glances down and pulls at the sleeve of his sweater, “say why I was gone, are they?”

“No one knows except us.” I nod at me and my brothers.

“And maybe Jinx,” Zane says.

I give him a dark look.

“What?” My brother shrugs. “That creep seems to know everything.”

Christa floats by, flanked by two of her dance team members. She’s wearing her cheerleading uniform and has her hair up in two ponytails.

“Hey, boys. You excited about the rally?” The greeting is aimed at all of us, but her eyes linger on me.

Zane laughs and punches me on the arm. “I don’t think she’s talking to us, bro.”

My expression doesn’t change.

“Dutch,” Christa calls my name pointedly.

I do a chin-up nod and look away from her. She helped us out for her own selfish reasons. I’m not going to feed her delusions by making her think we’re a thing now.

Her smile drops and she scowls at me.

Finn pulls his lips in to hide his laughter.

Christa doesn’t take my rejection well. “So you’re just going to ignore me now?”

“Pretty much,” I say coldly.

Christa’s eyes turn hot as flames. She looks like she wants to say more but, when she notices her friends eyeing her, she huffs at me. “You think you can use me and get away with it, Dutch? Think the hell again.”

I watch as she stalks off, her pride hurt and her skirt fluffing around her butt cheeks.

Sol leans in to whisper, “What’s up with you and Christa? I heard she was all over you when you came back from tour.”

“Our dear brother’s tastes have changed.” Zane flashes me a smile. “He likes his girls redheaded and mysterious now.”

Sol’s eyes widen with interest. “You got yourself a girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I correct him.