Page 208 of Broken by my Bully

I’m thinking I didn’t take it to read it, but to make sure it never got to Rooke. If it did, I’d be expelled, my sweet future torn out of my hands before I even had time to hold it.

I massage my eyelids, expecting to feel grit under the skin. Shouldn’t have smoked all that weed before I got here. Should have remembered to put some eyedrops in my pocket.

It’s even brighter out here than it was in the ballroom. Parties shouldn’t be this well lit. Feels like an interrogation room.

And why the fuck is it so crowded?

Every living Hillsider must be at this country club tonight because I keep twisting to avoid crashing into couples as they stream through the entrance. And that makes my clothes wrap even tighteraround me. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy myself when I feel claustrophobic in my own skin?

Ezra gives me a double take and steps away from the donation box he was standing beside. Of the three donation boxes out here, only one of them is piled high. Cat food. Dog food. They’ve even donated chew toys, collars.

Huh.

Seems like Haven’s little pet project took off. Pity she won’t be here to see it. No way she’s arriving here in one of her cheap-ass outfits.

I grab something out of the box, dropping it again when I realize what it is.

Leashes.

They’re goddamn everywhere.

The invisible one Haven’s had around my neck since we were kids.

The one Ezra keeps yanking whenever I try to break free.

My brother’s lips are curled into a smile, but the rest of his face is set in stone.

“Took you long enough,” he says, clapping a hand on my shoulder like we’re the biggest fucking buddies. I leave it there because he gets really annoyed when I reject his fake as fuck PDA.

He loves to pretend we don’t hate each other.

Reminds me of someone else I know.

“What do you want?”

“Stand here and smile. When someone drops something in a box, tell them thanks. And when they’re done coming in, bring the donation boxes around the back.”

“Thought that was your job.”

“My job is making sure things run smoothly. And right now, I’ve got a fucking problem to sort out.”

I grimace as I stare at the townsfolk coming through the door, and shove a hand under the navy blue band around my waist. “Then letme deal with that. My face can’t handle all that bullshit smiling like yours can.”

If he’s offended, he doesn’t show it. “If you could have dealt with this problem, it wouldn’t be a fucking problem anymore.”

I’m frowning as I whip my head around to glare at him. “The fuck you on about?”

He dusts the sleeves of his tux and tugs them straight, his brown eyes taking their sweet time flicking up to meet mine. “You said she was gone.”

“Sh—Haven?” My heart seizes up for a moment before blood pumps again. “I’m working on it.”

“Time’s up, bro.” Ezra rolls the word off his tongue with so much disdain, he might as well have called me a loser. “You’ve had weeks.” He snorts. “Telling me she won’t dare set foot in Hillside again. And what the fuck did I just see?”

“She was on campus today? I thought she didn’t have class on Fridays?”

He rolls his eyes like he can’t believe he’s trying to explain something to a dipshit like me. “Here, Kai. Here. She just strutted past me like she fucking owns the place.” Casting a quick glance at the briefly empty entrance, he grabs the front of my tux in a fist and slams me against the nearest wall.

And when I see the look in his eyes, I’m kinda wishing the wallpaper’s going to swallow me.