Page 35 of Find Me

I scrunched my nose at that and went to grab my sweatshirt.

Creed held it out of my reach. “No way are you covering up.”

I glanced at Knox. He was glaring down at my wrists. I had the strong urge to hide them.

Colt grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers, and pulled me along toward the exit. “Ethan texted me saying I’m going to be jealous when I see your outfit for tomorrow. What did he mean by that?”

“I don’t know why he would say that. All I did was show him a picture of the jersey I’m going to wear. My phone is in one of my sweatshirt’s pockets if you want to see it.”

Before I could even finish telling them that, Creed was pulling my phone out from my sweatshirt he was carrying as he followed. He tapped and swiped at my phone. “Why does it say Football God?” Creed asked.

Colt stopped walking. “What? Let me see?”

Creed handed over the phone to Colt. He looked at the picture for a minute before laughing. “It’s a joke between them. Don’t read into it. Ethan is just trying to stir shit up,” Colt told his brother.

“Are we going to be let in on why Shiloh is dressing like a cheerleader?” Knox asked.

Creed and Colt stared at their brother and then at each other. “No,” Creed replied.

I shook my head at them. “Don’t be mean.”

Creed’s brows shot up. I was just as surprised as he was that I’d defended Knox.

“I lost a bet,” I told Knox.

Him and Keelan wore the sameahlook, like the twins placing bets was a regular occurrence.

The five of us made our way to the parking lot. Colt’s Charger was parked right up in front and Keelan’s Jeep was parked in the back of the lot. I was among the unlucky bunch who’d had to park in the neighborhood next to the school because the lot had been overflowing with cars by the time I’d shown up.

“Where’s your car, babe?” Colt asked, looking around the lot.

I didn’t react to him calling mebabe. I liked it. “I had to park in the neighborhood down the street.”

Colt squeezed my hand. “We’ll drive you to pick it up.”

“You don’t—”

“It’s dark out and you shouldn’t be walking alone,” he said in that firm tone.

I wasn’t going to point out that I ran when it was dark out most of the time. Then again, I took a gun with me when I ran that early. All I had on me now was my tracker tucked in my sock. I didn’t argue and climbed into the backseat of his Charger. Like his new term of endearment, I liked that he worried about me.

13

“Shiloh, a word,”Mr. X said as I tried to dash out of the classroom.

I squeezed my textbook tightly in front of my chest as I spun on my heel, with a polite smile plastered on my face. “I have to catch the bus, Mr. X,” I said, hoping he’d let me leave. Mr. X made me feel…unsettled. I didn’t like the way he watched me or found ways to touch me. Shayla had laughed it off when I’d tried to talk to her about it. She’d said that I was imagining things—that there was no way our high school’s beloved English teacher would be interested in a freshman girl.

“It won’t take long,” he said from where he sat behind his desk.

I stayed rooted where I was standing near the exit. My panic built and built with each student that left the class.

After the last student exited the classroom, Mr. X stood from his desk and walked over to the door. He toed the door stopper out from under the door and I watched, trying to stay calm as the door closed with a snick.

Mr. X put his hand on my lower back, making me jump a little, and ushered me further into the classroom. His hand slid down slightly as we walked. When his fingers flexed over my butt, bunching up the skirt of my uniform in the process, I quickly tried to step to the side and out of his reach. His hand locked around my upper arm and yanked me around until my backside met the front of his desk.

“Why are you shying away from me?” he asked, stepping close and trapping me between him and his desk. He put his hands on my shoulders and ran them down my arms. “We’ve shared so many moments. Are you mad I didn’t give in to you sooner? I’ve needed to be discreet in showing my affection for you. No one else will understand our need for one another.”

Tears filled my eyes as he yanked my textbook, my only shield, from my arms and tossed it to the floor. “Mr. X, please,” I pleaded, tears rolling down my cheeks. My whole body shook with fear.