Page 26 of Pretty Lies (Watch Me Burn #1)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

RORY

“ S lut,” Claire scoffed as I walked into my business class on Monday after lunch, snickers going around the room from her sheep.

I turned to smirk at her, sarcasm lacing my voice. “How’s your face, Claire? Wow, took a bit of makeup to cover it up, huh?”

She seethed, stepping towards me with her fists clenched as if she was going to fight me. She didn’t stand a chance, I didn’t just pull hair like she did.

While she was worried about breaking a nail, I was busy breaking her face.

“You’re nothing but a trailer trash whore. You seem to forget that now you’re living in Caden’s mansion and driving around in Jensen’s flashy cars. Do you make their dicks feel good?”

It was ironic that she was calling me a whore while she was the one sending nudes to all the guys in the school and fucking anyone who’d have her.

Tyler waltzed in like King Ding-a-Ling and plonked down at the desk I was about to sit at, yanking me onto his lap with a smirk.

“You bet Rory makes my dick feel good. At least I can feel the sides, unlike when I fucked you.” His face nuzzled into my neck, kissing me just below the ear as his voice turned sweet. “Hey, baby.”

“Seriously? You’re actually fucking her? You have no standards,” she spat. “And you didn’t have complaints about my pussy until she arrived.”

He grinned, a nasty glint in his eyes. “I know I don’t have standards. I fucked you, didn’t I? I had nothing good to compare yours to until now.”

She growled and stalked away from us, finally allowing me to look over my shoulder and raise an eyebrow at Tyler. “This isn’t your class.”

“I’m here to steal you, but I know it makes you wet when I go caveman on you in front of other chicks,” he winked, laughing as I whacked his arm with fake anger.

I wouldn’t admit it, but yeah, I kind of liked it when they got possessive over me in front of the other girls.

No one had ever chosen me before, let alone over someone like Claire, so it was doing a lot for my ego. Validation from men was dumb, but they made me feel wanted, which was pathetic.

Didn’t stop me from swooning over it though.

He stood, grabbing my books and putting an arm around my shoulders to lead me out of the room, but Claire’s voice came from the back, making us pause. “Off for a quick fuck, are you?”

Tyler went to answer, but I gave her a small smile and cocked my head. “Who said it was going to be quick? They like to take their time with me. You know, to make me feel really good. Climax comas are a real thing. Maybe they just wanted to get it over with when they fucked you?”

The class erupted in laughter and she scowled, sinking back into her seat as Tyler dragged me into the hallway with a big grin.

“Appears you’re winning the school over slowly.”

I shrugged, falling into step beside him as we walked past busy classrooms. It felt strange being able to skip class without repercussions, but I definitely enjoyed it.

“I don’t give a shit about being the queen of the school, I just don’t want people giving me trouble while I’m here. Where are you taking me, anyway?” I assumed we were taking my books to my locker, but we were walking in the wrong direction.

“For a long fuck with a climax coma, remember?” he joked, turning into an empty classroom where Caden, Lukas, and Jensen were waiting for us.

I slowed as anxiety swam through me, the steady thump of my heart rate increasing as Tyler shut the door behind us.

Caden gave me a warm smile from his chair, soothing me slightly as he patted his thigh. “Come sit your ass on my dick for a minute.”

I snorted but walked over to him, lowering myself onto his lap to get comfortable.

“So, what’s this about, guys? Secret Power Ranger’s meeting?”

Lukas gave me an unsure glance, instantly making me nervous all over again. I could see it in his eyes, the pity and sorrow.

“Caden said you gave us permission to tell him and Ty about your past. I wanted to make sure we all knew it was okay with you before we said anything because the last thing I want to do is get our wires crossed and end up hurting you again.” My blood ran cold and my skin itched as if bugs were crawling under it, my eyes flicking to Jensen, whose face was blank.

Lukas reached across the table to take my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

“You don’t need to be here when we talk about it, but if everyone hears you say it’s okay to talk about, then we all know we aren’t talking behind your back.” I slowly nodded, Lukas sighing in relief. “Thank you.”

I was confused by his reaction but shrugged casually as if my whole body wasn’t in complete panic. “It’s okay. I might head back to class then.”

I had to get the fuck out of here before I suffocated. My throat went tight and my stomach twisted into knots, the room making me feel caged in as my breaths became faster.

Jensen stood with me, taking my books from Tyler. “Come work out with me in the gym. I’ve got too much on my mind for class, and I already know what’s going on with you. Lukas can tell them, he knows the truth better than me anyway.”

Caden frowned, but I smiled appreciatively.

“Okay, I’ll meet you in the parking lot after school?” I asked Caden, who simply gave me a kiss and swatted my ass on my way out the door, but I could see the look Jensen was giving him as we left, turning my panic up a notch.

I didn’t want them fighting over me, and I’d noticed how tense they’d all been.

Once in the gym, we walked on the treadmills for ages until Jensen suddenly slowed his down and glanced over at me, his voice laced with pain and regret. “This place ruins good people, Rory. I’m sorry you were dragged into it.”

I slowed my machine and frowned, not understanding what he was talking about.

“What do you mean? You’ve been acting weird since we left the guys. Talk to me.”

“I swear I didn’t want to hurt you. I couldn’t help but get closer than I was supposed to, and it’s fucked a lot up and?—”

“Jensen, what the fuck is going on?” I asked warily, watching as he climbed off his machine and sighed, giving me a soft, lingering kiss before patting my sweaty cheek, peering into my confused eyes with his broken ones.

“You’ve always been too good for us, baby. I’m just sorry,” he whispered, then he turned and walked off before I could say anything.

My anxiety was officially through the fucking roof, and I instantly knew something was wrong. Really fucking wrong.

I gathered my things after another hour of running to try and ease my anxiety, but when I reached the parking lot, all the guys’ cars were gone, causing a frown to tug at my lips.

One of them always stuck around to take me home, so it seemed weird for them to have all left me here, especially since they all knew the truth about my past now.

Why hadn’t any of them come to find me when they were done?

I tried to call Caden, but his phone was off. So was Jensen’s and Lukas’. Tyler’s rang, but he didn’t answer, so I trudged down the street to the bus stop and headed home the old-fashioned way.

No one was home, and by the time I went to sleep that night, I was still the only person here, leaving an eerie silence inside the walls.

There wasn’t even any staff here.

Jensen messaged me, the text making me sit up to read it.

Jensen: I’m sorry.

I frowned as I typed my reply, my hands shaking slightly .

Rory: What for? Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it.

When he didn’t answer, I tried to call him, but his phone was off again, and he didn’t turn it back on for the rest of the night, sleep evading me until the early hours of the morning.

Lukas

I felt fucking sick as I flipped through the pages of Rory’s diary after we’d ditched her at school and snuck back to Caden’s to grab it, heading to Jensen’s to talk before she could catch us snooping through her shit.

I hated Caden for getting me to steal it in the first place, but I hated myself even more for allowing him to push me around.

I should’ve told him to fuck off, but I hadn’t.

He was like a brother to me, and he swore he just wanted to know how she felt about us, and the selfish part of me wanted to know about it too.

The pages were full of sadness and anger, but her recent pages were full of hope and happiness that warmed my heart. I didn’t care that she didn’t say that she loved me, her lighter approach to her entries was enough to make me relax.

She was enjoying fixing our friendship, and that was all I could ever ask for.

“Anything about me?” Caden asked in a bored tone, but I could tell he really wanted to mean something to her too, to be more than just a walking gold mine for someone.

Rory genuinely liked him, she liked all of us.

Caden grew impatient and snatched it from my hands, quickly running his eyes over the pages as he flipped through it.

“She likes you, man. You don’t need to do whatever you’d planned. She’s not out to take your mom’s money or anything. Max is the problem,” I said with hope in my voice, but he snorted, his hands tightening on the diary.

“Seems she’s got a favorite.”

He wasn’t wrong, Rory had written a lot about Jensen, even going as far as writing that she was falling in love with him. It hadn’t hurt me like I thought it would, I was happy for him.

She calmed the storm inside of him, giving him something that he hadn’t known was missing. I didn’t realize her feelings for Jensen would turn Caden so bitter though, his voice dripping with sarcasm and hate as he read out some of the entries.

Jensen sat quietly as he listened to all the sweet words she’d written about him, and every time I glanced at him, he looked even more miserable.

He wasn’t used to people not thinking of him as a fuck up, most people knowing him for his cruel temper and quick fists, so hearing how important he was to her was ripping him apart.

He’d fallen for her, and Caden was being a fucking asshole to him, all because he wasn’t the only person she cared for. Caden was selfish, possessive, and he never gave a shit about anyone.

That was until Rory walked through his front door and changed everything.

Now rage filled him, and I could tell he was struggling to come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t Rory’s number one choice.

I’d read a lot of pages claiming how important Caden was to her, and I could read between the lines. She loved him, but didn’t know how to admit that to herself.

Caden only saw the fact that she loved Jensen.

“This ends tomorrow. That bitch has gotten between us, and she needs to be reminded that she doesn’t belong here.” Dread pooled in my stomach at Caden’s words, and I knew exactly what was coming next. “She’ll never be one of us, so let’s put her back in her place first thing in the morning.”

“We can just cut her off. There’s no need to tear her down, right?” Tyler suggested, his eyes dropping to the ground as Caden slammed the diary down on the kitchen counter in front of him.

“I fucking knew you fell for her. What happened to our big plan to humiliate her? She’s living a cushy life in my house while spending Mom’s money like it’s no big deal. She’s Heights trash, nothing more. Stop thinking with your dick, asshole.”

Rory wasn’t spending any money, and the asshole knew it.

Tyler looked torn between keeping his best friend happy and shutting him up to keep the rest of us happy, but as usual, he took Caden’s side.

It was how it always went, so I’d expected it.

“I’ve got your back, bro. Tell me the plan and I’ll roll with it.”

Jensen reached for the diary, reading over the words with his own eyes, and I could see the pain growing within him the more he read. I couldn’t blame her for wanting Jensen, he was the best guy on the planet, and I saw the connection they had.

Whenever they were together it was like all the stress he tried to hide just vanished, a genuine smile on his face whenever he heard her laugh.

“Holloway, this is stupid. I say we just leave her the fuck alone. She’s been through enough shit,” I said firmly, watching him roll his eyes, but I could see the hesitation on his face. Caden didn’t want to admit that he wanted her, but he wasn’t going to let anyone else have her either.

I wished all those diary entries were true, but it was all a big fucking lie, nothing more than to suck Rory’s fragile heart into a typical rich boy game.

Our betrayal was going to destroy what was left of her, and then I’d never get her back.

I considered snatching the diary and going to find her, wanting to protect her from the cruelty that was Caden Holloway, but she couldn’t escape him now that he had a target on her head.

My boys were all I had, and Rory’s instinct was to run. If I sided with her, I’d lose all of them, so I selfishly stayed put, listening to Caden’s plan to break her.

Jensen slid the diary in my direction again as if to keep it away from Caden’s destructive grip, and I absently had another quick flip through, pausing when I found a hidden pocket in the back.

I pulled a photo out and a shiver ran through me, chilling me to the bone. She’d kept a photo of the sick fuck as if to torment herself, the picture old and worn from being carried around for years.

Caden glanced over my shoulder, suddenly snatching it with a scowl. “What the fuck does she have that for?”

I shrugged, the sick feeling getting worse inside of me. “Probably to fucking punish herself.”

“What does that fucking mean?”

“That’s the piece of shit who raped her,” I said flatly, but confusion took over when his eyes went wide. He didn’t say anything, so I sighed. “What? You know him?”

He turned the photo around towards Tyler and Jensen, watching as Jensen paled, but Tyler’s jaw almost hit the ground as he met Caden’s eye.

“Holy fucking shit, dude.”

Whoever this guy was, it seemed I was the only one that didn’t know him, and from the way the guys were reacting, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

In finding that photo, I’d given Caden some kind of ammo.

Nothing was going to save her now.