Page 182 of The Surprise Play

Carson’s lips are quirking with what looks like surprised amusement as he grips the back of her neck and murmurs something I can’t hear.

She huffs and scowls at him. “I don’t give a shit. They deserve to be punished. Satch has got to be one of thesweetest, most nonthreatening people I have ever met, and they made her their target!”

My voice is hollow as I back her up. “Her dad told me she’d had a hard time in school. Said she started hiding herself away because they wouldn’t let up.” I growl and shoot to my feet. “And they’re still at it. Fuck, I want to punch something!” I fling my fist through the air and Tyrell quickly dodges me, leaning out of the way and giving me a pained frown.

I send him a silent apology, then accidentally catch Zander’s eye. He’s looking just as tortured as everyone else in this room.

They’re not used to seeing me like this, but I can’t fucking hide it from them.

I wear my heart on my sleeve. I don’t keep secrets.

Unlike my girlfriend.

“This is not okay!” Nylah snips again.

“It’s definitely not okay,” Carson agrees, his head whipping toward the front door when it opens, then shuts with a creak.

“The party’s over already?” Grady wanders in, looking confused. “I was making plans to sneak in the back door, but…” He looks around. “Everyone’s gone.”

“I kicked them out,” I grumble.

“Why?” Grady’s face buckles with confusion, and Zander quickly explains. I stand there fuming, watching Grady’s expression change from surprise to an outright rage that matches the vibe in the room.

“What the fuck?” He scrubs a hand over his shaved head.

“I know, right?” Nylah bulges her eyes at him. “That’swhat I’m saying. We need to do something to stand up for that poor girl.”

“She doesn’t want you to,” Sienna interjects. “She just wants to drop it.”

“Like she always does, I imagine.” Zander rubs a hand over his mouth and lets out a heavy sigh. “She’s probably been burying it for years. Taking it, escaping, and then just sweeping it under the rug.”

“Which is a really shitty way of dealing with it.”

“Hey!” I snap at Nylah, hating even the hint of insulting my girl.

Carson gives me a warning look, and I glare right back at him.

“Don’t start turning on each other. It’s not about the people in this room right now, it’s about Satch and how we can help her.” Tyrell throws a little calm into the brewing storm, and I look over my shoulder at him before huffing back to my seat.

Crossing my arms, I smack my back into the chair and shake my head. “If they’d been guys, I would have laid into them. Shit, I should have said more as it was. Told them never to speak to her, fuckinglookat her again. I just can’t understand why she didn’t tell me. If I’d known, I would have kicked them out the door as soon as I saw them!” I fling my arms wide in exasperation.

“How did they get in?” Grady asks.

We all shrug, and then I groan, scrubbing a hand down my face.

“Oh no. You didn’t invite them, did you?” Nylah asks.

“No!” I look up, horrified by the idea. But then my shoulders slump. “I mean, I know Jade from school. We have a class together. I had no idea she was a first-classbitch, but I could have so easily invited her. I didn’t, but if I’d happened to talk to her before the party, I probably would have thrown an invitation out there.”

“But you didn’t.” Sienna smiles at me, obviously trying to make me feel better. “So who did?”

We all look around at one another, and Zander finally says, “We did tell people to bring a friend. Maybe those girls got wind of something going on and invited themselves.”

“Fuck!” I close my eyes, hating myself for a second. “I shouldn’t have gone so big. Satch probably would have been happier with just a few of us.”

“You didn’t know.” Sienna reaches forward, lightly squeezing my knee.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” The question pops out once again—all ragged, raw and tortured. “Shit. I saw one of those girls being mean to her weeks ago. I told that bitch to shut the fuck up and get lost… and Satch didn’t say a thing about it.” I’m so torn up my voice keeps wobbling. “I’m just so gutted that she’s been going through this and I’ve been…clueless! I could have protected her. Why didn’t she tell me?”