Page 31 of Vicious Little Snakes

He crosses his arms. “No. Free period. I was working out.”

Of course, you were.

I straighten my jacket. “Well if you need to know, I’m waiting for Kai.”

As I say it, the door behind Grey swings open, and I lift my hand to point out Kai, but I’m not that lucky. Fuck my life.

Liam’s pushing through, shirt half over his head, school blazer in hand. His tan bare chest is on display. His head pops through the top as his stormy eyes land on mine. Time slows to a snail’s pace, and I suddenly feel cornered.

I look away, trying to pretend to be unaffected, but I’m having trouble counting all the ways my stomach is flipping. Liam tugs the T-shirt down over his perfectly defined chest and comes to stand next to Grey.

It’s almost too much.

“Okay, byeee. You don’t want to be any later,” I snark, even though Grey just told me it was his free period.

Grey doesn’t answer. He’s too busy looking at his phone, engrossed in what is probably his seven hundredth message to Donovan. Just as I start to snap on my fake brother, he looks up.

“Start times are a suggestion, Caroline. We saw Kai inside. I was fucking with you. He told us to make sure you don’t chicken out. Whatever that means. We’ll wait.”

Great. Lucky me. I glance up at Liam, who’s staring at me with a hint of a smirk on his face, and it infuriates me. Don’t fucking turn that arrogant grin at me when you act like you hate me.

“Can I help you?”

He jerks his head. “Yeah, move. Like you said, I’m late for class. Grey can wait with you. I don’t babysit.”

Move? I look around and back to him—eyebrows hitting the ceiling. There’s an entire empty hall, but he wants me to step aside for him?

“Walk around.”

He makes no attempt to move, but neither do I.

Grey chuckles, turning his attention back to his phone. “When are you two going to make up?”

Neither of us answers. We’re in a game of chicken. Staring at each other until the other breaks. Liam tugs his blazer over his defined shoulders, tilting his head from side to side as he straightens it.

I stare.

Sweeping my long locks over my shoulder, I lick my lips.

He stares.

I’m not breaking first, asshole.

Grey pockets his phone, letting out a breath. “Fix this shit between the two of you. It’s inconvenient for me.”

Footsteps sound as Grey walks away, mumbling about making a call and giving us the space to have a conversation. Not that I expect we will. Liam has so much contempt for me, and I’m trying to be patient, do the time I deserve, but he needs to get over it already.

I won’t keep apologizing—okay, maybe I will, but he shouldn’t keep making me. A small voice inside of me speaks the words I’m terrified of—that even if I keep apologizing, he’ll never really forgive me.

I’m searching his face for any sign of the boy I know as he glares at me.

The one that always tells me jokes and says the crudest things just to make me blush. The one that saves me from being myself. I’m looking for the boy that always, ultimately, forgives me for being mean when he’s nice.

His face grows colder. The smirk contorting into a sneer, and just like that, all my hopes are dashed. Again.

“There’s more space in the hall now. Walk that way,” I spit with narrowed eyes trying to protect myself.

Liam pulls his school tie from his back pocket, popping his blazer collar and draping the striped polyester around. He folds the collar back down and lets his eyes drift down my body. God, so fucking arrogant.