“So, I was wondering…” Alice tapped her lips, frowning. “What is it about you that interests Spencer so much? You’re ugly. You wear basic-ass clothes. Your accent is a boner-killer, and now your sister is a goddamn reject, just like you.”

“Also, you’re ugly. I know she already said that, but I feel like it’s worth repeating.” Arabella shrugged.

Soren burst out laughing.

I let out a very provocative yawn, ignoring the blood that crawled from my nose and mouth.

“Sophisticated,” I pointed out.

Alice shoved me against my locker, hard.

“I don’t need to be sophisticated. I’m pretty.”

There were so many things wrong with what she said, but starting to list them seemed counterproductive.

“I would love to know what he finds in you.” Arabella stepped forward, grabbing my jaw and angling it side to side, like she was examining a frightened animal.

I slapped her hand away.

Alice and Soren jumped in, each of them holding one of my wrists against the lockers behind me. People were long gone—the misfortune of always having to be the last to get dressed so I didn’t get harassed—and I knew I was all theirs. There was a football practice going on outside, and even if I screamed, no one would hear me. The boys and coach were yelling and laughing far too loud.

I resisted Soren and Alice, trying to unchain myself from their grip.

Arabella crashed her open palm against the locker behind me with a warning thud. I didn’t even twitch.

“Are you fucking him?” She narrowed her eyes, growling.

I wasn’t going to answer her. Screw that. Giving her what she wanted was letting her win. Let her think I screwed Vaughn into oblivion.

“None of your business.”

“Are you guys, like, friends?”

God, no. He just kissed me twice, and made me fantasize about sucking his blood.

A throaty laugh escaped me. “If you like him so much, you shouldn’t have sucked his best mate off.” I’d heard the rumor that she was with Knight before senior year started.

Arabella pinched my nose hard, squeezing more blood out of it. She released it when I started coughing. My eyes watered, but I held back the tears.

“Look at her, Bella. She’s shitting her pants.”

“I think the nasty smell is coming from your mouth.” My voice rang unsteady, even to my own ears.

“Maybe she’s just his little bitch. Is that it?” Alice pondered, ignoring my jab. “His errand puppy. Another one of his soldiers.”

“Maybe he gives her attention because she knows his secret,” Soren chipped in. “I’m telling you, dude, something made him the way he is. He’s too fucked up to be normal. He ain’t like us.”

I choked on my saliva. I couldn’t believe they smelled the secret from so many miles away. Not that what I’d seen back there was all that scandalous, but Vaughn hadn’t wanted me to see it. That much was clear.

A light bulb flashed behind Arabella’s eyes, and she grinned.

“Vaughn Spencer has a secret, and you’re going to tell us what it is,” she whispered, her voice laced with threat.

“Go wank a cactus,” I muttered.

The slap came out of nowhere. It rang in my ears before the sting spread across my cheek. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. I’d never been hit before. Ever. Maybe that’s why I reacted the way I did.

I spat in Arabella’s face.

I saw the way her features twisted, morphing from calm to horrified and finally disgusted. She raised the back of her hand, and I thought she was going to smack me again, but all she did was wipe my saliva from her cheek and the corner of her mouth, rubbing the leftovers on my dress.

“Hold the bitch down,” she commanded Soren and Alice.

Within seconds, I was lying with my stomach flat against cold tiles that smelled of bleach and feet. I resisted, squirming back and forth as Soren seized my legs. Alice pinned my wrists. I swallowed back tears and barely grunted when I felt Arabella’s heel digging into the base of my spine. Christ.

“Now, Drusilla, I’m going to give you one more chance, even though you behaved like an animal and spat in my face. Before I make sure you never walk again, tell me: what’s Vaughn Spencer’s secret?”

I screamed with the rest of my power, letting out steam, without actually producing any words. Somehow, even though I didn’t even remotely like Vaughn, it hadn’t occurred to me to compromise his secret. Not even once.

The taste of the blood from my nose mingled with my saliva, and I coughed, feeling her heel digging deeper into my lower back. It pierced my skin and pressed against my bones. A door slammed shut in the distance, the thud carrying into the locker room.

“Someone’s coming. Hurry up.” Soren slapped my unruly legs back into place when I tried to kick his face. Arabella stepped over me, her entire weight shifting onto my back.