These Dirty Lies Read online

  “Got it, thanks.” I stood, carefully backing up in a way that didn’t give him a front row seat view to my ass.

  Maybe I would have to consider running for class president so I could overhaul this god-awful uniform. Now there was a thought.

  A slight smile curled at my lips.

  My main therapist at Albany Hills would be so proud. She’d constantly said I needed to ‘Look for the positives and find purpose in my life.’

  “Thanks, Principal Diego,” I said, grabbing the door handle and pulling.

  “One last thing, Harleigh. Can I call you Harleigh?” His eyes narrowed. “We pride ourselves here at DA on our impeccable reputation. I expect, given your recent change of… living situation, you’ll fit right in.”

  My cheeks burned, indignation heating my blood. “What is that supposed to mean?” My voice shook as I tightened my grip on the doorknob.

  “Consider it a friendly reminder. Now get to class, Miss Maguire. You wouldn’t want to be late on your first day.” He gave me an easy breezy smile as if he hadn’t just threatened me.

  Because I wasn’t from here.

  I didn’t belong.

  And if Principal Diego knew, so would everyone else here.

  Storming out of his office, I slammed the door a little too hard, instantly regretting it when the secretary glowered at me.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “First day jitters, sweetie?”

  Dear God. I was going to need something to get through the day at this rate. Something to take off the edge at least.

  But it wasn’t like I could ask Celeste who could hook me up.

  “Can you point me in the direction of…” I dug out my schedule. “AP English?”

  “Of course, dear.” She smiled. A genuine warm smile that reminded me a lot of Celeste.

  “Would you like directions, or I can show you?”

  I was almost eighteen years old. I was pretty certain I could find my way to class. But she was the first person outside of Celeste to put me at ease. And it cut me deep.

  With a weak smile, as my façade cracked a little more, I said, “I’d really appreciate it if you could show me.”

  Nix

  Thud.

  My body hit the ground hard, the air sucking clean from my lungs. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the crisp morning sky. That fucking hurt.

  “Wilder, what the hell was that?” Coach Farringdon boomed across the field.

  “You went down like a fucking pussy.” Darius Hench, our best defensive lineman snorted.

  “Go fuck yourself, asshole,” I spat, even though he had a point.

  I was off my game.

  Hench knew it. Coach knew it. We all fucking knew it.

  It was only the first practice of the semester, but the guys were looking to me to lead them all the way to the playoffs this season. They weren’t expecting to see their quarterback get his ass handed to him all morning.

  But I couldn’t get Chloe’s words from Saturday night out of my fucking head.

  She’s back.

  Kye leaned down and offered me his hand, pulling me up. “You good?”

  “I’ll live.”

  “Listen, about what Clo said. We don’t even know—”

  “Wilder, get the fuck over here, son. Now.”

  “Jesus, he’s gunning for you today.” Kye shot me a concerned look.

  “Nah, it’s nothing I can’t handle.” I tore my helmet off and jogged over to Coach and assistant coach Jameson.

  “Talk to me, Wilder. What the hell is going on out there?”

  “It’s taking me a while to find my flow, Coach.” The lie sounded convincing enough.

  “Flow… it’s like watching Bambi drunk off his ass trying to play ball. Your aim is off. You’re dragging your ass around the field like you didn’t break two state records last year. Talk to me, son.”

  “It’s nothing, Coach. I promise.” I scratched the back of my head. “Just need a little time to settle back in.”

  His eyes narrowed, cool and assessing. Coach Farringdon was a good man. A strong leader who didn’t only demand respect from his players, he earned it. He’d been one of the few positive role models I’d had in my life.

  But sometimes, I didn’t know why he pushed me so hard. This was it for me—high school football. It didn’t get any better than this, and I’d made peace with that a long fucking time ago.

  “If there’s something I need to know—”

  “There’s not,” I snapped, immediately reining myself in. “I swear, Coach, I’m good. It’s just first practice back jitters.”

  “Jitters, my ass.” He grumbled, wafting his clipboard at me. “Get back out there and make the damn pass. We’re not leaving here until you do. Even if I have to explain to Principal Marston why his football players weren’t in second period.”

  “You got it, Coach.” I pulled on my helmet and jogged back toward center field, giving the signal to my teammates. “Run it again.”

  “Again?” Hench chuckled. “Haven’t you hit the ground enough already?”

  “Just run the damn play,” I barked.

  Hench was good. Real fucking good. But he had a big mouth and a tendency to push my buttons. Usually, I let it slide.

  Today though, today I was itching for a fight.

  The scrimmage line moved into position, and my center got ready to snap me the ball. Inhaling a deep breath, I readied myself. “Hut,” I called, and he released the ball. I caught it, pulling tall as I jogged backwards to scan the field for my wide receiver.

  Once he was in my line of sight, I wound my arm back and made the throw. The ball sailed on a near perfect trajectory, cutting through the air like a bullet. Kye was tracking it, moving into position ready to—

  He leaped off the ground and swiped the ball into the palm of his hand, cradling it to his body as he took off down the field.

  “Better,” Coach yelled. “Much better. Good work, Wilder. Hit the showers. I don’t want to see your ugly faces again until tomorrow.”

  “I let you have that one, Wilder.” Hench smirked at me as he headed for the locker room, and I shoved down the urge to rush him and wipe that smug fucking smirk right off his face.

  “I don’t know how he’s still standing,” Zane said, jogging over to me.

  “You know I can’t get into any trouble.”

  Not on the first day, at least.

  “Yeah, but an illegal jab or two wouldn’t have hurt. He’s such a smug bastard. I’d love to wipe—”

  “Relax.” I slung my arm over Zane’s shoulder. “He’s one of the best defensive players we have, and I’m man enough to overlook the fact he’s a complete asshole.”

  “Yeah, but come on, Nix. Tell me you didn’t imagine grinding his face into the ground every time he sacked you.”

  “Whose face we grinding?” Kye joined us as we reached the doors to the locker room.

  “Didn’t you hear? Nix has turned over a new leaf.” Zane smirked, and I flipped him off.

  “I can always make exceptions for you, Washington.”

  “Bring it, Wilder.” He flashed me a wolfish grin. “I know you’re itching for a fight.” Tipping his chin in invitation, I glanced around, realizing we’d drawn an audience.

  “Not here,” I said, refusing to give our teammates a show.

  I needed to burn off some steam, but it would have to wait until later.

  “You shouldn’t have.” Chloe dropped down next to Kye and snagged a handful of his fries.

  “You know, you could get your own lunch instead of stealing mine.”

  “Stealing? I was always led to believe that what’s yours is mine, brother.”

  “And what about what’s yours?”

  “Simple. What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine.” She shrugged, fighting a smile.

  “Seriously though, Clo. Do you mind? We’re in the middle of something.”

  “The something of what exactly? Eating lunch? Rating girls on their racks? Uh, let’s see, plotting world domination, no, you’re not intelligent enough for that. So that leaves… ah, yes… nothing.” Chloe grinned.

  “She has a point, man.” Zane mumbled.

  “Don’t tell her that. We’ll never get rid of her.”

  “Hello, sitting right here. Seriously, Nix, I don’t know how you put up with these two clowns.”

  “Always a pleasure, Clo.”

  “Actually, I thought you might want to know I found out something else… about Harleigh, I mean.”

  I froze, her words lashing my insides. Deep visceral cuts, splaying me open. But I schooled my expression and said with indifference, “I don’t.”

  “Okay.” She frowned. “So I’ll just go.” Her blue eyes bore into mine. Daring me to say it. To give in. But I didn’t want to give her any power over me.

  It was bad enough I’d barely gotten any sleep last night. I didn’t need to drag this out any longer than it needed to be.

  So Harleigh was back. It wasn’t like there was anything left to salvage between us.

  She was one of them now.

  Her life was across the reservoir.

  Everything we’d ever shared, everything we’d ever done…

  It didn’t fucking matter.

  “You might as well say what you came to say.”

  Chloe inclined her head slightly. “She started DA today.”

  Kye sucked in a sharp breath. “You’re sure?”

  “How’d you even find out this shit?” Zane voiced my concerns. Well, the concerns I would be having if I could think straight for longer than a second.

  My mind was a blur of questions. Things you tell yourself, things you tell each other to try to make sense of something.

  Harleigh Wren was
back. She was in Old Darling Hill, attending Darling Academy.

  I never thought I’d see the day… but I could see it clearly now. She was right where she was always supposed to be.

  Harleigh had always been too good for The Row. Too pure and innocent, she had never truly fit in here. It’s one of the reasons I’d taken her under my wing. Because I was made for a place like The Row. Born from it. Dredged up from the bottom of its soulless depths and spat out.

  Not Harleigh Wren though.

  Over the years, when her gaze would linger a little too long, or the lust in her eyes would burn too brightly, I’d tried to tell myself that maybe our stories were the same. That maybe we had a future… together. Outside of Zane and Kye, she was my best friend. My ride or die. The only girl in the world I could ever imagine sharing my life with.

  But deep down, I knew we were too different.

  She would make it out of The Row one day, and she would fucking flourish. Spread her wings and fly. While I would stay here and rot.

  “Nix?” Zane nudged my shoulder. “You okay?”

  “What?” I ran a hand down my face. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  The three of them watched me with a mix of doubt and concern in their eyes. When Harleigh had left last year, I hadn’t handled things well.

  “Do you want me to see what else I can find out?” Chloe asked.

  “Why?” I snapped, my voice as cold as ice.

  “I-I guess I thought… It doesn’t matter.”

  “Seriously, Clo,” Kye jumped in, and I inhaled a sharp breath, forcing air into my lungs. “Do I even want to know how you know all of this? Don’t tell me you’re hanging out with someone across—”

  “Relax, big brother.” She smirked. “I’m not committing an act of treachery. Brianne got a job working at Crêpe-a-licious. It’s popular with the DA crew. She heard some kids talking, and well, I asked her to listen out and… I can see that was a bad idea.”

  Their gazes shifted to me again and I scowled. “What? I said I’m fine.”

  “Oh, you look fine, man. You look totally fine.” Kye snorted.

  “Fuck you, asshole.” I flipped him off.

  “Crazy bitch alert,” he muttered under his breath, his eyes going over my shoulder.

  “Hey, baby.” Cherri’s voice made the hairs along my neck stand to attention, and not in a good way. She ran her hands up my arms and leaned down to whisper, “I missed you Saturday night.”

  “Cherri,” I said, twisting slightly, forcing her to back up.

  “How was practice?” she asked. “Did you miss me?”

  Someone—Kye most likely—snickered. Cherri’s head whipped around and she pinned my friends with her trademark death stare. “Why don’t you three run along and give me and Nix some alone time. He looks a little stressed out and I can help with that.”

  “Here, really?” Chloe balked. “Classy, Cher, really damn classy.” She turned her attention to me. “Please tell me you’re not actually going to let her—”

  “Okay, little bit.” Kye clapped a hand over her mouth. “Time for you to go.” He wrestled her out of her seat and threw me an apologetic glance. I tipped my chin, grateful he was getting Chloe out of here before Cherri’s claws came out.

  “Chloe Carter needs to learn to keep her mouth shut.”

  “She’s family. Don’t even think about it,” I said coolly.

  Cherri straddled the bench and walked her hands up my thighs. “Still needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. Don’t you have places to be?” she asked Zane, not bothering to look at him.

  “Actually, I think I’m good here.” His eyes narrowed to deadly slits.

  “Nix, tell your guard dog to go bark somewhere else.”

  “Listen Cher.” I cleared my throat, really wanting to avoid one of her outbursts in the middle of the school cafeteria.

  She slid closer, pressing her finger to my lips. Hooking one arm around my neck, she dipped her head and ran her tongue up the side of my neck, biting down on my ear. “We’re good together, Nix. You know we are. I can be what you need.” Her hand slipped between our bodies, palming my dick through my jeans. Heat flashed inside of me because, well, I was a guy, and she knew how the fuck to touch me.

  Zane grumbled something and said, “I’m outta here.”

  I went to tell him not to leave me, but Cherri grabbed my face and slammed her lips down on mine.

  Kissing the shit out of me.

  Harleigh

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Wilder’s pet.”

  My spine stiffened, my skin vibrating with an overwhelming mix of anger and sadness.

  Wilder’s pet.

  Wilder’s pet.

  Wilder’s pet.

  The words were caught on loop in my mind.

  His pet.

  His pet.

  Nix’s pet.

  His—

  “Don’t be an ass, Marc,” Celeste said, shooting me an apologetic smile.

  It was lunch. I’d survived three periods, kept my head down, and ignored the constant stares and muffled whispers. But I couldn’t ignore this.

  Discarding my half-eaten salad, I twisted around and looked up at Marc Denby, one of DA’s biggest douchebags. My stomach curled, every inch of me vibrating, but I tamped it down and focused on the guy looming over me.

  “Sorry,” I said flatly. “Did you say something?”

  “Harleigh,” Celeste hissed under her breath, but if she thought I was going to cower just because a bully like Marc Denby was standing before me with a wicked glint in his eye, she was sorely mistaken.

  Even if the gnawing pit in my stomach threatened to consume me.

  “You heard me, bitch.” He snarled. “You think just because daddy decided to pull you out of The Row and—”

  “Hey,” Celeste’s best friend Miles appeared. “What’s going on?”

  “Marc was welcoming Harleigh to DA,” Celeste said in a saccharine tone laced with warning.

  “Yeah, relax, Mulligan. I was offering Harleigh a warm welcome. Isn’t that right?” His eyes drilled into mine, daring me to speak up and out him. But I wasn’t looking to play games—with Marc or anyone else.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Marc was doing his good deed of the day.”

  His jaw clenched, and I suppressed a smug smile. Miles sat down at our table, keeping one eye on Marc, who eventually left mumbling something about practice.

  “He is such a douchebag,” Celeste said.

  “What did he really say?” Miles asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.” I glanced back, and sure enough, Marc was glaring right at me. His eyes seemed to say, ‘Watch your back, bitch.’ But his icy reception didn’t surprise me. In fact, there was something oddly comforting about the fact that he remembered who I was and where I came from.

  I didn’t want special treatment because I was Michael Rowe’s daughter. Even if he was one of the largest donors to DA. Especially because he was.

  What I really wanted was to blend in and be left alone, but I guess that was never going to happen. My arrival at The Rowe-Delacorte household was the hot topic on everyone’s lips. After all, it wasn’t every day a kid got plucked from The Row and thrown into DA even if she had spent the last six months in a facility on the outskirts of Albany. Of course, that wasn’t common knowledge. It would be most unbecoming for Michael Rowe’s daughter to be an emotionally unstable nut job. So to the outside world, I’d spent the remainder of my junior year in Albany with my grandparents, Thomas and Geraldine, coming to terms with my grief from losing my mother in such dire circumstances.

  Michael and Sabrina had spun a web of lies around me so tightly that people believed them. They didn’t question why, until recently, I’d never appeared at family functions or why I never left the estate.

  It was hardly any surprise that all morning I’d been greeted with a mix of expressions ranging from curiosity to pity to downright hostility.

  I hated it. Hated their attention and interest and the way they looked at me like I was a science project they hadn’t quite figured out. But if I was going to ever escape from Darling Hill, if I was ever going to forge my own path, I had to stick to the plan.

  “So what are we doing later?”

  “Sorry, what?” I frowned at Miles.

  He reminded me of a puppy with his big brown eyes, mop of dark wild curls, and toothy grin. The Mulligans were good friends with my father and Sabrina so I’d seen Miles at the house a few times since I’d returned. He was always polite and friendly. But I wasn’t looking to make friends. My heart was already shattered enough.