Savage Little Lies: Chapter 29

Sloane

“Is this really necessary?”

My brother groaned as we passed under Windsor Preparatory’s familiar crest. I’d driven him to school on his first day back.

And yes, it was necessary.

He may be cleared for school, cleared for driving, but I wanted to drive him. I also didn’t mind it, and he’d get the fuck over it.

“You’ll be fine.” I patted his leg, and he shoved it over. I chuckled. “Anyway, we’re bonding. Let us bond.”

“You mean you’re hovering.” He cut his eyes in my direction, but he did grin at me. He shook his head. “Whatever, but I’m driving my own ass the rest of the week. What the fuck would I look like?”

He’d look like a kid who’d been sick out of school for a while. A long while. Me driving him, at least for today, was me making sure he didn’t have any trouble with anything.

I obviously couldn’t be with him in his classes, but during our video call with Callum at breakfast this morning, Callum had said he’d spoken to the school. The academy said they’d make any accommodations my brother would need. Bru could also opt for shorter days as needed if he was feeling too weak or anything.

As of today, Bru was pretty much good as far as his strength, but since none of us knew what bug he’d had, it was better safe than sorry.

I pulled into a parking space. “Just humor me for like a solid minute,” I growled. “I basically watched you die for like ever.”

“I wasn’t dying.” He said this, but he really couldn’t say that. He hadn’t been on the other end. He hadn’t had to watch him be sick. In my silence, Bru faced me. “I’ll be fine. If I wasn’t, I sure as fuck wouldn’t be going back to school. Please, just stop worrying for once.”

I made no promises and jumped when someone tapped Bru’s window.

Ares lowered his head of curly hair directly in front of Bru’s side. He grinned. “He lives!”

“Hell, yeah.” Bru chuckled, and I rolled my eyes, getting out. Bru did too, and I grabbed our bags out of the back while he greeted Ares.

“Back at school and in the fucking flesh.” Ares shook Bru’s hand, giving him one of those handshake-hug things that guys did. Ares snapped his fingers. “I see your sister didn’t make you come in a wheelchair today.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Bru joshed, and I snarled at him.

“Yeah, screw you,” I shot, then jutted a chin at Ares. “And screw you even more.”

Ares mock-pouted. “I’m hurt, little. And here I was trying to bid you both good morning.”

That would be a first, but apparently, one of many when it came to him.

In addition to visiting my brother in the hospital, we’d worked on our project every night this week. He was also often the first person I saw in the mornings recently too. The pair of us had to do double duty with that mural since my brother had gotten sick.

I’d been seeing Ares Mallick’s face way more than I thought I would, and interestingly enough, not in a bad away. We really did work well together, and I’d be lying if I said the project hadn’t been therapy since Bru had returned home. I got to do that instead of hovering over my brother.

Ares dropped an arm across Bru’s shoulders. “In all seriousness, it’s good to see you back.”

“It’s good to be back,” Bru said, the pair of them jostling each other like they did on the field. I missed that, seeing my brother with friends. Things had been so different before he’d gotten sick, and well, other things.

Those other things loomed in the air when I noticed we had an audience. The three of us may have been by ourselves, but there were definitely three onlookers nearby.

Dorian, Wells, and Thatcher hung out by their Audis, the three of them passing a joint around. In fact, they appeared so much like that first day I’d seen them I got chills. That hadn’t been a good day and had basically set the tone for a lot of crap that came after.

I supposed a lot of that had been my fault, and though I was over Legacy and how hot and cold they were being, I couldn’t help how it felt to see Dorian again. I’d been at school since Bru had come home. I had to. If anything, to make sure Bru and I graduated on time. I had to get his coursework and stay up on mine, but in all that time, I’d never seen Dorian. I’d seen Thatcher, Wells, and even Wolf in the courtyard at lunch, but Dorian had always been absent.

I never knew the reason why. Didn’t care why, so seeing him now definitely jarred me.

His gaze roved in my direction, a military boot on his car while a cloud of smoke puffed around him. Thatcher and Wells were sharing a blunt, but when they passed it to Dorian, he lifted a hand.

He had eyes on me, and his academy jacket was off, his shoulders all big and bulky in his dress shirt. Gripping the back of his ride, he pushed off it, but stopped when movement occurred beside me.

Ares still had his arm around my brother. Bruno still chatted with him, but Ares’s attention appeared only partially in that direction.

The rest he had on his friends and Dorian in particular. Mallick shook his head, the movement just slight, but I definitely noticed it.

My brow twitched when Dorian shifted on his boots. He snatched his jacket off the trunk of his car with a growl before barking at Wells and Thatcher to follow.

Wells and Thatcher were definitely aware of the exchange, Thatcher’s fingers cutting through his dark hair while Wells strode along beside him. The platinum blond glanced in our direction before picking up his pace and joining Dorian and Thatcher.

My brother was also privy to all this at this point, frowning. He faced me, but I was too busy looking at Ares.

“What was that about?” I asked, and Ares waved it off.

He dropped his arm from my brother. “Told him to hang back. Dorian?” Ares’s big shoulders popped up. “The other day you didn’t seem like you wanted the drama. Thought it best he kind of keep his distance.”

I hadn’t asked him to do that.

But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad.

I followed Dorian’s back as he ventured toward the school. He shoved his thick arms in his jacket along the way, and something I didn’t miss was how my breath released. I was relieved Ares had talked to him.

But again, I hadn’t asked.

Ares joined us inside the school, apparently opting out from walking with his friends today. I noticed I hadn’t seen Bow with the guys’ clique, but then again, I generally never saw her with them in the mornings anyway. I assumed she drove herself.

While we walked with Ares, my brother had nothing but questions in his eyes. These, I assumed, were about what he’d witnessed outside, but he kept them to himself. He did until Ares caught a couple of friends in the hallway.

Mallick tapped the guys’ fists, but my brother, on the other hand, moseyed over to me outside my locker.

“So what the fuck happened while I was gone?” He leaned in. “What was that back there? You and Dorian are over?”

I’d told my brother absolutely nothing about the situation with Dorian. Made sense he was confused. He didn’t even know Dorian thought I lied to him. I rooted in my locker. “We were never on, Bruno.”

“Well, if that’s not on, I don’t have fucking eyes.” He frowned. “You guys were definitely a thing before he left town—”

“We’re not now,” I gritted, causing my brother to blink.

He shook his head. “It’s like I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone. You and Dorian are apparently not a thing, and then Wells and Thatcher out there.” He lifted a hand. “They didn’t say shit to me just now. Not to mention they never did get back to me after all those texts I sent them.”

Again, that was probably about me. Especially if Ares told Dorian to hold off. They obviously walked away with him.

Bru bunched his fingers in his hair. “Ironically enough, the only one who’s come the fuck around was Wolf… who I punched. Then there’s you two working on that project when I thought he had beef with you or you had beef with him or whatever.” His back hit the lockers. “Like I said, we’re in the goddamn Twilight Zone.”

He may have been right about the whole Wolf thing. I mean, that was weird, but as far as his friends ignoring him initially, I could clear that up.

“Wells and Thatcher staying away from you isn’t your fault.” I closed my locker. “At least, not initially.”

My brother’s eyebrow arched slow, and I proceeded to tell him about the fallout. Well, what I felt comfortable. This whole thing started because Dorian had zero faith in me at all to have his back.

For whatever reason, I didn’t want to prove him right and didn’t tell Bru too many specifics. I wasn’t sure why I cared, but I did tell my brother there’d been a misunderstanding. One in which Dorian believed I said something that had gotten him in trouble. I left out what that was, but it had happened right before he’d left and so I hadn’t gotten a chance to clear things up.

That had left me at war with Legacy again and Bru by association.

My semi-vague explanation left my brother slack-jawed during the whole conversation. He gripped his bag. “Shit, Sloane. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were sick.” I lifted a hand. “And I didn’t want to make you deal with that.”

“So you dealt with it all alone?” he asked. “I may have been sick, but my ears weren’t. You should have told me. Taking care of each other is a two-way street, you know.”

I didn’t want it to be. I wanted to be strong. “I’m sorry.”

His sigh was heavy. “Well, did the misunderstanding at least get cleared up?” His brow lifted. “Because if not, I’m going to go talk to—”

I raised my hand, cutting that shit off. “I don’t need you getting into my shit and punching folks again.” I eyed him. “Especially not the most popular boy in school…”

“Most popular?” Ares slid into the conversation. He grinned. “Was I called?”

He would think I’d been talking about him, the arrogant fuck.

Ares had left his fan party, his fist tapping a few passersby. He dropped his arm around Bru. “Y’all talking about me?”

“We were talking about how it’s the Twilight Zone around here,” Bru huffed and might have explained, but the intercom sounded.

“Good morning, students and faculty. I’m sure some of you have heard, but the academy is currently in search of a new headmaster following the recent tragedy our community has experienced with Principal Mayberry’s passing.”

“Tragedy,” Ares gritted. He shook his head. “Always trying to keep the peace. I suppose she can’t help it.”

“Who?”

He didn’t say, the voice continuing.

“In the meantime, I will be returning as headmaster for the time being. Many of you also know that I’ve served in this position before, and I’m happy to do so while the board recruits a new headmaster. For those of you who don’t know, my name is Dr. Brielle Mallick,” the woman said, causing me to blink. “And I invite you all at any time to stop by the headmaster’s office and say hello. And for those who need it, counseling services will continue to be available regarding anything you need to discuss. Myself and the rest of the academy staff urge you not to keep your feelings to yourself. There are resources available, and my door is open to all of you if you should ever need it. I bid you a good rest of your day, and here’s to a brighter outlook for the rest of the year.”

The announcement ended, activity in the hallway continuing. I exchanged a glance with my brother, and when we looked at Ares, he had his fist tight in his curls.

“That’s my mother,” he said, shocking the fuck out of me. He sighed. “I tried to talk her out of it. She’s too fucking busy to come back here, but there was no way she wasn’t with all of us going to school here. She thinks she’s helping.”

Ares tugged his hair back so hard I questioned him pulling it out, and now that I thought about it, that was definitely the woman who’d been speaking that day we’d all gotten the video about Mayberry.

I wondered if his mom had come back to help with the situation then, and I thought to ask Ares about it, but the warning bell rang for first classes.

Ares shoved his hands in his pockets. He jerked his chin at Bru. “You okay with getting around to your classes today?”

“If I’m not, I’m sure she’ll do something about it.” Bru rolled his eyes at me. “I’m good. Headed to the north building.”

“I’m headed in that direction. I’ll go with you.”

Bru started to walk, but Ares hung back.

“Did you decide what you were doing about your free period?” he asked, and I nodded. He suggested I look into an independent study during our last few sessions in the garage. I still had that free period open with Mayberry being gone. Mr. Keene, the assistant principal, allowed me to do with it what I wished, but I still had to check in with him before I went to the art room every day to make sure he didn’t need anything. I wouldn’t have to do that anymore if I did an independent study, and I would get course credit for it too.

I forgot how this topic came up during my sessions with Ares, but when he suggested it, I jumped at the chance. Especially since I could do art and get credit.

“The school approved an art class for me,” I said. I’d looked right into it after he said something. The class was even college level, and I got to work with an online instructor. I’d get college credit too which was cool. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

“No problem. See you around.”

“See ya.”

He hooked an arm around my brother, and as I watched the pair of them leave, I understood what my brother had said. Him walking with my brother and me. Him talking to Dorian for me…

Things definitely felt like the Twilight Zone.