Savage Little Lies: Chapter 37

Sloane

I was alone in one of the art rooms the following Monday. I held my independent study during this hour, so that hadn’t been surprising. I had my head deep in my sketchbook, which was why I basically dropped it when someone opened the door in full conversation.

Dorian never visited during my independent study. He had other classes, so it surprised me to see him come in and with a woman I didn’t recognize. They’d been laughing, and when Dorian spotted me, he waved.

My feet on a chair, I got up. I didn’t know what was going on here.

Dorian touched my shoulder. “Hey, sorry to bombard you like this.”

His hand lingered at my neck, and this was the first time I’d seen him since that night.

The one where I’d basically been chickenshit.

I was completely hiding from my own feelings, and I was aware of that. My weekend had been spent with me pretty much in my own seclusion.

Bru had even gone out.

As far as I knew, he’d been hanging with Wells and Thatcher, but I chose to stay inside and hide from the dark prince.

I frowned at him. “What’s going…”

“School’s headmaster… well, for the time being, wanted to meet you,” he said, guiding me forward. “Brielle—I mean, Principal Mallick. This is Sloane. My girl.”

His girl.

We hadn’t discussed that at all.

So why are you getting butterflies hearing him say that?

Because I liked it. I did.

Just get out of your head.

That was so hard and definitely in front of the academy’s headmaster. I knew this woman to be Ares’s mom, but I hadn’t met her. I’d only heard her voice during the morning announcements.

Dorian presented me forward to her, and when I say this woman was one of the loveliest women I’d ever seen, I meant it. She had long dark hair, which was bumped under just slightly. She wore the style over one shoulder, her dark blouse and black trousers accompanying it. Since she wore so much black, that made the pop of red on her lips stand out, as well as the little bit of silvery gray hair she had. She had only a little bit on one side, the style similar to Rogue from those X-Men movies.

Standing in front of her, I assumed this woman was older, but it was only because of her hair could I tell. She was so very lovely and had a familiarity about her I didn’t quite understand. It was as if I’d seen her before, but that didn’t make sense. Perhaps, it was because I knew Ares, and I supposed he did look like her a little.

Blinking, the woman had a hand on her blouse, and I realized in that moment I was just staring at her. The woman put out her hand, and I was glad she had. I was being rude.

“Brielle Mallick,” she said, our hands connecting. Her head tilted. “I wanted to meet the girl who’s responsible for getting my son into design school.”

She faced Dorian in that next second, and when he nodded, grinning, her attention drifted back to me.

“Sloane,” I returned, happy to hear that news. I had no idea Ares had already gotten in. I smiled. “And I doubt I’m responsible for Ares getting into school. He’s a great artist.”

Our hands were still shaking, but Brielle stopped them. I let go, and when Dorian ventured back to me, her gaze followed him.

He hooked an arm around me. “She’s being modest.” He looked down at me. “Sloane’s very talented.”

“I’ve seen it.” Brielle glanced between the two of us, back and forth a couple times before her hand closed. She pushed some of her gray hair back. “I’ve just come from the piece you both worked on. Dorian’s been telling me you helped Ares, and it’s nothing like what my son has done before.” She wet her lips. “I’m sorry. You said your name is Sloane?”

“Noa Sloane,” I said. “But yeah, I do go by Sloane.”

“I see.” She eased closer, her hands coming together. “So you’re into art, then? Art like Ares?”

I was and decided to show her some of it. I had my sketchbook still in my hands, so I flipped a few pages for her.

Brielle studied them over my shoulder, glancing between the drawings and me. I was taller than her, like most people, so I angled to give her a good vantage point.

“These are wonderful.” She actually sounded awed, and that made me feel good. I wasn’t sure what Ares got from her, but if she had passion like he seemed to, that might be it. Her lashes shifted in my direction. “You are very talented. To which schools are you applying?”

I stopped for a beat. “This is going to sound hilarious, but I haven’t thought about it.”

“Oh. Why not?”

“I moved around a lot growing up.” I closed my sketchbook. “My brother and I—”

“You have a brother?” she angled in, and I nodded.

“Bru and I—short for Bruno—moved a bunch,” I said. “Us and our dad. At least, we used to.”

“Used to?”

I started to say, but Dorian’s arm returned to my waist.

“He passed,” he said for me, and I was happy he had. I could talk about my dad, but I didn’t necessarily like talking about the fact I was an orphan.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Brielle’s hands came together. Her lips parted, but then they closed. She smiled. “Well, I would like to hear more about you. Your college plans? I’m always available to offer guidance on that.”

She had time for something like that? I didn’t know her schedule, but she was the headmaster.

Brielle started to say more, but her phone rang. She had it clipped to her hip, and though she checked it, I noticed she didn’t answer it.

She silenced it once before it rang again, and this time, she unclipped it.

“Unfortunately, I find myself trying to balance two gigs at the present,” she said, silencing it again. She merely clipped the thing before it was ringing once more, but this time, she didn’t even look at it. Her head tilted. “But I would like to speak with you again and help. I have to pull an early day today due to my other job, but let’s make an appointment for you to come by the headmaster’s office. I’ll pull your file, and we’ll go over things. Come up with a plan for you?”

That sounded really cool actually. I hugged my sketchbook. “Sure. And thanks.”

“Of course. Tomorrow. First period? I’ll make sure you have a pass with whoever your teacher is. I’ll pull that off your file.”

Sounded good to me.

I said that was fine, and when her phone rang between us again, she ignored it and took my hand.

“Good to meet you, Sloane.”

“Good to meet you.”

“Yes. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Perfect.” Her hand easing out of mine, she smiled quickly at Dorian. “See you.”

He lifted a hand to her, the woman stepping away. With her phone ringing, she finally answered it, and the door closed on her conversation when she slipped into the hall.

“No idea how she’s balancing it all.” Dorian pocketed his big hands. “I’m sure the mayor’s office needs her more than we do.”

“The mayor’s office? What does she do there?”

Dorian swung smoky irises in my direction. “What does she do?” he asked, laughing. He directed a thumb toward the door. “Uh, Brielle is the mayor of Maywood Heights.”

Um, what?

“Wolf didn’t tell you?” His chuckle hit the air. “You both spent all that time painting, and he never, not once, mentioned his mother was the mayor of our city?” His eyebrow arched. “Fucker gloats about that shit. Thinks it makes him king of the world.”

Or at least the prince of the city.

These boys really were royalty. I frowned. “We painted more than talked.”

“I guess so.” He weaved our fingers together. “Anyway, Brielle is here because she’s babysitting. After everything with Charlie, she wants to make sure we’re all okay, but she doesn’t have time at all to be here.” He shook his head. “But that’s how she is. She’s stubborn, and though my buddy won’t admit it, the apple doesn’t fall far.”

He didn’t need to admit it. He showed that shit. Once Ares put his mind to a thought or belief, that tended to be what stuck.

It had benefited me recently.

Dorian ran his hands down my shoulders. “You really haven’t thought about college or anything? What were your plans after you graduate?”

I was kind of focused on his hands on me. They made it hard to think, and I was definitely aware we hadn’t spent time in close proximity together since this last weekend. It’d been on purpose, excuses on my part. We had a lot of weight between us right now and…

My knuckles touched his chest. “Like I said, Bru and I moved around a lot. Didn’t think college was possible. We were poor. At least before Callum.”

Even then, his money wasn’t ours.

He checked in with my brother and me a few times a week, and though he was moving closer to us, we couldn’t forget our place. The man wasn’t our father, and regardless of how he’d been good to us.

Dorian’s hands left my shoulders after what I said, and his jaw shifted before he tipped my chin. “Well, I’d start thinking about it. This is your home, Noa Sloane, and you’re not going anywhere.”

He leaned in, and I thought he’d go for the lips. I hoped he would.

They were easier.

His lips on my mouth wouldn’t allow me to think. I could just be with him and not think about other things between us. Things like what I did or did not say the other night.

That wasn’t what Dorian did, though, and his mouth brushing my check did terrible damage. He lingered there, his breath heating my skin. He let me think in that position.

You’re not going anywhere.

I didn’t want to. I wanted to just be, but my rogue thoughts wouldn’t let me. I kept remembering what it was like to not be with him.

I kept remembering how it was when he’d left.

That wound stayed open, and though I wished to forget, it was so hard.

If Dorian saw that in my eyes, he didn’t say. He simply kissed my cheek, then pulled back. He told me I’d see him later. He had to get back to class, and I was happy he once again hadn’t pushed me. I wasn’t ready to tell him I loved him yet, but it was almost worse he didn’t push. It meant he was willing to wait.

I hoped secretly he wouldn’t always be.

I preferred lunchtime with the dark prince. Lunch with him, Bow, and the rest of Legacy was filled with general boy debauchery and with little to no time for direct conversation with Dorian himself. He was usually engulfed in conversation, and I just blended in.

My brother actually joined the group for lunch today. He was finally starting to get caught up, and to celebrate, Wells and Thatcher suggested we all go to Jax’s Burgers. The two made good on their promise to bring me food. When we ate at school, a bag of greasy goodness was always there for me at our lunch table.

The two jocks were well on their way to getting me to forget about what assholes they’d been, and it was kind of hard to be annoyed by them when they were so fucking goofy. They had me roaring in laughter most of the time. Especially because their antics constantly pissed off the two older boys. Ares and Dorian may only be a year older than them, but their lack of patience when it came to the two definitely showed. Dorian was pretty laid-back about it, but Ares spent more time knocking their heads together than anyone else. He always had a short fuse in general, but since Dorian had left, I hadn’t noticed it as much. He seemed more at ease whenever I saw him.

“Wait. The fuck?”

Which was why his voice elevating on the other side of the booth caught me off guard. He had his hand raised, his finger shooting in Dorian’s direction. “You took my mother to what?”

Dorian’s arm dropped from my shoulders, and at this point, Bow stopped her conversation with my brother and the other guys. We’d had to push two tables together today at Jax’s just to accommodate with the boys’ grub. Dorian put his hands together. “I took her to meet Sloane.”

“Why?”

Dorian’s brow lifted slow. “Because she asked.” He leaned back. “She wanted to meet the girl who’d helped you with your project. I ran into her in the hallway, and we got to talking about it.” He tossed a fry at him. “What’s your deal?”

He seemed to have one, Ares’s gaze shifting in my direction. He had an audience, and once he realized he did, he sat back and gripped his arms. “My mom’s busy, bro. She doesn’t have time for that shit.”

That… shit?

He grunted. “What did she have to say about it? The project? Sloane?” He shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to bother her with that shit. She’s obviously seen it and everything. I just don’t want to bother her with any unnecessary shit while she’s trying to work.”

Again, I didn’t know what he was calling shit, but whether he was talking about our project or me, I was insulted either way. I cocked my head. “What is your problem—”

“I was talking to D, little.” Once more, he dismissed me, and what the fuck?

I twitched at his response, and he put his hands to his mouth.

“D, you know how busy my mom is.”

“I’m aware.” His arm returned behind me. “But like I said, she asked me.” He eyed him. “And what’s with you coming at Sloane like that?”

The question was on my mind too, everyone else watching on.

Ares’s jaw shifted. “We just agreed that, even though my mom is at school, she isn’t.” His lips pulled together. “I obviously can’t stop her from doing what she wants to do, but when it comes to us.” He waved a hand at him and the guys. “We do our thing until she gets this out of her system and leaves.”

Was he embarrassed by his mom? He shouldn’t be. I mean, she was really cool. I cuffed my arms. “Your mom’s really nice.” I glanced between him and Dorian. “She even asked if I needed help figuring out college stuff.”

His digit touching the table, his gaze flicked my way. “She did?”

I nodded, and Dorian did too. He put a hand out. “She was happy to help Sloane.” He nudged me. “Especially when she realized she didn’t have anything figured out.”

My eyes lifted. “She was cool about it. Wants to meet with me tomorrow.” I put my hands on the table. “But if this is going to be a thing, I can cancel.”

I wasn’t trying to piss beast boy off.

Even if I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Ares’s lips closed, and the rest of the group stayed real quiet. Wells leaned forward. “Wolf, bro. You okay?”

Ares tossed a fry in his basket. He shrugged. “My mom being there is just stressing me out.” He eyed the table. “I’m sure none of y’all would want your parents around either.”

The general consensus appeared yes from the way the guys all looked at each other, and it was rather stereotypical they wouldn’t want their parents around them. I mean, what were we in? Grade school? I wished I had a parent to be around.

I wished I had parents.

I studied my brother on Bow’s other side. He appeared just as confused as I felt. In fact, Bow looked that way too, silent as she nibbled her chicken fries. Maybe she didn’t feel the same way they did as well.

“Nah, you can keep your appointment, little,” Wolf stated, swallowing. He faced Dorian. “And I’m assuming we’re not seeing you tonight? You and her are hanging out, right?”

I wasn’t sure when I became a her or shit, but I really wasn’t liking how he was both talking and referring to me.

What’s his problem?

It felt like I was dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at the moment. True, Ares was always a prick. He was gruff in his delivery and often colder than the rest of the boys, but he had been coming around. At least when it came to me.

It appeared I wasn’t the only one looking at Ares funny. He had the whole table’s attention, but it was Dorian to tip his chin. The dark prince outlined his lips before he tossed an arm behind the booth. He glanced my way. “Actually, do you want to hang out with us tonight? The guys and I usually have a pizza night once a week at one of our houses. This one’s at Wolf’s.” His attention drifted over to him. “That okay with you?”

Wolf sat up, but before he could speak, Thatcher shook Wolf’s arms.

“Yeah, bro. That’d be fucking cool.” He slapped my brother’s chest. “You come too, man.”

Alerted into this conversation, my brother opened his hands. “That’d be fun.”

“Right?” Thatcher tipped his chin across the table. “Bow, you can come too since Sloane will be there.”

“Well, thanks.” The sarcasm absolutely lined her voice. She glanced my way. “Will you be there? Probably shouldn’t go unless you’re there.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to get in the way. They do guy things, you know?”

I noticed her study the other end of the table. The only one there was Wells, and he was barely paying attention to the conversation anymore. In fact, he had his mouth full of burger bits, and Bow’s cheeks completely colored.

I wondered if the little rabbit may have a bit of a crush. This wasn’t the first time I’d caught her looking at him, but if a crush was the case, I wished her luck. Dude was a complete man ho like her brother, and it was lucky she or I could find table space at lunch whenever her brother and his friend brought their harems over.

They also weren’t shy about their make-out sessions at the table, which made lunch hella fun. Between the two bros, I gagged on my milk most days.

“Now, I never said there was any goddamn party at my house.” Ares’s toned snipped, his eyes fire. “D…”

“It might be good to mix things up.” He eyed him, his brow arched, and whatever was going on between these boys had me confused as fuck. Dorian nodded. “We’ll all hang out and talk. It’ll be good.”

Ares said nothing, his gaze averting. He waved a hand, and it seemed all this was settled.

“So tonight?” Dorian’s fingers folded behind my neck. “You should come. It’ll be nice for us to all hang out, and you can get to know the guys more.”

I felt put on the spot when he said that, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t prefer a group gathering. He may not mean to put pressure on me, but I felt it whenever it was just us.

I mean, he’d said he loved me.

That was still obviously there between us, and until I could get over myself and my reservations, it would for the present.

I agreed to meet up and quickly. With that all done, the conversation flowed back to what it had been, but I noticed Ares wasn’t a part of much of it. Actually, he stared more out the window than participated in the conversation with his friends, which bothered me more than I’d ever admit. He’d seemed to be cool with me. Like we really had a truce, but how he’d just been acting now didn’t feel like one.

In fact, it felt like the opposite.