Unmasked: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (An Evergreen Academy Novel Book 4) by Ruby Vincent

Author:Ruby Vincent [Vincent, Ruby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ruby Vincent
Published: 2019-09-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“You don’t have to do this.” I clamped down on his hand. It was too hard if his hiss was anything to go by. “The police and Evergreen know. That’s enough.”

“That’s not enough. They are using our silence to paint you as a liar,” Ryder replied. He freed himself from my grasp, but touched the back of his hand to mine, keeping contact. The five of us were standing in the courtyard before the main building. That was as far as I got before I made them stop, sending everyone else ahead.

“We have to do this, Val,” Jaxson agreed. “The hard part was telling our folks. We can handle whatever is next.”

“But they still might not believe you,” I argued. “They could think you’re saying it because we’re together.”

“Maybe,” Maverick said, “but it will still be harder to dismiss all five of us.”

Gentle pressure against my back moved me forward. “Come on, Val,” Ezra said. “It’ll be okay. Trust us.”

It was hard to argue with Ezra, let alone all five of them. I knew nothing I could say would change their mind, especially when they saw themselves as protecting me.

I snagged Ryder’s hand again when we entered the stairwell. As the boys drifted further ahead of us, I whispered to him.

“We didn’t get a chance to talk yesterday. Did you speak with your mom?”

He kept his eyes straight ahead as he nodded.

I squeezed his hand. “How is she doing? How are you doing?”

“She is... taking it harder than I thought.”

“Ryder, I’m sure she—”

“Val.” He wasn’t loud or harsh, but something in his tone made the words die in my throat. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“Yeah,” I croaked after a minute. “Of course.”

“Thanks.”

Ryder didn’t look at me the whole time we spoke, and he kept his face forward as we left the stairs and walked onto the fourth floor. The bell was minutes away from ringing so there were no students to gawk and whisper at us. We took that for the win it was and hurriedly got our things from our lockers before meeting back up in front of Roundtree’s classroom.

“Go in first, Val,” said Maverick. “We’ll be right behind you.”

“But—”

“Please.”

I forced my feet to move. Even while I could understand that this was something they needed to do themselves, everything in me wanted to be there for them. I pushed through into the classroom and got the reaction I was expecting. The room quickly fell silent. I looked around and stopped dead in front of Roundtree.

This I was not expecting.

The expression “battle lines were drawn” was ringing clear in my head as I took in the two distinct groups glaring at each other across the room. Natalie and her crowd had taken up residence near the window while the group that included my friends were on the other side. There was a space between them big enough that you could drive a car through.

It wasn’t a conscious thought that made me turn on Roundtree. The guy was tapping away at his computer.

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