Pusher

seven.

"Did you already go through all the weed?" I asked Raven, sure to keep my voice low. It was only a few days ago I had sold her some, dropping it off right after I drove Ellie home from our milkshake run. It went seamlessly, aside from me having to dodge her continuous attempts to flirt. She was mocking me; I was sure.

Raven was once again draped against the locker next to mine, waiting for me, no doubt. She wasn't wearing any makeup today. Her cheeks seemed rounder and her eyes softer, her features almost muted.

"No, I'm good," she said. Her black painted nails drummed against the metal locker.

"Is there a reason you were waiting for me then?" I was trying to appear unphased, busying my hands with organizing the books on my top shelf.

"I guess I just wanted to see your face one last time," she said airily. She glanced at me, a smirk forming at my clear confusion. "Sorry, I suppose my bedside manner could use a little work."

She giggled a bubbling, haughty laugh.

"What are you talking about, Raven?" My locker door slammed shut. I didn't like playing guessing games, especially not on a Monday morning. A headache was already beginning to pulse in my temple.

"Mmmh, say my name like that again." Her eyes closed in feigned bliss and her voice lowered to a velvety bass. I rolled my eyes but was unable to keep the heat from climbing up my neck and to my cheeks.

"Cut the crap. Are you going to give me a straight answer or not?"

"Do you really not know?" Raven asked all too innocently, kicking off from the locker. She was easily three inches taller than me and much too close for comfort. She gave another hum, this one much more condescending. "I guess you really are as naive as everyone says you are."

With that, she brushed passed me, close enough for me to catch the scent of her strawberry shampoo. I refrained from glancing back at her, trying to hide my irritation and reddened cheeks.

Maybe the real reason she was buying pot from me instead of Maverick was that she simply enjoyed teasing me. Surely the infamous Maverick Weir wasn't as easy to intimidate. At least he had a height advantage.

My mind was still muddled by Raven's words by the time I shuffled into my Modern Lit class. I pushed her out of my mind as I spotted Dante. Everything had changed since I had last seen him and he could be my door to a much larger clientele, and more buyers meant making it easier on my mom until she was able to find a new job.

And Lord knows we could use the extra cash. It had only been a few days since my mother joined the unemployed masses and we were already drowning.

But the speech I had rehearsed over and over in my head died on my tongue when I sat down and really got a look at him. His far eye was swollen, not completely shut but with little more than a slit to peak out of. He tilted his head away before I could get a decent look at it.

No amount of clever angling could hide the fact that he looked like shit.

It wasn't quite exhaustion, but the circles under his eyes were deep-rooted. There was a strange buzz of anxiety about him as he bobbed his knee up and down. He looked restless. Paranoid.

I wanted to ask what the hell happened, but his words blurted out faster than mine could.

"I'm really sorry, Angelica." He glanced over me but turned away before I could catch his gaze. His knee didn't stop bouncing.

"What do you mean?" My voice was quiet and shallow, almost breathless. A cold shot of panic had already been injected into my veins. First Raven's cryptic message and now this?

"I promised you I wouldn't tell anyone about the weed, but-"

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, it's a good thing. I need as many buyers as I can get. I'm going to keep selling," I explained. It wasn't as smooth as what I had planned in my head, but the script had clearly changed.

Besides, it didn't matter at this point. I was more concerned about what happened to Dante's face than my reputation as a pusher.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said. The words came out slow, each one laced with tension. His back went rigid as the words passed through him. He finally looked up to meet my gaze. "Maverick is looking for you."

And suddenly the black eye made sense.