His tongue trails from the side of my chin to the corner of my mouth. I'm frozen on spot, barely breathing. When he pulls away, his eyes are the same shimmering silver I had seen the other night. My breathing spikes, and his eyes dart to my mouth. B...
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— 11 —
The air is muggy, dark rain clouds hovering over our heads. It's a little past seven-thirty in the morning, a good fifteen minutes before the bell for classes is supposed to ring, and everyone is standing in the parking lot, two out of the six looking thoughtfully at nothing in particular. TJ and I are sitting on the concrete, legs crossed, looking at the dreary sky.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Leon asks. Again.
"Yes," I say, exasperated. "I'll be fine."
Whit doesn't look convinced, though. "You say that even when you don't think you will be."
I shoot her a look, but she easily ignores it, staring at a strand of white hair.
"To leave you alone the day after someone threatens you just doesn't sit well with me," Nik continues explaining, even though I'm sure I've heard it more than twice already. "God only knows what Leon's thinking."
"We know what he's thinking; we just don't understand why we all have to go," TJ supplies.
"It's the only way," he defends. "We need to get our bearings straight before this turns into an all-out war."
I sigh, lying down on the cold ground. "Calvin's going to be here," I remind them.
"Yeah, but he chooses today to be late," Whitler says sharply. "I swear to God, if I find out he's not here because he decided to go hook up with another girl from the club the other night, I'll throttle him."
I simply roll my eyes, feeling the indentations in the concrete with the tips of my fingers.
Leon had decided sometime last night that he and the others would go scope out Preston's territory. Apparently, someone tipped off that Preston's supplier is a good friend of Leon's dad, so he and Trent are going to go beat information out of him. Nikki and Whit are going to figure out what the girls on the streets know, since one of them is on our side. TJ's job is to see what his dad knows—Mr. FBI agent has been on Preston's tracks for almost three months now. Calvin, poor child, is stuck with me. While they know it's important to do recon and figure out as much as we can, they're still worried about leaving me alone in school, and since Chase can't simply leave his room any time he wants, it's up to Calvin to do the babysitting.
"Seriously, I'll be okay," I try to assure her again. "It's not like I need you five to hold my hand in class."
"I wonder if that's even possible." TJ purses his lips, staring at my hand.
Nik rolls her eyes. "Maybe if we each grab a finger."
I let out a long, exasperated sigh.
The bell chimes, surprising the three paranoid teenagers around me. They each practically jump into action, muscles tense.
