Guys stand, ready to face Slade’s threat while the girls scream, begging to be set free.
“SIT THE FUCK DOWN,” Slade roars as Damian strides back over to our table, protectively positioning himself right behind me.
The guys zip their lips and drop back down to their seats while the girls whimper, terrified of being addressed by Slade Cruz.
I don’t know what their fucking problem is, I find it thrilling as all hell.
The room waits for him, knowing that even one foot wrong would cost them dearly. “Get your fucking phones out. I want to see every single one of the bastards on the fucking table.”
Without question, every last person does exactly what he says. Hell, his fucking tone has me reaching for my own damn phone.
It takes twenty seconds for every last phone in the room to be put on the table. The students gape at him, some in horror, some wide-eyed, and some nodding, proud to have him as their leader.
Slade presses a few buttons on his phone and two seconds later, a loud buzzing is heard over by the dodgy as fuck chicken salad. He glances around, waiting for someone to own up to the phone and when no one does, he jumps down from the table in one, easy sweep, making it look as though he’s as light as a feather.
He strides across the cafeteria with every eye on him. He scoops up the phone and presses a button, cutting the call. The room falls to silence as he studies the phone, flipping it over for some kind of clue as to who owns the fucker.
Getting nothing, he stares around at the students, each of them shrinking back in fear under his stare. “Who owns this fucking phone?”
Not one person answers, but who would? They’re fucking terrified of him.
I get up and make my way toward him, taking the phone from his hand as he stares down the room. I search through the phone and it becomes instantly clear that this is just some burner, something bought purely for this very moment. There are no other photos except for mine, no saved contacts, no music, not even a single text…you know, apart from the mass group one that just went out.
Realizing that no one is about to say anything, Slade continues. “Delete it.”
He doesn’t need to say another word, they just know what he’s talking about. I watch as people everywhere start scrambling for their phones unlocking the screen and deleting the video. A few of the guys hold back, not wanting to delete my sex tape, but as Slade and Damian start making their way around the room, they give in, not wanting to be on the receiving end of either of their fists.
“If I catch even one of you fuckers with that video of my girl, you’ll have me to deal with,” Slade roars over the room, making sure every last person hears and understands the consequences. “I’ll stand by the fucking door and check every last phone if I have to.”
At that, the few remaining hands shoot out onto the table and get busy deleting the video. Slade stands and stares, waiting longer than necessary for the job to be done then strides across the room and scoops my boring as batshit salad off the table. He looks back at me and nods towards the door and I instantly start moving.
“This isn’t over,” he warns as he meets me at the door with Damian and Blake also stepping into my side. “I will find out who did this and when I do, your life won’t be worth living.”
With that, Damian unlocks the cafeteria doors and we walk straight out, leaving the horror and humiliation behind.
We get all of three steps before I feel Blake’s knuckles brush down my forearm, gaining my attention. I glance over to him and find him wordlessly asking if I’m doing alright. Concern is etched into the way he holds his brows and his eyes…I haven’t seen them like that since…fuck.
I nod discreetly, not wanting Slade and Damian to notice our sibling moment as it feels too raw, too intense. Too personal.
As I turn away to focus on putting one foot in front of another, a loud bang is heard echoing behind us. The four of us spin around to see Maze dashing toward us as the cafeteria door rebounds off the wall and slams closed once again.
“Sky,” she yells, running.
She slows as Slade, Damian, and Blake step forward and create a barrier around me, but protecting me in front of the whole fucking school is one thing, trying to protect me here is another.
I barge my way between Slade and Damian’s shoulders and seeing Maze still making her way toward me, I hold up a hand. “Don’t,” I demand.
She comes to a sudden stop and nearly topples over with her momentum. “I…,” she cringes. “I just wanted to check that you were alright. That video…it was brutal.”