Chapter 3 We Carried Him While the Clock Ran Out

Leo burst out laughing.

Then, without warning, he threw himself onto my back.

All 160 pounds of him came crashing down on me at once. My knees buckled, and I nearly went face-first into the floor.

"Careful," Leo said smugly as he settled onto my back. "Drop me, and you'll never get that combination."

The two guys with me looked ready to kill him, but for the sake of everyone's admission slips, they had no choice.

Humiliated, they bent down and carefully lifted Leo's legs, one on each side, making sure his fresh tattoos didn't touch the ground.

The second we stepped outside, the summer heat hit us like a wall.

It was nearly 95°F, and the pavement felt like it was melting beneath our shoes. We could feel the heat rising from the pavement as I carried Leo on my back, while the other two guys jogged beside me, holding his legs up.

The three of us must have looked completely insane, like servants carrying some spoiled prince through the streets.

And we ran.

"Faster!" Leo yelled from behind me. "Come on, Kai! What the hell, did you skip breakfast?"

He didn't sound guilty, not even a little.

Instead, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and started smoking like he didn't have a care in the world while I struggled under his weight.

Sweat got into my eyes. My lungs burned, and every breath felt like someone was tearing my chest apart from the inside. With every step, my legs grew heavier.

People on the sidewalk slowed down to stare.

"What are those kids doing? Is it some kind of dare?"

"Look at that guy! He's making them carry his legs too. Who does he think he is, a king?"

Every comment felt like another slap across the face, but I couldn't stop.

All I could think about was our classmates waiting outside the exam center. For some of them, today meant everything.

Kids like me who didn't come from money. Kids who had spent years studying because getting into a good college felt like their one real chance to change their lives.

I could take the humiliation and pain.

I just had to get those admission slips back.

The little over a mile to Leo's apartment felt endless.

…

By the time we stumbled into the elevator, my shirt was soaked through, and every breath left a metallic taste in my mouth.

The doors finally opened on the eighteenth floor.

The moment we stepped into the hallway, my legs gave out. I dropped to one knee on the carpet, barely able to catch my breath.

Leo hopped off my back and brushed some cigarette ash from his clothes, looking at me with disgust. "Pathetic. It was only a mile, and you're already dying?"

I gritted my teeth and forced myself back to my feet.

The second Leo unlocked the door, the three of us rushed inside behind him.

He headed straight for the bedroom, where a safe was hidden behind a panel in the corner. He punched in the combination, and the lock clicked open.

Inside was a large paper folder.

My heart nearly stopped beating. 'Yes! The admission slips! All forty-two of them!'

"Give it to me!" I lunged forward, my fingertips just inches from the folder, but Leo suddenly jerked it out of reach.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"We don't have time! Just give me the tickets. I'm faster than you—I can run over there and still make it in time!" I yanked out my phone and checked the screen. We only had twelve minutes left before the exam center closed its doors.

"Give them to you?" Leo laughed. "In your dreams."

Before any of us could react, he shoved the entire folder under his shirt and pressed it flat against his chest.

My eyes widened. "Leo! Are you insane?"

"You're the one acting insane." He glared at me like somehow I was the problem. "These are forty-two people's admission slips for the SATs. What happens if I hand them over and you idiots drop them or lose them on the way?"

He patted the folder under his shirt. "Mr. Hanson put me in charge of them, so I'll be the one to deliver them safely."

Then, his gaze landed on a small bottle of tattoo cleaning solution sitting on the desk.

He picked it up, and my stomach dropped.

"And just in case any of you get the bright idea to jump me and take the folder..." He slipped the bottle under his shirt beside the tickets. "Touch me, and I'll pour this all over them. By then, none of you are taking the SATs."

"You can put whatever the hell you want under there!" I grabbed his arm and shoved him toward the door. "Just move! We don't have time!"

There was no time left to argue and no time left to care about whatever sick game Leo was playing.

I practically dragged him out of the apartment and slammed my hand against the elevator button.