19. Anne Jacobs

Katy's mom dropped us off in the school parking loop the next morning, and—as I suspected—Victor was already there.

Waiting.

He stepped out from behind a tree the second her car pulled off, like he'd been hiding and waiting for us to be alone. Like usual.

"Katy. Anne," he said, too calm for comfort.

Katy stiffened next to me, dead silent.

'This guy just gets creepier by the day. It sucks that all the handsome guys have a problem.' I heard her think.

She wasn't thinking about it—about him—just that she wanted to run away from him. What had he said to her?

"It's been two weeks," Victor said. "I think that's enough now, don't you?"

His thoughts were a total mess.

'I gave her space. I waited. And waited! I stayed out of her way and she knows I can be good! I proved it so why hasn't she come back to me yet? I miss her so much I feel like I want to die!'

Drama queen. Still, I nodded. "Okay. We can stop."

He had kept his distance. Not totally, but enough. No surprise drop-ins, no stalking near the house, no showing up in random aisles at the grocery store. Just enough hovering to remind me he existed, but not enough to complain about.

And if he could endure that for fourteen days, I'd seen his limits.

I ended the test.

Victor lit up like a fucking Christmas tree and pulled me into a hug. Tight. Way too tight. He buried his face in my shoulder and inhaled like a weirdo.

'I almost forgot how good she smells. She's finally back. Finally all mine again. She understands now. She sees I'll wait for her.'

Even Dad had commented on it—how Victor "gave me room to breathe and what a respectful kid he is."

God. He was so excited to invite his little fanboy back over again.

I didn't have the heart to tell him I needed some breathing room from Victor after he told me he was getting married.

Behind us, buses unloaded, lockers slammed, kids shouted—everything felt normal. Except Victor's arm stayed casually slung around my shoulder like he never let go.

He still hadn't looked at Katy once.

"Get lost, Schwartz," Victor said casually.

Katy flinched. "Me?"

'What an asshole.'

We walked toward class, the three of us, and people stared more than ever.

"My dad keeps nagging for you to come over again," I said quickly, as I heard Victor's thoughts shift to Katy again.

"Really?" he lit up.

"Yeah. He's excited to show you more drawings," I added. Anything to redirect.

This was a leash. He didn't know it, but I was holding it. If running was futile, then I'd control his thoughts.

But I didn't predict what was waiting for us in first period.

Jackie. Sitting in my seat like it belonged to her.

I walked right up and crossed my arms. "Why the fuck are you in my seat?"

"I don't see your name on it," she rolled her eyes. "You get a little charity work done and suddenly you think you're hot shit? Find another seat."

'There's no way I'm going to let this weird bitch be the new Lara before me.'

Oh. This was about Lara.

"Are you really that bored?" I asked. "You had to pick a fight with me? Get your ass up."

"No," Jackie snapped. "My best friend's in the damn hospital and I got pissed off after thinking about that."

Lame. "Get out of here. Actually, wipe the herpes off the seat then fuck off."

Laughter exploded around us.

Jackie turned red as a tomato and stood, furious. Her thoughts were a mess—mostly about her clinic results. Not herpes but... chlamydia?

"You bitch!"

"Did you say something?" I cupped my ear. "I can't hear you over the clap!"

I clapped my hands for effect. More laughter.

Jackie charged at me but Victor caught her wrist mid-swing.

"You should really calm down," he said smoothly.

"Fuck her!"

"Let that bitch go!" I snapped.

To my surprise, Victor let go instantly. Jackie barely had a second to react before I lunged.

I swung first.

We fell to the ground and I was winning—I had her by the hair, my knee pinning her down. I wasn't even angry, I was just tired of people like her. Jackie screamed and clawed like a child and I was about to shove her again—

When suddenly I was lifted off her.

"WHAT THE FUCK—" I was halfway through yelling when I saw it was Victor, holding me back.

And that's when the teacher finally walked in.

"I came here expecting to find a peaceful classroom, but I guess that's too much to ask," he huffed.

Shit. I really fucked up.

"To top it off, two of you aren't even supposed to be in this classroom. You just think the world is your playground, don't you?" he snapped.

"All three of you. Come with me. Now."

Dammit!

***

I narrowly avoided detention—thanks to Victor, technically. But honestly? I'd rather have the detention. At least then I wouldn't have had to sit in the office and hear the principal call me a hypocrite in his thoughts.

Yeah. A hypocrite.

And the worst part? He wasn't wrong. I had pushed for Victor to get punished before, and now here he was, saving my ass.

I'd just opened my locker when I heard Jackie's loud-ass voice echo down the hallway.

She had a makeshift crew behind her. Not real friends, just people she'd gathered like props, hoping they'd help her look powerful.

Shocker.

It didn't.

It looked desperate.

"Wow, it didn't take long for you to forget where you came from, Anne," she started, already smug. "You know, the bottom."

Here we fucking go. I was already over it, but I knew no matter how I responded, she was going to force this fight.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I sighed.

Jackie gestured toward me like I was a museum exhibit. "The hair, the makeup—you even have your skirt a bit shorter, like the rest of us. You really think you're Lara, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw my own brain. "I'm surprised that you think I give a shit about any of that."

A small crowd had started to form, students pretending to hang around but clearly watching to see if another fight was about to go down.

"You're not Lara just because Katy's mom gave you a shitty makeover," Jackie snapped. "Don't let all that attention get to your head!"

She stepped closer.

'Of all people she starts hanging out with Katy and Victor? I'm being pushed out of the popular crowd for this loser—it's not fair! If I just take her down a few pegs...'

"Jackie, I'm not trying to be Lara," I said coolly. "And let's be real—you're just pissed you lost your spot as Lara's shadow, aren't you?"

Her nostrils flared.

"I didn't know you were still so eager to be Lara's dog."

Jackie opened her mouth, but I wasn't done. Since she started this, I was going to finish it.

"If you care so much about what people think, why not clear your reputation up first? Wouldn't want everyone talking about the clap, especially knowing who probably gave it to you!"

The hallway dropped dead silent. One kid dropped his water bottle, and it was the loudest thing in the world.

"You—" Jackie's voice cracked.

"Travis, right? Katy's ex?" I went on, watching her pale. "You said it was just a misunderstanding, but you still met up with him after Katy dumped his ass. Then another girl ends up at the clinic. Awkward!"

Jackie stood frozen, opening and closing her mouth like a fish on dry land. No words. No backup from her little crew, either—they were already stepping away like she had a contagious rash.

"I'll say it one more time," I said calmly, "I'm not Lara. I'm not trying to be Lara. If you miss her, go see her in the hospital. But leave me and Katy the fuck out of your slutty sisterhood antics."

Was that harsh?

...Maybe.

But if the roles were reversed, Jackie would've sacrificed me in a heartbeat. So maybe she had it coming.

Maybe I was more vicious than I thought. And that was scary.

I closed my locker with a satisfying slam and turned to head toward class.

That's when I saw it—Victor, ducking quickly into an open classroom across the hall.

He must've seen the entire thing. And he didn't look proud. He looked... angry. Not his usual "polite mask" angry either. No smile, no calm exterior. Just pissed.

He moved like he didn't want me to see him.

And for the first time, I fully understood what Katy meant when she said Victor gave off serial killer vibes.

Because for the first time, I saw his face without the smile.

And it scared me.