Chapter 5

Summer's Pov

My heart is trying to punch its way out of my chest as I walk away from Crew's car.

Why did I say no? What was I thinking? I just refused Crew Ashford, the boy who's made my life hell for six months, who has the power to destroy what little stability my mom and I have left.

I keep my head down and walk faster, trying to disappear into the morning crowd of students. If I can just get inside, find Ruby, hide in first period….

A hand grabs my arm and yanks me backward.

I stumble, my backpack sliding off one shoulder, and when I spin around, Crew is right there. His jaw is tight, his blue eyes burning with barely controlled fury.

"What do you mean by no?" His voice is low, dangerous. "We don't have a choice in this, Summer. You're going to do as I say, or else I'll make your life miserable."

Something inside me snaps.

"What else do you want to do to me?" The words come out louder than I intended, and a few people nearby turn to look. "You've already done everything you could possibly do. You've messed up my life in this school. So no, Crew. I'm not making a deal with you. Take it or leave it."

He steps forward.

I step back.

He moves again, and I keep backing up until my spine hits the cold metal of a locker. He cages me in with his body, one hand slamming against the locker next to my head.

"No?" He leans in close, and I can smell his cologne, expensive and overwhelming. "I'll tell you what 'no' means."

He jabs a finger at my chest, not quite touching but close enough to feel threatening.

"You like messing around. I see that. You like trouble." His voice drops even lower. "But let me tell you something, Summer. I don't like trouble. And you are going to obey my father. This is my father's orders."

"Then go tell your father I'm not going to help a jerk like you—"

"Jerk?" He laughs, but there's no humor in it. "You've got the nerve. You move into my house, make yourself comfortable in my space, and now you think you can talk to me however you want?"

His hand moves from the locker to grip both my shoulders, fingers digging in hard enough to hurt.

"You're going to regret this."

"You know what's really shameful?" I meet his eyes even though every instinct screams at me to look away. "You're my senior. You're graduating this year. And you need me—a junior—to tutor you just so you can pass. How does that feel, Crew? The golden boy, everyone's perfect hockey captain, doesn't know a damn thing."

His grip tightens instantly, painfully.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that."

"Let me go." I try to twist away but he holds firm. "You're hurting me."

"Good." His face is inches from mine now, and I can see the rage and in his eyes. "Maybe you'll finally learn—"

"Let her go. Now."

We both freeze.

Ty's voice cuts through the tension like a knife. I turn my head as much as I can with Crew still gripping my shoulders, and there he is—standing a few feet away, his normally easy-going expression replaced with something hard and protective.

"Stay out of this, Chen," Crew warns.

"Let. Her. Go."

For a moment, I think Crew might actually refuse. His fingers flex on my shoulders, tightening just slightly, and I see him considering his options.

Then he releases me and steps back.

I practically fall forward, and Ty catches me, pulling me against his side. His arm wraps around my shoulders, solid and safe, and I realize I'm shaking.

Crew looks between us, his gaze moving from Ty's protective hold to my face and back again. Something shifts in his expression—anger transforming into something colder, more calculating.

"You two been fucking?"

"What?" Ty and I say it at the same time, our voices overlapping in shock.

Crew mimics us, his voice mocking. "What? What do you mean what?" He tilts his head, studying us with those cold blue eyes. "You two have been fucking. Tell me. I won't tell anyone."

The seriousness in his expression makes my skin crawl.

"I can see you're crazy," Ty says, his arm tightening protectively around me.

"I wasn't talking to you, Goalie." Crew's eyes stay locked on mine. "I was talking to her. My favorite sister."

Sister.

The word hangs in the air like poison, and I feel Ty stiffen beside me. He turns to look at me, confusion written all over his face. Why did he just call you sister?

Before I can explain, before I can say anything, a voice cuts through the tension.

"Baby!"

I know that voice. Everyone at Blackwood knows that voice.

Brianna Cole appears like she materialized from thin air, all perfect blonde hair and designer clothes and the kind of confidence that comes from never being told no. She's the head cheerleader, the girl everyone wants to be or be with, and she's looking at Crew like he's her personal property.

She walks up to him and kisses him on the cheek, her hand sliding possessively across his chest.

"What's going on?" Her voice is sweet but her eyes are calculating as they sweep over Ty and me. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Crew says smoothly. "No problem."

Brianna turns to look at us properly now, and her gaze is like ice. She looks at Ty first, dismissive, then at me, and something sharp flashes in her expression before she masks it with bored indifference.

"I've been waiting for you, you know." She turns back to Crew, playing with the collar of his jacket. "We're supposed to go to class together before your practice."

"Yeah, of course." Crew's hand lands on her waist, casual and familiar. "We're supposed to go."

Then he pauses, looking at her with that calculating expression again.

"Babe?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think about these two?" He gestures lazily toward Ty and me. "Do they look like people who've been fucking?"

My face burns hot with humiliation and rage.

Brianna barely glances at us. "I don't know. They're a bunch of lowlifes. I don't actually give a fuck."

I open my mouth to say something, anything, to defend myself and Ty. But the words die in my throat. What's the point? I'm the scholarship girl. Ty's the kid who works in his family's restaurant. We don't matter to people like them.

And I only have one more year here. One more year until I graduate and escape this hell. Getting into a fight with Brianna Cole and making more enemies isn't going to help me survive.

So I stay quiet.

"Come on." Brianna tugs on Crew's arm. "We don't have to waste our time talking to these people."

"Yeah, true." Crew lets her pull him away, but then he pauses, looking back over his shoulder at me.

His smile is cold and cruel.

"See you at home, sis.”