All Chapters of THE Obnoxious : Chapter 21 - Chapter 26

(Trish’s POV) Room 3-B smelled like expensive cologne and old chalk - too many egos, and not enough air. Following the chaos of the Greenland game, the administration had decided the best solution was to lock all their highest-performing "problems" in one place and call it progress. Senior capstone. One room. No escape. Joseph sat in the back corner, his chair tipped slightly away from the rest of the world. Three weeks of detention hadn’t softened him; it had refined him. His face was a mask of cold, quiet indifference, but it was the calm of something dangerous. He hadn't looked at me once since we stepped onto campus, the Silent Pact holding firm like an invisible wall between us. Miss Forger snapped her ruler against her palm, the sound echoing off the high ceilings. “This is not a social club. Your senior capstone is a take-home project. Monday to Friday. Presentation this Friday. I’ve assign

(Trish's POV)I sat at a mahogany table in the back corner of the library. My laptop was open to a blank document.Because of the limited time given for presentations, we were instructed to hurry up with our assigned partners. Christian Vane sat accross from me, his chair angled so close our knees occasionally brushed. He wasn't looking at the British Literature text; he was looking at me, his gaze sharp and analytical."You're distracted today, Carpenter," Christian murmured, tapping a rhythmic beat on the table with his pen. "Dark circles under your eyes. A certain jumpiness. Did you have a rough night?""I'm fine," I said, my voice sounding thin even to my own ears. "Can we just focus on the thesis? I want to get this done.""In a hurry to get home?" He tilted his head, a slow smirk spreading across his face. "Or just in a hurry to get away from me?"Before I could answer, the library doors swung open. Joseph walked in, looking like he hadn't slept a second. He was followed closel

(Trish's POV)"Say it again," I breathed, my voice trembling so hard the words barely left my throat. "Say it to my face, Joseph. Tell me I'm the reason your life is falling apart."The kitchen was a cathedral of cold marble and sharp shadows. Joseph stood across from me, his chest heaving, his school tie ripped open at the collar. He looked at me like I was the damage, like everything unraveling around him was something I'd caused. He didn't see my fear, or how small I felt standing there. He only saw someone convenient to blame for the mess he was desperate to outrun."You heard me," he hissed, his eyes bloodshot and terrifyingly dark. "Everything was fine. We had a plan. And then you brought that—that 'filth' Christian into this house. You brought the school's eyes into our living room!""I didn't bring anything! Christian must've followed us! Anaya barged in here after all!" I shouted, slamming my hands against the counter. The vibration rattled the empty glasses. "I spent every