Broken Hill High (Broken Hill High #1)(46)

“Noted,” Brooke teases. “Let me know when you’re ready to re-join the world,” she adds before turning back to the girls and getting on with their conversation while giving me a chance to continue sulking in peace.

I don’t feel that familiar stare on me so I take a deep breath and brave looking over there. I let out a sigh of relief when I find he’s not there, but Jesse is, and he’s watching me with calculating eyes, probably still wondering what the hell is up with me.

I give Jess a little smile and turn back to my table, which is when the door of the cafeteria opens. Nate walks in with a girl from my health class tucked under his arm and the sight has me ready to break down.

I was played like a fucking toy.

I watch with anger and hurt as they walk across the cafeteria and over to his usual table with his friends. He sits down and the girl falls into his lap before his eyes flick across to me. His stare cuts into me like a knife and I want nothing more than to go over there and tear him a new asshole.

I flick my eyes away as the sadness seeps out of me, leaving only anger behind. I want to hurt him just like he hurt me and the way the girl seals her lips to his has me pulling out my phone and getting him where it hurts. His best friend. Parker Jones. The one guy in the school who anyone can depend on for a good time. The guy who believes any hole is a goal.

Tora – Hey! What’s going on?

I look across the cafeteria to Parker and watch with a grin as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and scans over the message. His eyes flick up and he looks across at me with a seductive smile.

Parker – Hey, babe. Not much. What are you doing tonight?

My grin widens as his message is telling me that Nate hasn’t said a word about what happened between us. If he had, Parker would have deleted the text and never responded. I hit reply.

Tora – I’m free tonight. Come over?

His eyes flick back up to mine and I can practically hear him from across the room as he says, “Fuck yeah.” Nate looks across at him and watches as he types something on his phone. A second later, my phone chimes.

Parker – Aren’t you staying with Nate and Jess?

The way Parker looks back up at me has Nate’s eyes cutting across to me as he realizes who Parker is texting. I give Parker my man-eating smile from across the room and hash out my reply. I hit send a moment before Nate steals the phone out of Parker’s unexpecting hands.

Tora – Not anymore.

Parker tries to steal the phone back as Nate scrolls through the messages. Anger flashes in his eyes and I grin to myself for a job well done. That grin only gets bigger when Nate pushes the girl off him and flies to his feet. He throws Parker’s phone across the room and it smashes against the wall before he glares at Parker. “Stay the fuck away from her,” he demands with every eye in the room on him. A moment later, he barges his way through the door of the cafeteria and disappears.

Parker looks back at me with wide eyes and shrugs. “Sorry, babe,” he tells me and though he’s far away, I can still make it out.

I shrug my shoulders back at him and give him an apologetic smile as if to say ‘Oh, well. Maybe next time.’ I flick my gaze across to Jesse who has witnessed the whole thing, only now, the calculating look is gone and is replaced with understanding. And just like that, I realize he knows exactly what went down between us.

He gets up from his seat and tilts his head, indicating for me to follow him. I don’t want to go, especially out the doors that Nate had just gone, but I have a feeling he’ll just come back in and drag me out with him. “I’ll be back,” I tell Brooke who’s completely oblivious to everything that’s just gone on.

She nods and I get up out of my seat before following Jesse out the door.

I find him leaning against the wall and he instantly puts his arm over my shoulder and leads me away. “You fucked him, didn’t you?” he questions.

I let out a sigh and hang my head. “Don’t say it like that,” I tell him.

“Like what?” he defends as he pushes out the doors and leads me down the corridor of the junior’s lockers.

“You make it sound dirty.”

“Wasn’t it?” he questions.

I shake my head as he comes to a stop beside his locker. “I didn’t think it was until this morning,” I admit.

He presses his lips together and nods in understanding as he puts in the combination for his locker. “He left, didn’t he? He hurt you. That’s why you weren’t there this morning.”

I nod my head as he gets his locker open and reaches in to pull out an apple. He hands it over and I reluctantly take it. “I never would have done it if I thought he was just playing me. I mean, I’ve never felt so used before. He just turned me into one of his conquests.”

Jesse closes his locker and leans back into it while giving me a sad smile. “Do you need me to kick his ass?” he asks.

At that, a grin finally crosses my lips. “No,” I laugh. “If anyone is going to kick his ass, it’s going to be me.”

“That’s the spirit,” he says. “Why don’t you come back to my place? We can chill out and watch a movie.”

“Netflix and chill?” I scoff. “You’re not trying to get into my pants too, are you?”

“What? No,” he laughs. “No offense, I think you’re fucking hot, but I’m not into you like that. I just see you as one of the guys who’s a lot nicer to look at. Though, if you’re offering, I’m not going to say no.”