Mad Boys (Blue Ivy Prep, #2)(81)

Right in the middle of all of it was a pile of shit. A legitimate pile of shit. There were also print outs and magazine clippings. I had my phone fisted in my hand as I stared at the photos of me and the douchebags. In each one, they had their faces scratched out.

The smell and the damage…it was awful.

It was also creepy as fuck. Backing up, I began my retreat and then froze. I had two stands in my bedroom. One for each guitar. The cases were in the closet.

One of my guitars was still there with every single one of the strings cut and the fret board looked awful. Tears clogged in my throat. But the second guitar…

The one Dad gave me.

It was gone.

I swung my gaze around at all the destruction. Where was it? Why wasn’t it here?

What if they destroyed it, too? The strings could be replaced and I could fix the fret… but if it was gone.

My eyes went hot. The smell was making me gag, and I pulled the phone up to dial security as I made it to the sitting room. Something hard hit the back of my head. It was like slamming into a wall if I’d been falling. As it was, I pitched forward and my phone went flying as I tried to catch myself.

I managed to get my hands out, hitting my knees hard enough to jar my teeth. Shoes entered my periphery, but I couldn’t get my eyes to focus and I tried to lift my head when another blow crashed into me and the world went black.





Thirty-Three





LACHLAN


“So why no college?” I asked as I followed Jonas toward the stairs. I’d “run into” him coming out of the music hall where he’d been using one of the studios. I’d had a lecture one building over, and I’d only had to wait fifteen minutes for him to emerge.

The shift in his schedule to be around for Ace on the weekends hadn’t been lost on me. Nor the fact that Ace typically went to the library to study with her best friend right around this time.

He paused at the first step to stare at me. Eyebrows raised, I waited for him to shake his head and climb the steps before I continued after him.

“Don’t want to go,” he said, and it was so grudging, it kept me from actually smirking that I got him talking. “Kind of like you.”

“Eh, I am going to college.” At my protest, he glanced over his shoulder at me.

“Here…you’re taking basic bitch classes here rather than Stanford where you could be working on going pro or at least training in sports therapy.”

“Always time for that later.” Shrugging that off was easy. I busted ass to get into Stanford. I had a plan. The plan might be shifting, but I still had one.

“Then same,” Jonas said.

“Same that you’ll go later?” We were on the second floor, and a girl I barely recognized detached herself from another grouping to head toward us. Yeah, nope.

“Same as in always time for it later,” Jonas said, then paused as the girl cut between us and the stairs.

“Hi Jonas,” she said, her smile almost nervous and shy—except her eyes weren’t. Head cocked, I glanced from the brunette to my brother then back. She caught my glance and licked her lips.

Still a no from me. As weird as it was to have girls living in this dorm, this was weirder.

Instead of saying anything, Jonas just stared at her.

“Do you have a minute?”

I could predict his answer. In three, two…

“No,” Jonas said, sidestepping her and continuing to climb the stairs.

“Oh, I was…” She hesitated then looked at me since she was now between us before she twisted to glance up at my brother. He hadn’t turned around; if anything, he’d paused only to let her finish the sentence. “I was kind of hoping you’d go with me to the Fire and Ice Party.”

Huh. Forgot that was coming. Maybe I could coax Ace into going. With her blue hair she’d look amazing as an ice princess.

Not turning, Jonas said, “No.” Then he continued up the stairs, not waiting for her to say another word. It was both hilarious and sad. The girl turned wide eyes on me. Her cheeks were red and flushed, and there was a hint of tears in her eyes.

“He’s not very big on verbal,” I told her, more out of pity than anything else.

She sniffed. “I don’t suppose…” Her hopeful look pretty much flushed my sympathy right away.

“Sorry, I’m taken.” I gave her a little salute and then followed my brother up, taking two steps at a time until I caught up with him. “Okay,” I said, picking up the thread of our interrupted conversation. “What do you plan to do, if not college?”

“Might study with my dad for a while.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” It wasn’t a taunt, but I was curious.

“‘Cause you’re an asshole?” Jonas said in a tone so damn dry it made me laugh.

“While you’re not wrong, pretty sure that’s not why I don’t believe you.”

He almost cracked a smile. The fourth floor was at least quiet. Most of the noise from downstairs muted the higher we climbed.

“Are you going to keep chasing KC?” Jonas asked abruptly.

I slid my hands into my pockets. They were still a bit chilled from outside. Most of the time, I didn’t take more than the jackets we were required to wear with our uniforms and it was enough.