“Yeah, really.” I jam one finger in the center of her chest, right between her perky boobs. “I’m capable of taking you down all by myself, Jordan.”

“It’s a whole new era here at Astor Park, Ella. The Royals don’t call the shots anymore. I do. One word from me, and every single student at this school will be happy to make your life miserable.”

“Gee, I’m terrified.”

Her lips curve. “You should be.”

“Whatever.” I’m sick to death of this chick’s power trips. “Get the hell out of my way.”

She tosses her shiny brown hair over one shoulder. “What if I don’t feel like it?”

“Everything okay here?” a male voice asks.

We both turn to see Sawyer standing there. His redheaded girlfriend, Lauren, is with him. She glances uneasily at Jordan, then me.

“This doesn’t concern you, little Royal.” Jordan doesn’t even look at him, but she does take the time to sneer at Lauren. “Doesn’t concern you either, Donovan, so why don’t you and Sawyer get out of my face. Or is it Sebastian? I can never tell those two apart.” An evil gleam lights her face. “What about you, sweetie? Can you tell them apart? Or do you keep your eyes closed when they’re doing you?”

I’d wondered if Lauren knew about the twin switches Sawyer and Sebastian were pulling on her, and the expression on her face right now answers that question. Instead of shocked, she looks embarrassed and indignant.

But the girl has bigger balls than I thought, because she faces Jordan’s mocking gaze and says, “Fuck off, Jordan.” Then she clasps Sawyer’s hand and drags him away from us.

Jordan laughs again. “That whole family is twisted, huh? But I bet you get off on that, just like that slut Lauren. Right, Ella? A dirty stripper like you probably enjoys getting tag-teamed by two Royals.”

“Are we done here?” I ask tightly.

She winks at me. “Oh, sweetie, no. We’re never going to be done. In fact, we’re just getting started.” She flutters her fingers in a dainty wave, then strolls down the hall without a backward look.

I watch her go, wondering what the hell kind of chaos I’ve come back to.

At lunch, Valerie and I sit at a table in the corner of the room, where I try to pretend that we’re the only two people who exist. It’s hard, though, because I can feel everyone’s eyes on me and it’s making me nervous.

Val takes a bite of her tuna melt. “Reed’s staring at you.”

Of course he is. I shift around and spot him at a table jam-packed with football players. Easton’s there, too, but he’s all the way on the other side of the table instead of in his usual spot next to Reed.

I spare a glance at Reed, who’s watching me with piercing blue eyes. The same eyes that grew heavy-lidded every time we kissed, that blazed hotly every time we were in the same room.

“Are you ever going to tell me what went down between you two?”

I tear my gaze away and force some pasta in my mouth. “Nope,” I say lightly.

“Aw, come on, you know you can tell me anything,” Val urges. “I’m a vault.”

My hesitation doesn’t stem from a lack of trust. Sharing just isn’t natural for me. I’m more comfortable swallowing my emotions. But Val’s expression is so earnest that I feel obligated to offer a few details. “We were together. He screwed up. We’re not together anymore.”

Her lips twitch. “Wow. Anyone ever tell you you’re a terrible storyteller?”

I grimace. “It’s all I’ve got right now.”

“Fine, I won’t bug you about it anymore. Just know that I’m here to listen whenever you’re ready to talk.” She uncaps her water bottle. “So what are we doing tonight?”

“Aren’t you sick of me already?” I tease. After the disappointing meeting with Lucy, I went back to Val’s and we pigged out on cake and watched all three of the Step Up movies. Easton wandered off in the middle of the second one and didn’t come back.

“Hey, I’m in mourning.” She glumly sticks out her lower lip. “I need you to distract me so I don’t think about Tam. Halloween was our favorite holiday. We used to do couples costumes.”

“Aw. Did he text you again?” He messaged her three times last night, but Valerie had ignored them.

“Constantly. Now he’s talking about driving down so we can talk in person.” She looks stricken. “Broken hearts suck.”

Don’t I know it.

As if on cue, my phone sounds the text message alert. I wince when I see Reed’s name on the screen.

Don’t read it, I order myself.

Like an idiot, I read it.

Stop acting like u don’t give a damn about me. We both know u do.

I clench my teeth. Ugh. Arrogant ass.

Another message pops up: U missed me when u were gone. Same way I missed u. We’ll get thru this.

No, we won’t. I want to shout at him to stop texting me, but the one thing I know about Reed Royal—he’s a selfish jerk. He does what he wants, when he wants it.

And his next message is just a reminder of that.

Brooke was a mistake. Happened before we met. Will never happen again.

Just the sight of Brooke’s name has me curling my fist around my phone. Before I can stop myself, I type back a blunt message.

I’ll never forgive u for sleeping with her. Leave me alone.

“You know I’m still here, right?”

Val’s dry remark brings on a guilty flush. I quickly shove my phone in my bag and pick up my fork again. “Sorry. I was just telling Reed to screw off.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “God. I missed you, you know that?”

I laugh too, and for the first time all day, it’s actually genuine. “I missed you, too,” I tell her, and I mean it.

When the final bell chimes, I’m more than ready to get the hell out of here. My first day back was about as fun as being waterboarded. The mean laughter, the whispers, the sneers and nasty looks. I’m ready to lock myself in my bedroom, blast some music, and pretend that today never happened.

I don’t even bother going to my locker. I shoulder my bag, text Val that she should let me know if she’s coming over later, and hurry out to the parking lot.