Chapter 5 Five

"Get lost." Lilith snarls at Blaise, before spinning me around and slamming me against my locker.

"I said, enough!" Blaise bares his teeth, fists balled at his sides. Would he really hit a girl? Would he really hit someone to help me? “You know the rules. Now back the fuck o .”

Lilith's hands skate down to my throat, wrapping around it and squeezing, but not with enough force to cut o my air supply. "Get o me, you fucking bitch,” I howl. Tears stream down my face, but I don't even care. My heart is pounding so hard and nothing matters right now. No one matters. Screw them all.

Lilith gets right in my face. The scent of her mint gum lingering between us. "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me."

I don't even see it coming when her hand smacks me across my cheek. The sting only fuels the fire inside of me. I bring one hand up between us and grab hold of her face, palming it and squeezing so hard that my nails dig into the skin of her forehead and her cheek. Then, I drag my fingers down, clawing and dragging skin beneath my nails. Blood begins to surface as Lilith takes a step back. "My face! You scratched my fucking face." She leans in and breathes fire down my neck. "You're gonna fucking die. On the day of your birth, of all days."

Lilith parts the crowd as she walks away, her minions following behind her.

Blaise towers over me, pinning me with a scathing glare. "You done fucked up, Penny."

My stomach somersaults. I think he's right. Fighting back against Lilith James is a mistake. But, I don't regret it. Not even a little bit.

The students begin to scramble, heading to class before the bell rings. My heart rate begins to settle down with my nerves, although it's still beating kind of rapidly. "Why are you still standing there?" I ask Blaise, who's looking at me with that same death glare. My shoulders shrug. "Are you waiting for me to thank you for trying to stop Lilith?"

"Don't thank me. Lilith might've made a threat because you're an easy target and a fun toy, but if it ever comes to it, I'll be the one to carry it out. That's a promise. You see, Penny, I know what you've been doing. You act all innocent, even though you're nothing but a little whore, just like your mama."

Blaise finally stops looking at me and grabs a girl walking by. I'm not even sure who she is. I think she might be a senior cheerleader. She giggles as he grabs her by the ass and walks behind her, whispering something in her ear over her shoulder.

Once he’s done breathing down her neck, he looks back at me and winks.

He's a damn sociopath. And I've got to live with him.

ALL DAY LONG, all I've been able to think about are Blaise's words. Not the threat—that doesn't even faze me because I've heard so many of them—but the name he called me. A whore. Just like my mama. How can a virgin be a whore and what could I have possibly done to claim that title?

I try to brush it away for the umpteenth time, but it lingers.

"Happy birthday to my very best friend," Emery says, skipping to my side as I walk to my locker that is now only partially covered. The janitor tried to scrub it clean, but it seems the permanent marker is pretty indestructible. The principal said that since there were no witnesses, there would be no punishment and they'd have it painted by Monday morning. It's the end of the school day, and Friday, so hopefully when school resumes after the weekend, it’ll be gone.

I'm still pissed that Emery dipped out when I could have used someone on my side. So, I don't say anything to her as I grab my bag and slam my locker shut.

"Hey, are you mad at me?"

I look over at her with knitted eyebrows. Then back in front of me as we walk side by side to the exit. Emery always gives me a ride home now that she has her driver's license. I almost caught the bus but don't want to deal with people more than I have to. So, I'm sucking up just for the ride.

"What the hell did I do?"

Giving her the same look, I stop walking. "You didn't even try to help me. I was being pulled and dragged by my hair and you just hid."

Emery places a hand on my arm. "I'm sorry, Pen. She scared me, too."

"Yeah right," I huff, "you're obsessed with Lilith and her crew."

"Wanting to fit in and being obsessed are two different things. Don't you want to fit in? Or do you prefer to live in the shadows of everyone else while getting trampled on?"