Cole is with Teal in the garden, where he usually reads alone like a creep. What is he doing there with her?
And what is she doing with Cole instead of coming to me?
“I didn’t ask.” I smile at Aiden.
“I’m just saying. They were cosy.” He’s talking to me, but his lips are whispering the words against Elsa’s forehead. “Send me updates.”
And then he disappears with his girlfriend down the hall, and not in the direction of the pitch.
For a second, I stand there, processing Aiden’s words. He could be lying to get a rise out of me, but that’s the problem: he doesn’t — lie, I mean. He likes chaos, but not to the point of making things up.
Cole and Teal are cosy.
I run a hand through my hair. Fuck!
“Hey, Ron.” Claire’s soft voice barges through my head before she grabs me by the arm. “You look tense. Do you want me to loosen you up? Reese would help, too.”
I stare at her face, but I’m not seeing her. My dick is so flaccid, Ron Astor the Second is about to start weeping — and not in a good way.
Claire and her friend do shit for me now. I never even planned to fuck them, and my challenge to Teal yesterday was only that — a challenge. I never planned to act on it. I’m almost sure she never meant to act on her threat either.
So what the fuck is she doing with Cole?
“Later, Claire.” I push her and her disappointed expression out of view as I hurry to the other entrance of the school and towards the garden.
I try telling myself Cole isn’t her type. She prefers older and fucked up.
Still, cosy. Aiden said cosy. What does cosy mean? They’re sitting together under the tree and reading poetry? They’re talking — which is as cosy as Teal would get? Maybe they’re writing their own book titled How to be Fucked Up, and Other Questions.
Even as I tell myself that, my blood boils with every step I take. They’re not even in view and I’m about ready to cut a bitch and murder a fucker.
I try not to think of small things, like the fact that Cole was the first one she openly greeted when she first transferred to RES.
Or how when we watch games at Aiden’s house, he’s the only one she’ll willingly sit beside, and how she even listens to him when he speaks.
He’s not her type.
Then I recall the fucking fact that he’s the one who accepted her into his club and that he knew she’d be there that night. A coincidence, the bastard said.
There’s no coincidence with Cole. He plots everything to a T then pretends it’s been a coincidence all along.
The fucker.
My feet come to a stop of their own volition. Sure enough, Cole and Teal are sitting on the same bench, reading from a book.
They’re reading from the same fucking book like in some period drama.
Teal tucks her hair behind her ear. It’s useless. Her strands are too silky and will fall over her face in no time. She smiles up at Cole, and the fucker smiles back as if this is some sort of cheesy teen film.
My vision turns red.
I don’t care if this is planned by Cole and Aiden; they’ll all learn their places — starting with Teal.
A hand grips my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I stare down at Silver’s calculative features, her bitch mask in place and ready for trouble.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Aiden sent me a text to meet him here.”
Of course he did. That arsehole is out for blood while he’s shagging his girlfriend somewhere.
“He’s not here,” I mutter while gritting my teeth.
“I can see that.” Her gaze doesn’t leave Cole and Teal as she releases me and folds her arms.
“What are you going to do about it, queen bee?”
“What makes you think I’ll do anything?”
“Come on, Silver, it’s me. We both know you’re plotting trouble in that pretty little head of yours.” I grin. “How about a collaboration?”
She raises a brow. “A collaboration?”
“Cole and Teal think they can play everyone, but they didn’t consider us, did they?”
Her lips curve in a smirk, and I smirk back.
I warned Teal. I told her she’s fucked, but she didn’t listen.
If words didn’t put her in her place, action will.
Teal
Researching on Google is tricky. You have to know which resources to believe and which to chalk up to rumours.
Like the latest gossip about the Astor family. I wonder if Ronan knows about his uncle’s return and where the mighty earl is rumoured to have taken Charlotte the past months.
Not that I should care if Ronan knows or not. He’s an Astor, after all. If some forums on the internet know, he probably does, too.
Dad and Agnus always tell us to stay away from the internet’s rabbit hole since it says more lies than truths, but there’s no smoke without fire.
I can already see the Astor family’s demise, because I’ll make sure of it.
The only person who makes my chest do some strange stuff is Charlotte. I wish I could do this without implicating or hurting her, but as they say, there are no victories without sacrifices.
I’m so sorry, Charlotte.
Maybe I should stop the hypocritical stuff and not visit or text her anymore.
I switch to the article about the correlation between death and fear. It’s about how humans are instinctively afraid of dying, even those who are suicidal.
Fear of death is a foreign concept to me. Why would you be scared of something that will eventually happen? It’s coming anyway, so might as well make the trip towards it worthwhile.
“Death and war. Interesting.”
My head rises at Cole’s serene voice. He slides beside me, clutching a book called Calila e Dimna that has animal illustrations on it.
“Interesting book,” I say.
“I know. I finally got my copy.” He motions at my phone. “But it’s not as interesting as your article.”
I stare back at my phone. Death and Fear in Times of War.
I make the screen go black, not because I’m ashamed to read about it, but because Cole’s book seems more fascinating.
Cole is in his uniform, minus the jacket, and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled to beneath his elbows. With the calm expression on his face, he seems like one of those handsome book nerds whom the girls admire from afar. It’s for different reasons than Aiden. My sister’s boyfriend doesn’t care — at all. Cole does, but in a dispassionate kind of way.
When I came to RES, he approached me first and talked to me as if we’d known each other our entire lives. We also share certain…tendencies.
While our interactions are easy and raise no alarm, I know Cole always has a purpose up his proper sleeve.
He sold me out once, and if he thinks I didn’t figure it out then he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.
I might not be that good at deception, but I know how to lure someone to the battlefield.
“Tell me about your book,” I say.
“It’s old tales, or rather fables, translated to Arabic then Spanish in the twelve hundreds.” He opens the first page, running his fingers over the words.
“What does it talk about?” I motion at it.
“Philosophy told in the form of animals. For instance, the lion is the king, and there are others who represent different roles.”
“Such as?”
“The ox and the bull. What do you think they represent?”
“Cunning? Force?”
His lips quirk in a small smile. “Probably. Each fable has a purpose.”
“Just like every piece in chess and dominos?”
“Exactly.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Hey, it’s sort of like this entire school.”
He mirrors my gesture. “Possibly. We all fulfil a role.”
“What role do I fulfil in your game, Cole?”
“Woah.” He pretends to be taken aback. “You do me injustice, Teal.”