The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(50)
Author: Suzanne Young

After history, I had left Kira to walk the opposite way down the hall when someone touched my elbow. I swung around, startled.

“What the flip?” I said. It was Christian, looking haggard, exhausted. Jingle bells! This kid was hard to shake. “Please don’t talk to me,” I mumbled, turning away from him. I started walking again and he fell in step next to me.

“I want to apologize,” he said. My eyes felt heavy. So did my heart.

“Not accepted.”

“Tessa, please,” Christian said, grabbing my arm and swinging me around. I gasped. He was still not allowed to touch me.

“Get your hands off of me,” I hissed, trying to pull my arm away.

His face twisted, but instead of backing up, he yanked me closer. “But … you kissed me back, Tessa. You kissed me last night.”

He was desperate. The look on his face was absolutely desperate. I was nauseated by the reminder and the smell of spearmint that washed over my face. His hands had touched me yesterday. Ick. I pulled my arm out of his grip.

“Was it you?” I asked. Did I want the truth?

“Was what me?” Christian licked his lips, looking at mine. Gross! Dream on. His mouth would never touch me again.

“Did you send the text about Aiden and Chloe? Did you and your sister plan this whole thing?”

It only took a second for his cheeks to turn red. Carpal tunnel syndrome! That sneaky son of a biscuit. He’d sent a fake message. I’d been so stupid.

“Yes, but hear me out,” he said, reaching to touch my hand.

“Ew, no!” I pushed him backward, and a few people turned to look at us. We were quickly drawing a crowd. “It was you! All along it was you, orchestrating everything!” I was yelling. I was yelling at school and I wasn’t in the gymnasium. “I can’t believe how manipulative you’ve been. Oh, my word!”

Christian’s mouth hung open; he was probably shocked that I was screaming at him, embarrassed that everyone was watching us. But I wasn’t ready to stop there.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, self-consciously. “I just really liked you. I thought if you—”

“That’s not an excuse!” I pushed him backward again. He stumbled. “I’m so sick of you right now.” And I was. I looked him up and down, my purr transformed into a hiss. “I can’t believe your tongue was ever in my mouth!”

The crowd collectively gasped. Well, if they didn’t know about me and Aiden before, they certainly did now. It didn’t matter. I was done with secrets.

“Stay away from me,” I said in no uncertain terms. Christian looked crushed, and for a second, I felt bad about it. Like I’d broken his heart. But then I remembered how his hand had slid under my skirt as I cried. Jerk. Big stupid jerk.

I twirled around, turning my back on him, on the crowd, and I marched. I stomped down the hall and headed for Aiden’s class. He’d talk to me. I wouldn’t let him ignore me.

A few people whispered as I walked by. My reputation was ruined, and maybe by the end of the day, they’d know about SOS too. I turned down the English hallway and I saw him.

I saw the tousled blond hair and the long, lean body. Suddenly my urge to cry was back.

“Aiden!” I called. He stopped walking but didn’t turn around. My heart sped up.

I trotted ahead, and when I reached him, I took his forearm, turning him to me. His skin was so warm. Sweet kitty princess! I missed him.

Aiden gently removed himself from my hands. “Hello, Tessa,” he said looking down at me. I couldn’t read his expression, but he hadn’t shaved. He was sort of disheveled, and I loved him like that.

“You didn’t take my calls,” I said, my voice sad.

Aiden’s face twitched a little, but he straightened it. “I’m sorry about that,” he answered. His green eyes flicked to my Band-Aid. “I heard you needed to get stitches.”

He heard? Was he asking about me? That was sweet.

“I got one,” I said, trying to sound cute, the way he used to like me.

Aiden chewed on his lip, watching me, calm and collected. “Tessa,” he said, dropping his eyes. “I think I need a break.”

The bell rang, sending students running past us in the hallway. But Aiden and I stood there, staring at each other. It got very quiet, and I could barely breathe. “A break?”

Aiden looked down at my lips but then clenched his jaw and looked past me. I wondered if he was imagining Christian’s mouth there. “I can’t be with you anymore,” he said. “Not after … everything. All the lies.” He shook his head.

“But—”

“It’s over. I’m sorry.” He wouldn’t look at me.

I didn’t want to cry in the middle of the hallway, but I felt like I needed to defend myself. I wanted Aiden to understand. “We started SOS with good intentions, Aiden. They were cheating. All those guys were cheating, don’t you see that?”

He snapped his green eyes to mine, pulling back his mouth in a sneer. “And you were spying, sneaking around. Why was it your business? It wasn’t. You had no right.”

Ouch. There was a pain growing in my chest, getting deep and heavy. “I still love you, though.”

Aiden blinked and sniffled once before looking away. “Yeah, well. It’s not just about you anymore.”

“Don’t,” I said, but when I reached for him, he stepped back. Away from me.

I blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears from spilling. I needed to go home now. My life had just been thoroughly thrashed. Aiden didn’t want me. The boy didn’t want me anymore.

“I’ll see you around, ba … Tessa,” he murmured.

I felt absolutely defeated. Aiden turned and slowly began to walk down the empty hall, dragging his sneakers on the linoleum. I stared after him, no longer needing to hold back my tears. Just as I closed my eyes, they leaked down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure how to do this. How to properly grieve for him. Cookies and ice cream couldn’t solve this problem. I wasn’t sure anything could.

Christian started calling my cell, but I didn’t answer. He didn’t deserve that satisfaction. I deleted his messages before listening to them. I was sure that the Smitten Kittens were trying to keep SOS alive without me, especially Leona, but I’d given up all control. I’d barely been showing up for practice. I’d even missed last week’s game.

Aiden didn’t sit at our lunch table anymore. He sat with Darren and the team. I stared at him sometimes, but he didn’t look back. He just kept his head down and chewed his food. He looked as sad as I felt.