It took everything in her being not to throw the locker door into his smug face. Pace had never responded to her threatening text message earlier this week about interfering with Coach Baker. She was left waiting for another double-cross, and all she wanted to do was wrap her hands around his neck and throttle him. Except he might enjoy that. Gross!
“Isn’t it enough that you harass me at home, Pace?” She stuffed her books into her bag.
“Hardly.”
Bryna wrinkled her nose and slammed the locker shut.
“So, Jemma’s party?” he asked again.
“No,” she spat. “I’m not going to Jemma’s party. I have better things to do.”
Bryna started walking down the hall, but Pace fell into step beside her.
“What better things? Off with your mysterious stranger again? Are you going to tell me who he is? I know it’s not Gates since he’s out of town.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bryna said.
Why does Pace have to latch on to this one thing? She couldn’t let him find out about Jude. This was her secret to keep, and she didn’t want Pace to have any leverage over her. He clearly wanted to ruin her life, and she shuddered to think what he would do if he found out.
“Don’t you have class on the other side of campus?”
“I do,” he agreed and then went right back to the other subject. “You should bring him to Jemma’s party, so we can all meet him.”
She stopped and glared at him. “I’m not going to Jemma’s, and even if I were, I would be going solo.”
“Because your date is too good for a Harmony party?”
“You’re really stretching today, Pace.”
She shook her head and vowed not to let him get under her skin. Just because he had told Coach Baker that she had been out on a date didn’t mean that he knew it for a fact. How could he know when he was at the football game and the only person who recognized me was a nobody, just some club promoter?
Pace smiled the toothy grin that made her skin crawl. “I’m going to find out who he is, Bri.”
“Good for you. Bye-bye now.” She wagged her fingers at him and then stepped into English, her final class of the day.
Striding to the back of the room, she took her spot in between Avery and Tara. Avery immediately leaned over and started gabbing about something that had happened in her last class. Bryna couldn’t concentrate on her nonsense right now.
Pace needed to stay out of her business, and she needed to start avoiding him at all costs. While her idiotic stepbrother was Valley trash, she wouldn’t put it past him to resort to anything to discover who she was seeing. And if he found out, he would reveal her secret, and she couldn’t risk Jude finding out that she was in high school. Not yet at least. She would have to undermine Pace before he could learn anything.
“Earth to queen bee,” Tara said.
“What?” Bryna asked. She shook her head and turned to her friend. What was she asking?
“You have been way out of it lately.”
Bryna shrugged. “I was plotting revenge.”
“Revenge plots! Count us in,” Avery squeaked.
“I’ll call in reinforcements if necessary, but for now, I have it covered.” At least she would when she figured out how to bring Pace down. The bastard would realize she was not to be messed with.
“Well, we were just asking about Jemma’s party,” Tara said.
“Yeah. Did you want to coordinate, so we arrive together?”
“Excuse me?” Bryna arched an eyebrow.
Avery and Tara exchanged hesitant glances.
“You can totally arrive last, Bri. We don’t want to impose. We’ll let you know what we’re wearing, so you can make a grand entrance,” Tara said quickly. She chewed on her thumbnail and turned to Avery for back up.
“Even better,” Avery said, “we can find out what Jemma is wearing!”
“Plan our own sabotage!”
“Girls,” Bryna said, holding up her hand, “I’m not going to Jemma’s party.”
“You’re not?” they asked in unison.
“No.”
“But her parents are out of town. I heard she even invited guys from Covenant,” Avery told her.
Covenant was another local private school. They were rumored to have the hottest guys, and Harmony girls all flocked to them to find out if it was true. Bryna always thought that the rumor had been spread by people who couldn’t get into Harmony.
“Who needs Covenant when I have all of Los Angeles to myself?”
Avery and Tara shared a confused look, and Bryna sighed dramatically.
“Max got me on the list at a completely exclusive new club. It’s so outrageous that it doesn’t even have a name right now. Everyone is just calling it X.”
“X?” Tara asked.
“Like ecstasy?” Avery guessed.
Bryna laughed. “Let’s hope that’s just the warm-up round.”
Both girls giggled.
“You truly are the queen, Bri,” Avery fawned. Tara nodded enthusiastically.
“I know.” She smiled with approval at her two subjects.
Her English teacher started up his lecture, and Bryna pulled out her phone. She typed out a text message to get her plan set in motion.
Max, get me on the list for X on Saturday night.
“YOU PLANNED THIS WHOLE THING, didn’t you?” Pace asked, barging into her room.
“That’s it. I’m going to get a deadbolt installed on my bedroom door. I don’t even know how you got through that lock!” Bryna cried.
Pace produced a credit card. “Don’t they teach you spoiled rich kids anything?”
“Clearly not,” she drawled sarcastically. “Now, get the fuck out of my room.”
“You think this is all a game? Is that what your fucking text meant?” he demanded.
“Oh, so you did read it.”
She crossed her arms and sank into her hip. At least she was finally getting through to him. Even if she couldn’t keep him out of her fucking room.
“Don’t fuck with me, Bri. My mom is downstairs right now. She just told me that she hasn’t seen me enough, and suddenly, me and the twins are supposed to have a family night.” Pace accusingly glared at Bryna.
Bryna shrugged innocently. “I can’t help what your mom wants you to do.”
“And it all happens on the same night as the biggest house party of the year. It’s not a fucking coincidence!”
Her grin only widened. “Coincidences happen all the time, Pace.”
“Is this just a pathetic attempt to get back at me for talking to your cheer coach?’ he demanded. He looked ready to blow a gasket. “Or are you just pissed because you’re not queen of Harmony anymore?”
“If I’m not queen, then why am I leaving to go to X while you’re staying here to play board games?” she asked with a triumphant smile.
“You think you’re going to leave this house and go to some ecstasy party while I’m stuck here?” Pace crossed his arms and stood in her way. A bulldozer could have been less formidable. “Fuck no.”
“That’s cute.” She fluttered her fingers at him, trying to remain nonplussed. “But I’m not part of whatever family gathering you have planned for tonight. As far as I’m concerned, you’re just some total creeper living in my house, so get the fuck out of my way.”
“Or else what?” he asked.
“Or else I’ll scream. Try to explain that one.” She sent him a seething stare.
He glared back at her, but then he stepped out of the way. “I’m going to get you for this.”
“Whatever, Pace.”
Bryna strode out of her room and down the giant staircase. Her stepmother was standing at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled and waved Bryna over.