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Chapter no 18

Crave by Tracy Wolff

โ€ŒItโ€™s Discretion, not Diamonds, Thatโ€™s aโ€Œ

Girlโ€™s Best Friend

โ€œYou sure youโ€™re up for this?โ€ Macy asks several hours later as I grab a sweatshirt from my closet.

Is she kidding? โ€œNot even a little bit.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s what I figured.โ€ She heaves a huge sigh. โ€œWe could cancel if you want. Tell everyone youโ€™re still not over the altitude sickness.โ€

โ€œAnd have Flint think Iโ€™m chicken? No thank you.โ€ I actually couldnโ€™t care less if Flint thinks Iโ€™m afraid or not. But Macy has been so excited about this snowball fight that thereโ€™s no way Iโ€™m going to take it away from her. The fact that she offered to cancel because she knows Iโ€™m not into it only makes me more determined to go. โ€œWeโ€™re doing this snowball fight and weโ€™re going toโ€ฆโ€

โ€œKick some butt?โ€

โ€œI was thinking more along the lines of not make complete and total fools of ourselves, but way to think positive.โ€

She laughs, as I intended her to, then bounds off the bed and starts layering up big-time. Whichโ€ฆfinally, someone at this ridiculous school who has some sense. Between the jerks I met the first night and then Jaxon and Lia, Iโ€™m beginning to think everyone in this place has some bizarre immunity to cold. Like maybe theyโ€™re aliens and Iโ€™m the

ignorant and fragile human living among them.

After we both finish getting dressed inโ€”I counted this time

โ€”six layers, she herds me toward the door. โ€œCome on, we donโ€™t want to be late or weโ€™ll totally get ambushed.โ€

โ€œAmbushed. With snowballs. Sounds fantastic.โ€ San Diego has never looked so good.

โ€œJust wait. Youโ€™re going to love it. Plus, itโ€™ll give you a chance to meet all of Flintโ€™s friends.โ€ She checks her makeup one more time in the mirror by the door, then all but shoves me into the hallway.

โ€œAllย of Flintโ€™s friends?โ€ I ask as we make our way through

the halls. โ€œExactly how many people are going to be at this thing?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t know. At least fifty.โ€

โ€œFifty people? At a snowball fight?โ€ โ€œMaybe more. Probably more.โ€ โ€œHow does that even work?โ€ I query.

โ€œDoes it matter?โ€ she answers, brows raised.

โ€œYes, it matters. I mean, how can you possibly keep track of that many people trying to throw things at you?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t think you keep track of them so much as try to flatten everyone you come across without being flattened yourself.โ€

โ€œMaybe youโ€™re right. Maybe the altitude sickness is coming back.โ€

โ€œToo late.โ€ She links her arm through mine and grins. โ€œWeโ€™re almost there.โ€

โ€œSo can you be a little more specific about who all is going to be there? Anyone Iโ€™ve already metโ€”I mean, besides Flint?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t know if Lia will be there. Cam wonโ€™tโ€”he and Flint donโ€™t really get along. Itโ€™s aโ€ฆthing.โ€

I think about asking exactly what kind of thing sheโ€™s referring to, but the truth is, I donโ€™t care if Lia shows up. Or Cam. Thereโ€™s only one person Iโ€™m trying to find out about, and since Macy isnโ€™t getting there herself, I guess I really am going to have to ask.

โ€œHow about Jaxon?โ€ I keep my voice light even though, after our encounter earlier, my heart is pounding at the mere mention of his name. โ€œIs he going to be there?โ€

โ€œJaxon Vega?โ€ By the time she gets to the second syllable of Jaxonโ€™s name, her voice is little more than a squeak.

โ€œHeโ€™s the one we saw in the hall that first day, right?โ€ โ€œYeah. Umโ€ฆyeah.โ€ Macy gives up any pretense of chillโ€”

and of walking, as it turns out. Instead, she turns to me, hands on her hips, and demands, โ€œWhy are you asking about Jaxon?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t know. Weโ€™ve met a couple of times, and I just wondered if he was into snowball fights.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™ve metย Jaxon Vegaย a couple of times? How exactly did you meet, considering Iโ€™ve been with you almost all the time since you got here?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t know, just walking around the school. It was only a few times.โ€

โ€œA few times?โ€ Her eyes almost bug out of her head. โ€œThatโ€™s more than a couple. Where? When?ย How?โ€

โ€œWhy are you being so weird about this?โ€ Iโ€™m seriously beginning to regret bringing Jaxon up. I mean, she was freaked out over Flint, but it was a fun kind of freaked out. Right now, it looks more like sheโ€™s going to blow a gasket.

โ€œHe was in the hallway; I was in the hallway. It just kind of happened.โ€

โ€œThings donโ€™tย just happenย with Jaxon. Heโ€™s not exactly known for being talkative with anyone outside ofโ€”โ€ She stops abruptly.

โ€œOutside of what?โ€ I prompt. โ€œI donโ€™t know. Justโ€ฆโ€

โ€œJust?โ€ I ask. She smiles a little sickly but doesnโ€™t say anything else, and it annoys me. Like, seriously annoys me. โ€œWhy do you keep doing that?โ€

โ€œDoing what?โ€

โ€œYou start sentences and then never finish them. Or you start to say something and halfway through change what you were saying to something else entirely.โ€

โ€œI donโ€™tโ€”โ€

โ€œYou do. All the time. And honestly, itโ€™s beginning to feel a little weird. Like thereโ€™s some kind of secret Iโ€™m not supposed to know. Whatโ€™s going on?โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s ridiculous, Grace.โ€ She looks at me like Iโ€™m a few snowflakes short of a snowball. โ€œKatmere is just, you know, full of all kinds of weird cliques and social rules. I didnโ€™t want to bore you with them all.โ€

โ€œBecause youโ€™d rather I commit social suicide?โ€ I arch my brow at her.

She rolls her eyes. โ€œSocial suicide is the last thing you need to worry about here.โ€

Itโ€™s the first real thing sheโ€™s said since we started this conversation, and I jump on it. โ€œSo whatย doย I have to worry about, then?โ€

Macy sighs, low and long and just a little sad. But then she

looks me in the eye and says, โ€œAll I was going to say is that Jaxonโ€™s not very friendly with people who arenโ€™t in the Order.โ€

โ€œThe Order?ย Whatโ€™s that?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s nothing, really.โ€ When I keep looking at her, silently pushing her to continue, she sighs again, then adds, โ€œItโ€™s just a nickname we gave the most popular boys at school because theyโ€™re always together.โ€

I think about the guys Jaxon walked into the party with and the ones who were with him in the hall when Flint was carrying me to my room. At the time, I remember thinking that Jaxon looked like the leader, but I didnโ€™t think much of it. I was too busy trying not to stare at him.

Based on my recollections, Macyโ€™s explanation is reasonable. Still, thereโ€™s something about the way she says itโ€”and the way sheโ€™s looking everywhere but in my eyesโ€” that makes me think thereโ€™s more to the story than sheโ€™s letting on.

Although, standing in the middle of the hallway doesnโ€™t seem like the best place to keep pushing at her, especially since we really are going to be late if we donโ€™t get moving.

With that in mind, I start walking and Macy does, too, but she sticks close to my side. I give her a weird look, wondering what sheโ€™s up to, at least until she asks in a kind of stage whisper, โ€œHave you met the others, too?โ€

โ€œThe other guys in the Order?โ€ I feel a little ridiculous just saying the name out loud. I mean, theyโ€™re twelfth-grade students at a boarding school, not running a monastery in Tibet. โ€œNo. Iโ€™ve only met Jaxon.โ€

โ€œOnly?ย You mean he wasย alone?โ€ Now she doesnโ€™t just

look worried; she looks downright sick. โ€œYeah. So?โ€

โ€œOh God! What did he do? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?โ€

โ€œJaxon?โ€ I canโ€™t keep the surprise from my voice.

โ€œOf course Jaxon! Thatย isย who weโ€™re talking about, right?โ€ โ€œNo, he didnโ€™tย hurtย me. Why would you even think that?โ€

She throws her hands in the air, frustration and fear evident in every line of her body. โ€œBecause heโ€™s Jaxon. Heโ€™s a one-man demolition crew. Itโ€™s what he does!โ€

โ€œHe wasโ€ฆโ€ I shake my head, try to think of the right word to describe our interactions. Then go with generic because I figure Macy wonโ€™t get it anyway. โ€œMost of the time he was actually kind ofโ€ฆinteresting.โ€

โ€œInteresting?โ€ This time she looks at me like I just said I wanted to bodysurf the Alaskan tundra. โ€œOkay, Iโ€™m confused. Are you sure weโ€™re talking about the same Jaxon?โ€ She pulls me into the nearest alcove, then grabs my hands and squeezes them tightly. โ€œReally tall, really gorgeous,ย really scary? Black hair, black eyes, black clothes, and a smoking-hot body? Plus the arrogance of a rock starโ€ฆ or the self-proclaimed dictator of a not-so-small country?โ€

Iโ€™ve got to admit, itโ€™s a pretty good descriptionโ€”especially theย arrogantย part. And theย really gorgeousย part, even if it doesnโ€™t take into account a lot of the things that make him so attractive. Like his eyes that see way too much and the way his voice gets all dark and growly when he expects things to go his way. Not to mention the thin scar that turns him from merely pretty to sexy. And also scary as hell. โ€œYeah, thatโ€™s him.โ€

โ€œYou know you donโ€™t have to lie, right? You can tell me what happened. I swear I wonโ€™t tell anyone if you donโ€™t want me to.โ€

โ€œYou wonโ€™t tell anyone what?โ€ Iโ€™m thoroughly confused now. Because while it might have been a stretch to call Jaxon interesting, I canโ€™t imagine why the fact that Iโ€™ve met him is eliciting this kind of response from my cousin.

โ€œWhat he did to you?โ€ She starts looking me over, like sheโ€™s searching for some proof that I survived a rabid Jaxon attack.

โ€œHe didnโ€™tย doย anything, Macy.โ€ A little impatient now, I pull

my hands from hers. โ€œI mean, he wasnโ€™t Gandhi. But he helped me out when I needed it, and he sure as hell didnโ€™t hurt me. Why is that so hard to believe?โ€

โ€œBecause Jaxon Vega isnโ€™t helpful to anyone. Ever.โ€ โ€œI donโ€™t believe that.โ€

โ€œWell, you should.โ€ She enunciates each word in an obvious attempt to make sure I listen toโ€”and understandโ€” what sheโ€™s saying. โ€œBecause heโ€™s dangerous, Grace.ย Veryย dangerous, and you should stay as far away from him as you possibly can.โ€

I start to tell her that heโ€™s not the dangerous one, but then I remember the way Marc and Quinn fell right into line the second he showed up. It was hard to miss the fear on their faces, and not just because heโ€™d sent them flying across the room.

Now that I think back on it, theyย hadย been scared of him.

Like, really scared.

โ€œIโ€™m serious. You need to be careful of him. If he really was helpful to you, itโ€™s only because he wants something. And

even that seems strange, because Jaxon takes what he wants. Always has, always will.โ€

Iโ€™ve been here three days and even I know thatโ€™s not true. Which is probably why I say, โ€œJaxonโ€™s the one who kept Marc and Quinn from throwing me out in the snow, Macy. I donโ€™t think he did it because he wanted something from me.โ€

โ€œWait.ย Heโ€™sย the one?โ€

โ€œYes, he is. Why would he do that if heโ€™s such a bad guy?โ€ โ€œI donโ€™t know.โ€ She looks stunned. โ€œBut just because he

helped you once doesnโ€™t mean heโ€™ll do it again. So be careful with him, okay?โ€

โ€œHeโ€™s not the one who tried to kill me.โ€

She snorts. โ€œYeah, well, youโ€™ve only been here a few days.

Give it time.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™sโ€ฆโ€ For long seconds, I trip over my tongue as I try to find a comeback that will show her how absurd she sounds. But in the end, I canโ€™t get past the annoyance her words cause and end up saying exactly what Iโ€™m thinking. โ€œA really awful thing to say.โ€

โ€œJust because itโ€™s awful doesnโ€™t make it any less true.โ€ She gives me a no-nonsense look that seems incongruous with her normally effervescent personality. โ€œYou need to trust me on this.โ€

โ€œMacyโ€ฆโ€

โ€œIโ€™m serious. Donโ€™t worry about me being too harsh.โ€ She narrows her eyes at me in obvious warning. โ€œAnd donโ€™t worry about Jaxon Vega. Unless youโ€™re trying to figure out how to stay as far away from him as possible.โ€

Behind her, something catches my eye, and my mouth goes dry. โ€œYeah, well, that might be a problem.โ€ I barely

manage to get the words out past my suddenly tight throat. โ€œAnd why is that exactly?โ€

โ€œBecause Iโ€™m not going anywhere.โ€ Jaxonโ€™s low, amused voice cuts through my cousinโ€™s umbrage, has her eyes going wide and her skin draining of color. โ€œAnd neither is Grace.โ€

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