🌟🌟🌟

🌟🌟🌟

I pull up at school Monday, rubbing my temples from the throbbing headache since my alarm rang too early this morning.

After last night, my head feels sore from whatever my body took. I still dragged myself to school in the hopes I find Reese and explain what happened yesterday. Should I tell him about meeting my brother for the first time in eighteen years?

I'm worried the media will find out about Theo. I mean, he is the long-lost son of rockstar Mason Love. That is huge news. I'm sure it will make headlines everywhere and I don't know how deep that will affect Theo. Could I trust anyone with this information?

I walk the hallways towards my locker, noticing a few people staring at me. I shrug it off and open the small, metal maroon door to collect what books I need before my first class starts.

'Hey, did you hear Reese Black hooked up with Kira Summers last night?'

'Yeah, it was at Tina's party. They were together ALL night.'

'How long do you think that will last?'

'You know Reese, he jumps from girl to girl, even girls he's been with before.'

'I'm not surprised. He's so hot.'

The two girls talking about Reese disappear down the hallway, I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Hold on, Reese was at a party last night?

While I was drugged and taken from the club, he still attended an after-party?

Did you hear Reese Black hooked up with Kira Summers last night?

No, that can't be true. I know better than to believe silly rumours from random girls who no doubt have hooked up with Reese in the past.

Anxiety bubbles up in the pit of my stomach. He didn't message me back last night or this morning?

Did something happen last night after the club? Did he--

"Marnie!" I look over and see Sky running full speed and then I'm engulfed in a tight bear hug. She looks pale, her usually bright eyes are dull, with tired purple bags and unruly bed hair.

"Oh my God, you scared the hell out of me last night. What happened?"

She pulls away and I can finally breathe.

"It's a long story, some guy put something in my drink at the club but don't worry, I'm okay. I'm sorry I worried you."

Sky gasps. "Oh no! The same thing happened to me and I don't remember seeing you leave. Are you sure you're okay? When you left, we were freaking out!" Sky and I walk towards our first lesson of the day and I adjust my bag strap on my shoulder, listening to her talk about the club.

"Where did you go? One minute you were next to me at the bar and then you were gone?" I don't think it's the right time to explain to Sky about meeting my brother, she looks alarmed enough as it is.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, don't worry. Luckily, I found someone I knew and I went straight home. What about you guys?"

Sky sighs with relief. "Well everyone was worried sick but Reese looked angry. He went crazy and no one could control him." I flinch as she says this to me.

Oh God, I bet I'm going to get an ear full today. I need to find him quickly and explain everything.

"He went--" Sky stands motionless, her jaw drops open and her eyes widen into giant saucers. A frown paints my face at her reaction.

"What?" I follow her gaze across the hallway and that's when everything around me stops.

Bile rises in my throat as soon as my eyes zone in at the scene in front of me.

Oh, my God.

I want to scream.

I feel my heart shatter into tiny pieces on the floor. This can’t be happening. I struggle to take in breath after breath as my brain worked to figure out what was going on. My eyes burn with fat tears that don’t fall. I feel weak.

No, this is not real.

I shake my head, trying to wake up from this nightmare. I can’t stop the tremors rocking through my fingers.

My throat dries up staring at Reese, his tongue down the throat of a beautiful girl with strawberry blonde hair. He holds the back of her neck as he hungrily devours her mouth.

She leans back into the lockers, clearly enjoying what he's doing to her. Her hands hold on to Reese's biceps and then she moves one hand around his waist.

"What the fuck?" Sky glances at me.

I feel humiliated. Devastated. Numb.

I was so foolish to trust Reese with my heart. He's certainly the player everyone claims he is.

As if he's aware I'm standing here, watching him. I see Reese turn his head in my direction while his lips stay glued to the other girl. He watches me from across the room with a hard, calculated stare.

Tears blur my eyes as I watch him, hurt obvious in my face. He gives me a nasty look before returning to his new flavour of the month. No emotion on his face.

That's when I know for certain -- he doesn't care.

I turn on my heel, sprinting towards the girl's bathroom.

"Marnie wait!" I hear Sky call for me however, I can't slow down. My tears are running down my cheeks like Niagara falls. Everyone is staring as I rush past.

How could he?

I run into the girl's bathroom, locking myself in a small cubicle and taking some tissue paper to dry my wet eyes.

This is a nightmare. A horrible dream I do not wish was real.

I hear a faint knock on the door. "Marnie?" I sniffle, looking down at my pale hands, analysing the chipped black nail polish.

Of course, he never wanted me. I'm not pretty like all the other girls at this school, I'm a joke.

He's probably laughing at me right now. Another girl to add to his list.

"Marnie, I'm here for you. Are you okay? Please open the door."

I need to be brave, I need to look like I don't care. I snap my head up, wipe my eyes and leave the cubicle.

My friend looks at me with pity in her chocolate orbs.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'll kill him, we could do it together if you want?" I chuckle despite my heartache as Sky talks in specific detail about how she's going to castrate Reese.

"I'm so confused Sky..." I mumble under my breath.

A moment later the door opens and I can hear the sound of heels on the blushed tiled floor. I turn my head and see the stunning bottle blonde -- Harley.

"Oh, Marnie..." she looks startled to see me. Adrenaline surged through my veins. "What do you want Harley?" She tilts her head to the side, studying my tear-stained face.

"What's wrong with her?" she asks Sky like I'm not even standing here. Bitch.

"Reese Black, that's what's wrong. I'm sure you've seen him with Kira Summers just now?" Sky replies rather coldly.

Harley sighs, fixing her hair in the bathroom mirror. "That's just Reese, he chooses a different girl when he gets bored with the one he's with. He's been flirting with Kira for weeks. I don't know why because she's hardly pretty and he's already slept with her last spring."

"What!?" Sky screeches next to me.

Harley snorts. "Yeah if you aren't aware, he's already slept with half the female students at this school. He's a player and he always will be. Did you think you could change him?" she looks at me with a small smirk and my throat burns.

My heart feels heavy.

I guess she has a point.

"Believe me, sweetheart, many have tried to change him. Even I did."

"What happened at the party last night?" I glance between Sky and Harley, did anyone see him there?

"Well I saw Reese getting close with Kira at the club and that's when she invited the band to Tina's party. Later, we played truth or dare. Reese kissed Kira and then she gave him a lap dance. I think that turned him on because the next thing you know -- they both disappear upstairs. Ezra told us he walked in on them having sex."

I want to cry.

How could he do something like this? Somehow I’d been wrong when I thought he cared. I believed every stupid lie he spewed.

"Marnie are you okay?" Sky rubs my shoulder cautiously.

I take a deep breath and sniffle. "It's fine, we should head to class." I start walking to the door when suddenly I stop in my tracks, facing Harley again.

There is one more thing I need to know before I leave.

"By the way, I saw you last night when I was drugged and barely conscious, why didn't you help?"

The spheres of her eyes grow wide with fear. "E-excuse me?" she stutters. She didn't think I would remember seeing her, but I did.

"I almost got kidnapped or possibly worse if someone didn't come and save me. I saw you outside the club and I know you saw me." my voice is hoarse from crying.

"I think you were seeing things, I swear, I never saw you." she shifts from foot to foot. She can't look me in the eye right now.

I squint at her and she flinches. "I know what I saw Harley. You are a nasty piece of work and I can't understand how you can stand here and lie to my face."

I stalk out of the bathroom with my head held high when I hear her voice calling me, I turn around to face her. "I'm sorry." she whispers.

I flick my chin and walk out of the bathroom. Sky follows closely behind, clearly shocked about the whole situation.

That makes two of us.

The rest of the day passes and everyone talks about Reese and Kira 'potentially dating'. I shut out the whispers and comments aimed at me. I carry on with my day as if there's nothing wrong.

Reese ignores me completely. It's like he doesn't even know me. I don't sit at their usual table at lunch. Hell, I don't have much of an appetite to eat my lunch.

Roxy glances at me a couple of times, her expression looks thoughtful and bewildered.

Kira saunters over and sits next to Reese, her long tanned legs touching his knees. He doesn't bat an eyelid, he just stares ahead, looking cold and indifferent.

By the end of the day, I'm walking aimlessly through the car park when I see a familiar truck next to my Jeep. My mood suddenly changes and I smile from ear to ear.

Theo.

He leans against his truck, arms crossed over his chest and looking down at the dirt-covered ground. When he glances up and sees me approaching, he smirks. I jog the small distance between us and wrap my arms around him and he spins me around.

I can't believe I've lived eighteen years of my life not knowing I had the coolest brother.

"Hey, kid!" he smiles down at me happily. I giggle, my mood lifting.

I'm about to reply, only I get cut off and suddenly all hell breaks loose.

🌟🌟🌟