But I didn’t.

Because there’s only one girl I have ever wanted or will ever want.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Kali asks me after a moment, and I open my eyes to see her frowning. She looks up at me. “You’re not, like, impotent or something, are you?”

“Listen to me, Kali. If you let me go now, I’ll walk out of here and we never have to see each other again. You can run, and we won’t chase you. I give you my word as part of Havoc. This doesn’t have to end the way you think it will.”

She ignores me, tucking some hair behind her ear, and then gently prodding her swollen lips, like she’s trying to gauge how much pain they’re still in. When she leans forward, I just know she’s going to try to take me into her mouth.

So … I do it. I vomit. All the fuck over the bed, too.

“Jesus Christ, Aaron!” she snarls, backing away from me and standing up in a furious rage. “That’s how much you hate me? Enough to puke all over me?”

“This has nothing to do with you, Kali,” I lie, my pants undone, feeling more rage and vulnerability in one moment than I ever thought possible. “I’m not feeling good; I think I need a hospital.”

“Shut the fuck up!” she screams at me, moving over to slap me across the face. I welcome the pain because at the very least, she isn’t touching my dick anymore. “You’re so goddamn obsessed with Bernadette, and you’re so disgusted by me. Well, guess what, soldier?” She pops her hip out and flips her hair the way I’ve seen her do hundreds of times. “After tonight, there isn’t going to be a Bernadette.” Kali leans in toward me, and I can see every single hole where Stacy stuck that needle through. “Because I’m going to finish this. Then it’ll just be me and you, and you can’t hold strong forever.”

She turns and heads for the door, even as I beg her to stay.

“Kali, wait!” I scream, my voice echoing around the quiet house. But she isn’t coming back, even when I shout and yell until my throat is hoarse and my head is pounding.

With my hands in cuffs, and my feet tied with rope, I’m really struggling to figure a way out of here. If I had even one hand free, I could use my shoelace to get the other cuff off. I’ve got special laces, ones where the aglet hides a key that can open any pair of handcuffs. They’re literally sold for this exact purpose.

Just … I can’t reach them in the position I am now.

Tightening the muscles in my legs, I try to pull on the footboard, just to see if it might come apart or if I can crack the wood enough to get the ropes free. Unfortunately, it’s this thick ass rustic log cabin looking thing, and it feels like I’m tugging at a block of solid cement.

As I’m contemplating my next move, Kali comes back into the room. She’s dressed in a short, green party dress with her hair piled on top of her head, her makeup applied so well that it almost looks like she just got lip fillers or something rather than, you know, getting her mouth sewn shut for being a snitch.

“Listen to me, Kali,” I plead, not concerned about dignity at this point. I’ll beg her. I’ll promise her whatever she wants. Of course, the second I get out of this, I’m going to kill her, but she doesn’t need to know that. “We can be together; Bernadette doesn’t matter. She isn’t important.” The words, lies they may be, but they fucking kill me. I want to goddamn scream right now.

“Then fuck me,” Kali says, lifting her skirts up and climbing over me again. This time, she isn’t wearing any underwear, and I nearly gag when she rubs against me. “Screw me, Aaron, and prove it to me. If you do, I won’t go to the dance, and I won’t try to hurt Bernadette.” She grinds on me again, but I can’t help the basic level of revulsion that I feel, or the way nausea churns my stomach. Bernie wouldn’t want this anyway. She’d want me to let Kali go to the dance, so she could kill her herself.

Because I know she’ll be there. Havoc will go the dance, with or without me, because it’s the best place to start looking. Somebody like Kali isn’t a good enough liar to fool someone like Cal or Vic. No fucking way. Once you know to look for these narcissistic victim types, you wonder how anyone ever falls for their shit.

“You know Ophelia had the Vincents killed?” I ask, trying a different tactic. “The walls of their house were literally dripping with blood. They’d been decapitated.”

Kali doesn’t seem to care.

Instead, she scowls and climbs off of me again.

“Yeah, I know. I was there.” She tosses her hair and sighs, looking me over like I’m pathetic. I must look it right now, tied up, my flaccid dick hanging out, but really, Kali has no idea what she’s just done. I didn’t like her before; it’s my personal mission to see her suffer now. “But don’t you worry, Aaron Fadler. I’ll take good care of Bernie for you tonight.” Kali kisses me on the forehead as I struggle against the bindings, screaming her name as she leaves the room, and I hear the front door close behind her just a few seconds later.

That’s when the true feeling of hopelessness kicks in, when I hear a car start outside.

But then I remember who Kali will be dealing with.

Bernadette fucking Blackbird. She’s going to skin that bitch alive.

Now, I just need to find my fucking balls, remember that I’m the letter A in Havoc, and get the fuck out of here.

Bernadette Blackbird

The winter formal is being held in the Prescott High gymnasium. It’s a sad, sorry fucking building with a sagging roof and water-stained floors. Once, a kid tried to hang himself from the rafters, but the beam snapped, and he ended up breaking his legs instead.

Wow.

What a building to hold a party in.

On a positive note, the money from the Oak Valley Prep kids has helped hide the decay and rot and general feeling of sadness that permeates this building. There are balloon arches, a photobooth, round tables with white linen cloths, and an entirely catered menu being served off of a buffet table. There’s even a ‘bar’ serving Shirley temples and shit. If you know the right passcode, the bartender will add booze under the table for five bucks a shot.

“I feel stupid being here,” I admit to Hael as we walk inside, arm in arm. Vic takes up the rear of the group for once, with Cal just behind and to my left, and Oscar mirroring him on the other side. Everyone turns to look at us when we walk in, just like they always do. They, of course, notice that Aaron’s missing within about two seconds, and rumors start to fly.

Within twenty seconds, I hear one being whispered at a table nearby about how he likely switched schools just to get away from the rest of us. My lips twist into a scowl, and I feel suddenly stupid for wearing a pink dress with such a short skirt. And why did I pick high heels again? Oh, that’s right. Just in case I need to stab a bitch in the eye, the stilettos should come in handy.

“Don’t,” Hael says, looking around for any of the key members of the Charter Crew. The only one I can see is Billie, and she doesn’t look every excited to be here. As soon as I see her, I feel something inside of me snap a little. I am done. I am just completely fucking done. “We’re here for a reason, Bernie. If Aaron can get here tonight, by any means, he will. He’d know we had to come.”