Chapter 11

"Why does she want a meeting?" I asked my father, who was sitting on the couch, fiddling with the laptop with Tomy. "What's wrong with her?" I insisted.

"I don't have anything," he finally replied, "but one of the biggest supporters of your campaign approached me," he revealed, making me smile.

"Is that bitch afraid of losing her position as mayor or a buyer?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Also smiling, my father got up and poured himself a drink. I followed, excited—it was good to see Gabriela with her tail between her legs.

"He's an exporter; he transports Gabriela's drugs out of the United States, but he doesn't seem satisfied with the Lilys' work lately," he commented, drinking his whiskey. "He wants to broaden his horizons and get to know our product," he explained without showing any interest. It was difficult to read his thoughts; I might be his son, but there were parts of this man I never truly knew.

"Don't you want to?" I asked, confused.

"I want many things, but I'm a very patient person," he replied without haste. "Now that we've turned down the invitation, Gabriela will try to retaliate," he warned as he returned to the couch—Tomy was still absorbed in the documents. "She'll keep an eye on everything we've done and try to drive that buyer away. Stay alert and steer clear of the police," he ordered, returning to his seat without looking at me.

I snorted and left the office for the empty corridor, then headed to my room, noticing the sun rising through the open windows. The sky had a clear shade of blue and yellow; with a long sigh, I entered the room and flopped onto the bed.

I fell asleep quickly.

"This is an order."

"Fuck your orders; if you don't get out of my way, I'll kill you too, traitor," Ryuuji declared.

I felt something touching my arm, dragging me away from the nightmare, and I opened my eyes to find Kenji by my bed.

"Take a shower and put on your uniform; you can't keep running away from school," he warned as he walked away.

Forcing myself to get up, I felt the sun warm my exposed skin. I ran a hand over my face—I felt tired and achy. Still drowsy, I looked at the boy dressed in the red and black uniform with the fox emblem embroidered on his blazer.

"What's wrong? Need help taking a shower?" he mocked, aware of my gaze.

"Idiot," I muttered in a weak voice, and I dragged myself to the bathroom in search of a cold shower.

After fixing my hair, I examined myself in the huge mirror in the closet; the fabric of the uniform was soft and fit my body well. I left the closet to find Shin and Kenji playing video games in my living room.

"Let's go," I called, tossing my backpack over my shoulder.

The television was turned off, and we left the room together.

"Now school is going to be more interesting," Shin commented, hugging my shoulders.

"You don't tell me you couldn't have fun in that place without me?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course we did," Kenji said, touching my shoulder with his, "but it's not the same without you," he assured, smiling.

The fresh morning air was pleasant, and as we approached the parked car, I ignored Artemis, who was sitting on the hood in the Red Fox uniform.

"She's coming with us," Shin warned, opening the car door.

I stared at the girl once more, catching her indifferent gaze. She ignored me before smiling at the boys and trying to tell them apart.

"I'm Shin," Kenji joked, but the real Shin hit him on the back of the neck, making him whine. "Brute," he mumbled as he got into the car.

"You're beautiful."

My insides churned as Shin adjusted the girl's tie with an intimacy that made my stomach twist. Artemis looked at him adoringly, and the smile that took over her made her just another teenager completely in love. I rolled my eyes and climbed into the car.

The drive to school was silent, laden with tension—even so, Shin was the only one oblivious to it. He smiled and hummed a tune that was playing in his head.

Arriving at the parking lot, I scanned the campus filled with uniformed students; it was easy to spot platinum hair in the crowd.

"Thanks for the ride; I'll see you in PE class," Artemis announced, and as she left the car, she was immediately greeted by a group of girls.

I frowned, noticing that none of them were part of Hebi, though they didn't seem afraid to get involved with one of its members.

"She's popular," Shin commented, reading my thoughts. "She made the honor roll at school in her third month, she's also on the Student Council, a member of the judo and math club, and the teachers love her," he explained, not hiding a hint of pride.

"Where are you going with this?" I retorted.

"You'd like Artemis if you weren't so determined to hate her for being your half-sister," Kenji replied, pushing my shoulder.

"If you really knew her, you'd understand the immense value of having her as an ally—especially after being away for so long," Shin explained, meeting my gaze. "The members also like her—the way she acts and leads; you two would be very well together," he declared, making my brother agree.

"You don't understand," I retorted as I continued through the parking lot, ending the conversation.

"Ryuuji," Shin called after me as he tried to catch up.

"That's enough!" I declared, but my attention shifted when I heard motorcycles entering the parking lot.

I stopped on the small steps leading to the school doors, my gaze fixed on Matias as he removed his black helmet. He was wearing the red uniform, but his white shirt was unbuttoned and tie-less. He was so attractive it hurt to look at him. I averted my gaze to a red-haired boy who caught his eye and made him laugh openly.

"Who is that?" I asked, assessing the boy with black glasses and hair falling over his shoulder. I didn't recognize him, but I already hated him.

"Kaleo. He arrived in town with Matias," Kenji replied, looking in the same direction.

"Is he a Lily?"

"Yes, and a pest," he said, making a face.

"You're only mad because that girl chose to be with him instead of you at that party," Shin mocked with a smile.

"Ah! You little shit, I told you never to bring that up," he retorted, grabbing his brother by the hair, and Shin just laughed at his reddened cheeks.

My gaze remained fixed on the short boy, who was tying his hair with a radiant smile. Matias leaned on his motorcycle, listening to every word with a small smile.

The bell signaling the start of class echoed through the campus, putting everyone on alert. With a swirl of thoughts in my mind, I entered the school and headed for the office. There was no one else in the corridors when I encountered a young man at the counter.

"Ryuuji Hataki," I said, breaking the silence. "I need my class schedule; you didn’t send it by email," I explained, keeping my hands in my pockets.

"You should have arrived earlier. The principal wants to talk to you," he stated, picking up the phone. I kept staring at him, a little pleased to know I would miss the first class. "You can go in," he informed, still holding the phone to his ear.

I looked at the wooden door on the other side of the hallway and entered without knocking. The first thing I noticed was how that place seemed frozen in time—the dark wooden furniture, the imported rugs, and the large curtains decorating the windows. Nothing had changed.

"Ryuuji, sit down," the woman ordered from behind the enormous handmade, aged oak desk. "You look well," she said, assessing me closely.

I remained silent, studying her tailored red suit, her short curly hair, and skin as dark as Artemis’s. Even though her appearance hadn't changed much, Bervely seemed lighter.

"You too. You look prettier. Did you finally leave your useless husband?" I asked, relaxing in the chair.

"I got divorced, but that’s not—"

"So you followed my advice. It was about time. That idiot was draining your youth," I interrupted, wishing I had been around when it happened. I would have given her a gift.

"We’re not here to talk about my divorce, Ryuuji," she pointed out gently, "but about your future. After what happened, many parents are concerned about your presence," she revealed without hesitation.

"You already accepted me," I reminded her with a shrug.

"That doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. This is still my campus, and it’s a neutral zone. Hebi, Lily, none of that means anything here," she shot back confidently. "I know you. You were one of the best students, a golden boy to me..."

"Now you have Artemis," I interrupted, letting a charming smile take over.

"Artemis is impressive," she admitted, filled with pride. "My new protégé, as you must already know," she added, and I nodded, trying to suppress my jealousy once again. "Ryuuji, why did you...?" she hesitated.

"Don’t ask," I advised, forcing her to stop. "You yourself said none of that matters here, so why get involved?" I questioned, holding her gaze.

"Are you going to behave?" she demanded, leaning back in her chair.

"I always behave," I replied, flashing her a smile.

"If only that were true," she scoffed. "Dismissed," she finally declared.

I left the office feeling comfortable and grabbed my class schedule, walking through the empty hallways toward my first class. I wasn’t surprised to be denied entry and forced to wait outside until the lesson ended. I also didn’t bother sitting on the floor, knowing the boring professor would just make me stand up again.

Standing there, watching the world outside through the windows, I wished I were anywhere else—maybe eating pizza at a diner or making out in a car. Both options sounded great to me. I sighed, resting my head against the wall, and didn’t move when I heard hurried footsteps approaching. But my eyes were drawn to the person they belonged to.

Matias entered the classroom, only to be kicked out and placed in the hallway with me. I raised an eyebrow when he refused to stand near me and chose the opposite side of the corridor instead. I smiled internally, studying his handsome face.

Minutes dragged by, and it was so satisfying to test his patience.

"Are you an idiot?" I asked, irritated.

"If you’re bothered, just stop staring at me," he shot back in a low voice.

I narrowed my eyes, letting my gaze travel down his neck to his unbuttoned shirt. I noticed the fresh bruises on his knuckles and wondered if they were from training or if he had gotten into more fights. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but we kept staring at each other in a silent war that stirred indecent and wicked thoughts in my mind.

"Seriously?" he asked, frowning. I didn’t need to look down to know what he was referring to—I could feel the uncomfortable pulse of my hard-on under my uniform.

"Memories," I teased in a murmur. His beautiful face twisted into disgust and anger.

"Sweet memories," I sang, aiming to provoke him a little more. But Matias turned his face away, hoping I wouldn’t notice the deep red spreading across his olive skin.

Cute and depraved—I could suck him off right there if he wanted.