Devious Little Liars (Saint View High, #1)

by Elle Thorpe

“Quit fucking around and let’s go,” he said to Banjo and Rafe. “Leave the princess alone.” I bristled at his tone. “I’m not a princess.” He raised one dark eyebrow. “No? Do you see anyone else around here driving a seventy-five thousand dollar c...

“You don’t get to judge me.” Jagger sucked in a tiny breath beside me. She shook her head ever so slightly. “Untouchable,” she said beneath her breath. Colt bent down, leaning in until we were eye to eye. “You should listen to your friend there, princess. I do whatever I want around here. If I want to judge you, then there isn’t a thing you can do about it. Is there?”

Then he ran one finger down the side of my face, starting at my temple and tracing his way along my jaw. I knew a power play when I saw one. He expected me to back down. To flinch away. I wouldn’t. Not now, on day one. Not ever. It took more than a handsome face who overestimated his importance to intimidate me.

So instead, I got closer. I got so close our faces were less than an inch apart. If I’d been across the parking lot and seen a guy and a girl this close, I would have assumed they were going in for a kiss. My body flushed with heat at the thought, even as I fought to keep my anger...

“The pauper bows to the princess, Colt. You’d do well ...

A voice in the back of my mind whispered that perhaps that wasn’t the only reason I felt like a jerk right now. What I’d done with Colt…played on the fact I had money and he didn’t… I clenched the steering wheel tighter. No. I wasn’t going to feel bad about that. He’d been the one to call me a princess. I’d just played into it. Yeah. Like that really made me a hero.

I trudged up the stairs, my limbs heavy with guilt. That wasn’t who I was. I knew what it was like to have nothing and no one. I might not have remembered much about the years before my aunt and uncle had adopted me. But I’d gathered together enough bits and pieces of conversations to know we’d been dirt poor.

My aunt and uncle often told the story about how when I arrived on their doorstep, I had nothing but the clothes on my back and a ratty teddy bear.

“Start talking, Lacey-Lou. I’m pretty sure this morning I heard you say you were enrolling in Saint View High.” “I did.” “Are you on drugs? Is this a cry for help?” I snickered. “No. I’m fine.” “You’re not fine if you willingly enrolling in that school. I heard they have to have armed security guards because a kid was stabbed there. Rumor is, he bled out on a classroom floor.”

“So, your plan is to just go all high school detective like you’re Veronica Mars or something?”

Though there were some problems even Willa couldn’t help me with. And some I wouldn’t tell her, solely for the fact I loved her like a mother, and I didn’t want her worrying about me. So, instead, I laughed a little too loudly and made my posture as casual as possible.

“I mean it, Banjo. Leave me alone. It’s none of your business.” “Boy drama?” She rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I’d be crying over a boy?” I shrugged. “Isn’t that what girls do?” “Only the dumb ones,” she muttered.

“Wow. Harsh. We boys mean so little, huh?” She softened. “I’d cry over you, B. You know, if you got a raging case of gonorrhea and died or something. I’d miss my brother’s annoying best friend barging into my room whenever he feels like it.”

I winced at the thought of my headstone saying I’d died from an out-of-control STD. Was that even possible? My hands subconsciously drifted to cover my junk. Ari’s mouth lifted at the corners. A relief settled over me. She wasn’t just Colt’s younger sister. I’d always thought of her as mine, too, and even though...

But I also knew all about not wanting to share your secrets with the world. And I wasn’t going to try to pry Ari’s from her if she w...

“My brother is probably waiting for you. And judging by the music he’s been blasting since he got home from school, he’s in a mood. Good luck with that.”

The room was large, which was why Willa had let Colt have it. It had space for my drum kit, which lived here permanently so Colt and I could practice together. My brother had claimed the attic in our house, running his business from it. Our bedrooms on the second level, like Aria’s, were small and cramped. Definitely not big enough for two guys and the mess of thrift shop instruments they’d taught themselves how to play over the years.

Colt didn’t even look up from his guitar. He had his eyes closed, his fingers all over the fret, pulling sounds from the guitar that I’d never been capable of. Eventually, when he showed no signs of stopping, I went over to my drums and took up a beat. The stress left me as I played. Every hit of my sticks against the top head released a little more of the pent-up frustration I constantly carried.

“Fine. Let’s talk about the new girl. I call dibs.” I gave them both a shit-eating grin. “You know that girl I was telling you about from my gig in Providence last night? It’s her.” “What?” Rafe and Colt said in unison. I nodded. “Yeah, small fucking world, huh? She lives in that big-ass mansion, and then she turns up at Saint View. Crazy.”

Rafe was shaking his head. “Great story, but you ain’t calling dibs. She’s fine. And my dad actually seems to like her.” I scoffed. “You want to date her because your dad approves?” Rafe reached over and shoved me in the arm, sending my stool sliding on its wheels. “No, I want to date her because I can’t stop thinking about how hot her legs looked in that skirt.”

“Nah, Colt. I’m not. Whatever you’ve got against her, you’re going to have to get over. I like her.” Colt scoffed. “You like her tits.” “True,” I admitted. “But she didn’t talk to me like I was beneath her at the funeral. There’s something between us. And I know she was feeling it, too. I’m not playing when I say I want to get to know her.”

Colt paused for a moment, but then a flash of pain twisted his features. He got it under control quick, but I’d seen it. And judging by the expression on Rafe’s face, he’d seen it, too.

When Colt lifted his head, his eyes were glassy. I recoiled. I’d known Colt since just before our tenth birthdays. And the only time I’d ever seen him cry was when he’d told us his dad was dying from cancer. “Fuck,” I swore under my breath. I abandoned the drums and sat on the floor in front of the other two. “What the fuck happened? Who is this girl to get you like this?” Colt shook his head. “It’s not my place to say. I swear, if I could tell you, I would.”

Colt swallowed hard and met both our gazes before he said anything. “I’ve never asked you guys for anything, have I? I’ve been there for you, keeping your secrets about your brother—” he looked at me, and a flush crawled up the back of my neck. He turned to Rafe. “And about your dad?” We both nodded. His gaze hardened. “Lacey needs to go back where she came from. For all of our sakes.”

I hadn’t come down this far yesterday, after my lunch break got swallowed up by the guidance counselor. If I had, there’s no way I would have missed the gigantic glassed-in trophy cabinet. The thing was huge, standing floor to ceiling and several feet wide. Every shelf was filled with sporting memorabilia. Trophies, banners, certificates, awards, photos…it was a mishmash, completely unappealing to the eye, most things obviously just shoved in haphazardly, but I was a little surprised by how much there was.

This school might not have been up there in the academic stakes, but judging by the sheer number of trophies, sports was where they excelled. Football, cheerleading, lacrosse, basketball…

“Banjo asked you out yesterday. Quit dodging the topic. Judging by the way you two were just eye-fucking, you want to say yes.”

But somebody had killed my uncle and started a fire to cover it up. A fire that had nearly killed me before I’d been carried out. They could have left me for dead. Hell, they should have. I was now potentially somebody who could identify them.

“Was asking me out yesterday just some sort of prank between the two of you?” “Yep,” Colt said. “No!” Banjo said at the same time. “Seriously, Colt, fuck off. I’m doing what you want, don’t make it worse.” A tiny part of me wanted to know what he meant by that, but a much bigger part wanted to save face. Which meant getting out of Colt’s firing range. “Come on,” I said to Jagger. “I’m over this.” “Damn straight.” She smacked Banjo on the back of the head as we walked past. “Hey!” he complained, rubbing the spot where Jagger’s palm had made contact with his skull. “You deserved that. And you,” she rounded on Colt. “You’re a dick.”

Halten. Principal Simmons tells me you’re quite the musical prodigy.” I shook my head. “That might be a bit of a stretch. But I do love it. It’s my whole life.” She gave my hand a little squeeze. “Good for you. Enthusiasm is more important than some preconceived notion of a God-given talent anyway. You can learn almost anything if you’re willing to practice.”

“What exactly is your problem with me?” His eyes narrowed, and his voice lowered. “If you don’t know, it’s not worth explaining.”

“Can we talk?” he asked me. “Banjo!” Colt said again. “You’d better go. Your king is calling.” “He’s not my king,” Banjo muttered. “Could have fooled me,” I said quietly. There was no malice in my voice this time, though.

“So, this is senior year,” Miss Halten said, finally capturing my attention. “Right off the bat, I’m setting your first assignment. There’ll be a concert at the end of semester. Time will be limited, as the other performing arts classes will also be involved. Therefore, this semester’s assignment is to work in pairs. I want you to find a song that suits both partners’ strengths, because you’ll be marked together. So don’t go hogging the limelight for yourself. If you don’t share the weight, you both fail.”

person to do a solo.” “How will that person be chosen?” Gillian called out. “Will there be auditions?” Well, that confirmed it. Gillian’s eagerness could have been heard by a deaf person. “No. The spot will be given to the student who has the highest marks the week before the concert. So I suggest you all practice a piece and have it ready to go in case you’re chosen. Any other questions?”

“You’re the one who said you didn’t want to go out with me. Make up your mind, Banjo. I don’t play games.” He sighed. “I’m not playing anything. But it’s complicated.” “I don’t do complicated either.”

I’d never been to the mall in Saint View. I gawked around at the different stores, food courts, and the Saturday morning crowd like a little kid who’d never seen the ocean.

“They share an Instagram account?” I scoffed, taking in the username. Gillyncolt. “Jeez, co-dependent much?”

“There might be a new princess in town, but Saint View High already has a king and queen. This is one throne you won’t ever get to sit on.”

“Okayyyy,” I drawled, letting out a long breath. “Do you want to tell me what the hell all that was?” She pinched the bridge of her nose like she had a sudden headache. “Old history with a sad ending. Can I tell you later, though? It’s a downer, and we’ve got a party to get ready for.”

My aunt would have had a fit and compared the dress to something a two-dollar hooker would wear. Okay, perhaps she wouldn’t have said it in those exact words, but I could easily imagine her horror. Which was exactly why we’d gotten ready at Jagger’s place. Jagger’s mom was young—like, actually young, not full of Botox young—and she’d said our dresses were hot. That was it. No, be home by midnight. No, be responsible.

“Thanks. Come find me if you get lonely. And remember, fuck everyone else. You’re fabulous, and if they can’t see that, then their loss.”

Sure, I wouldn’t normally have worn heels this high or a dress that showed this much skin. I would have been labelled a cheap slut if I’d rocked up at a Providence party with a hemline that barely covered my ass. But I liked the way I looked. Who got to determine what was slutty anyway?

“Colt warned you away from me? And you listened? What is he, your owner?” Anger swirled in my stomach, replacing the warmth that had been there a moment ago. “That’s such bullshit. You and I were…we had…shit, I don’t know. But we were something before I even met Colt.” I dropped Banjo’s hand. I didn’t want to be holding it if he was just Colt’s little puppet.

“It’s not like that. Colt’s not just my friend. He’s more like my brother. We’re family, even if we aren’t blood related. Yeah, he told me to stay away from you. And yeah, I’d do anything for him. I’ve got good reason for that. But he’d do anything for me, too.”

“Then why aren’t you staying away from me? Why are you out here with me right now, offering to drive me home, and holding my hand?” I peered up into his eyes, really wanting to know. He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair back from my face. “Honestly?” I nodded. “Because I can’t. I nearly didn’t come at all tonight because I knew you’d be here. That’s why I’m so late. But then I get here, determined to ignore you, and you’re fleeing the party like Cinderella at midnight. And here I am, with...

“I still want to do that. Nothing has changed for me, Lacey. I still want to take you upstairs and make you feel good.”

Tell him, my brain urged. Tell him you’ve never had a guy’s fingers there before and you’re the tiniest bit scared even though you’re so damn horny at the same time. Tell him to be gentle.

He tilted his head to one side, studying me. “You a virgin, princess?” I groaned. “Why is everyone in this school so obsessed with that?” He shook his head. “Not obsessed. Just want to know so I don’t go too far. Tonight, anyway.” A tremble of anticipation rolled down my spine. There was a promise in his words that I liked. “Yes,” I said quietly. “That was the first time I’ve even…”

“You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about. You know that, right? The fact you’re still a virgin is smoking hot.” “You think?” He kissed me again. “You kidding? I love it.”

“I don’t think that’s how this is supposed to work. I offer to touch your dick, and you instead decide to feed me?” He scrubbed his hands over his face and groaned. “Come on. Let’s go get that food before my dick realizes what I’ve done.”