Elena’s POV
The rest of the morning blurred.
By third period, I still couldn’t shake Adrian’s words from earlier.
"I protect what’s mine."
Mine.
The word replayed on a loop, making my heart misfire every time.
I stepped into the art room and headed to an empty easel in the back. Only a few other students were there this early before the bell. I dropped my bag and reached for a pencil.
Then stopped.
Because someone walked in.
Not Adrian.
Someone worse.
Tyler Gray — running back of the football team, golden child of Crescent High, and the person who had been staring at me since day one like he knew something I didn’t.
He saw me and smiled, sharp and slow.
“There you are.”
Please no.
He walked straight toward me, too confident, like he expected me to be happy to see him. The ro
