Natalya
As I search his ice-blue eyes, I wonder what I’ve done to inspire hatred from a boy I don’t even know. It’s impossible to understand, so instead of saying another word, I turn away and walk toward an empty table near the back. Once I’m almost at the table, someone calls my name.
“Hey, Natalya.”
I turn to see Adrianna sitting nearby, watching me. I’ve spoken to her briefly in physical education and she’s always been friendly, even if we’re not friends.
“Hey,” I say, clenching my jaw as I try not to let the pain in my chest draw tears. All I really want is to eat fast and go back to my room to sob into my pillow.
“What was that all about?”
I shrug. “New kid doesn’t like me and Jeanie cares more about hot guys than her friend.”
Adrianna pats the seat next to her. “You are welcome to join me, Giorgia, and Azira.”
I glance at the other two girls sitting at her table, who I’ve never spoken to but know by name.
Azira smiles at me. “Yeah, that’s pretty shitty what Jeanie just did.”
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and then nod. “Sure, thanks.” I place my tray down on the table and sit next to Adrianna, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m not sure what I did to piss Alexander off, to be honest.”
Giorgia shakes her head. “Jeanie’s the one in the wrong. She should have told him to fuck off.”
I smile. “Thanks for letting me eat with you guys.”
“Sure thing.” Azira’s eyes turn angry. “I hate bullies with a vengeance. Especially Jeanie.” Her jaw clenches slightly. “Even though you’ve been friends with her for years, you never got involved in her antics.”
It’s true. I’ve always been too involved in my studies to be bothered with Jeanie’s constant obsession with school hierarchy and making the new kids feel like shit. However, I’ve never been one to stand against it either.
As I gaze over to the table I’ve sat at since I was eight years old, I notice Jeanie smirking at me as she whispers something to Anita. They all laugh and I feel heat flood through my entire body.
“Assholes,” I mutter.
Adrianna nudges me gently. “Ignore them. You don’t need girls like that in your life.” She clears her throat. “You are welcome to hang out with us whenever you want.”
Azira raises a brow. “As long as you aren’t too cool for us.”
I shake my head. “Why are you guys being so nice to me when I’ve always hung out with a bully?”
Giorgia shrugs. “Because I can sense a kindred spirit a mile off. It’s a bit of a gift.”
I smile, sensing that I’m going to get on well with all these girls. It’s a shame it’s taken this long for me to speak to them, since they’ve attended this school as long as I have. “So, I don’t really know much about any of you. Where are you all from?”
“Sicily,” Giorgia says, which explains the accent.
“I’m from Chicago,” Azira replies. “You’re from Boston, right?”
I nod in response. “Yeah.” I glance at Adrianna. “How about you?”
Her brow furrows a little, as if she expected me to know, but I’ve always been shit at keeping up with who is from what family and where. “I live over the border in Mexico.”
“Wow, that’s a long journey. Do you miss your home?”
Adrianna shrugs. “Not really. My family rarely had any time for me. They’re too wrapped up in whatever shit they’re running down there. The Vasquez Cartel is one of the biggest mafia organizations in Mexico. I’m happy to be away from it.”
Vasquez Cartel.
I’ve heard of them. They’re in direct opposition to the cartel that supplies my brother with drugs, the Estrada Cartel.
I nod and tuck into my food, despite not feeling hungry after the ordeal with Alexander. “I wonder what that boy’s problem is.”
“Alexander?” Adrianna asks.
I nod in reply.
“God knows,” Azira says, shaking her head. “He keeps looking over at you with a horrible look in his eyes.”
I glance over to find Azira is right. He’s glaring at me even though he successfully got me kicked off my usual table. In fact, I sense I’ve been kicked out of my friend group entirely, and I don’t even feel sad about it.
Adrianna sighs. “He’s part of the Estrada Cartel, although his second name is Morales because his mother married.”
My brow furrows as his ice-blue eyes narrow and he makes a signal with his thumb, slicing it across his throat. I swallow hard, pain clutching at my chest as I wonder what the hell I’ve done to inspire such hatred. He’s a member of the cartel that supplies the Gurin Bratva, so it doesn’t explain why he hates me so much. Our families are basically allies.
A tightness squeezes at my chest as I tear my eyes away from his, like a warning tightening around my heart. He may have been the single most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen, but he’s also clearly unhinged.
“He may be hot, but the kid gives me the creeps,” Azira says, shaking her head.
Giorgia nods. “Yeah, best to stay away from him.”
“He’s not a guy you want to cross,” Adrianna says, shaking her head. “They’re family is as crazy as mine.”
I raise a brow. “Does that mean I need to be careful around you, too?”
Adrianna laughs. “Perhaps.” Her expression turns serious. “No, I hate all that mafia shit. I try to stay out of it as much as I can.”
Azira nods. “Me too.”
Giorgia shrugs. “I’m lucky, I guess. My family is pretty awesome, but Sicily differs from America.”
I swallow hard, as I’m rather involved in it all at home. Mikhail says I’m going to lead the bratva one day, which many think is ridiculous. A woman leading the brotherhood. It just isn’t heard of. Instead of saying anything, I just nod.
A comfortable silence falls over the table, and I wonder whether I’ve been a fool for the four years I’ve been here. Friends with the wrong girls. Azira, Giorgia, and Adrianna all seem much more genuine.
I hate that the image of Alexander Morales gesturing at his throat replays constantly in my mind. I fear that in the blink of an eye, my life at The Syndicate Academy is about to take a very dark turn if that boy won’t leave me alone.