Covet (Clann)

made the tears fall faster.
    “Why don’t you take a bathroom break and cool off,” Mrs. Knowles said, her tone making it more an order than a suggestion.
    My fangs still hadn’t retracted, so I opted for nodding silently and making the fastest exit I could while still hopefully appearing human.
    In the restroom, I used toilet paper to mop up the mascara tracks on my face. Then I just stood there gripping the edges of the porcelain sink.
    How did Tristan do this to me? Nobody on this planet could make me laugh or cry as easily as he could. One minute he had me trying not to burst out in laughter during class. The next second, I was ready to choke him with my bare hands! Even Dylan and the Brat Twins couldn’t drive me as crazy as Tristan could.
    Which made me wonder if the evil trio would soon be back in business, too. Other than the blood on my locker, they hadn’t bothered me in quite a while. Were they tired of messing with me? Had their parents told them to leave me alone?
    Maybe they knew Tristan had taken up their cause for them.
    If so, they couldn’t have chosen better. No matter how I tried to steel myself against him, Tristan kept finding ways to get around my defenses.
    And what was with all the references to “me and Ron” and Ron being my “boy toy”? He was acting like he thought Ron and I were dating or something.
    Even if Ron and I had been dating, why would Tristan care?
    He had Bethany now, and it was clear to every single person on this campus that she was beyond in love with him. Why couldn’t he just be happy with her and stop punishing me already? We’d broken up months ago. And obviously he didn’t love me anymore, judging by the way he seemed bound and determined to make me miserable.
    Whatever the reason behind his attitude, the torture had to stop. My showing fangs in class definitely wouldn’t make the vamp council or the Clann happy. If Tristan kept pushing me like this, either I would have to use a spell on him or I’d have to start homeschooling. I couldn’t take much more.
    I waited till the dismissal bell rang then returned to English class, expecting the room to be empty. It wasn’t. Both Ron and Tristan were waiting for me.
    “Sorry, Sav,” Tristan muttered. He was standing in the aisle between our desks, leaning forward, his hands braced on the backs of our chairs. He wouldn’t look at me. And I couldn’t hear his thoughts for a change.
    My fangs had retracted in the restroom. Still, I thought it was a good idea to stick with a short nod before I gathered up my books and bag and left with Ron. If I spoke one word to Tristan right now, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be anything nice.
    Grateful that it was a tutorial day, I retreated to the sanctuary of the library with Ron. My hands shook as I flipped through the English lit textbook, my eyes unable to focus enough to make sense of the words running across the pages.
    Tristan had gone way too far this time. His fighting Dylan and Greg had made at least a little sense each time. But to want to hit Ron just because Tristan thought I was dating him?
    And where had he gotten that idea anyway? Everyone else knew Ron and I were just friends, nothing more. Couldn’t Tristan be bothered to ask around instead of jumping to conclusions? Heck, he might as well be jealous of Anne, Carrie and Michelle while he was at it!
    The whole thing was ridiculous. Tristan was being completely unreasonable.
    “Want to talk about it?” Ron asked, making me jump.
    “About what?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. How about whatever Tristan thought back there to make you lose it like that in class?”
    “It’s… Hang on, what do you mean, ‘whatever Tristan thought ?’”
    “It’s rumored that descendants can still hear each others’ thoughts. Since he didn’t say anything out loud today, I assumed you two must be doing the ESP thing instead.”
    My eyes narrowed. “How do you know so much about descendants?”
    Ron shrugged. “I grew up hearing stories about them. Everyone in my family did.”
    Just what the heck were they discussing in his mother’s genealogical society meetings?
    “I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to talk about Clann abilities to an outsider,” I mumbled, feeling awkward now.
    He leaned forward and grinned. “But you can hear his thoughts, right?”
    In the background, I heard his mother at the front desk, her voice rising enough to carry down the entire length of the library. Whoever she was on the phone