My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 97

Chapter 97 Two Days Of Dead Silence

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The digital numbers on my nightstand clock glowed a harsh red. Six o’clock. I stared at the ceiling, tracing the familiar water stain above my bed. The chaotic, devastating events of Saturday night played on a relentless loop inside my skull. I felt the freezing mud from the East Side lot against my jeans. I felt the desperate, bruising pressure of his mouth in the rain.

I rolled out of bed. My legs felt heavy, weighed down by an exhaustion sleep could not cure.

I walked into the small kitchen. My mother stood near the counter. She wore her faded pink diner uniform. She poured black coffee into a chipped ceramic travel mug. The dark circles under her eyes mirrored my own.

“Good morning, Raisa,” she said. She offered a tired, genuine smile. “You look drained. Did you stay up studying all night?”

I had a lot of reading to finish, I lied. The deception tasted bitter on my tongue.

“Don’t burn yourself out, she warned. She kissed my forehead. “I have the morning shift today. There is bread on the counter for toast. I

will see you tonight.”

The front door clicked shut. The deadbolt engaged.

I stood alone in the quiet kitchen. The silence of my house offered no comfort. It lacked the heavy, grounding weight Ryder brought into a room. I retreated to my bedroom and pulled on my Crestview Prep uniform. I buttoned the pristine white blouse. I adjusted the pleated navy skirt. I slipped my feet into my sensible leather loafers.

I looked in the mirror. The girl who stared back possessed no traces of the weekend. The dark beanie and the scuffed combat boots sat shoved in the back of my closet. The East Side felt like a distant nightmare.

I grabbed my canvas backpack and left the house.

The bus ride to the affluent side of the county passed in a blur of gray skies and damp pavement. I stepped off at the main gates of Crestview Prep. The towering brick buildings loomed against the overcast horizon.

I walked through the heavy oak double doors of the A-wing.

The polished linoleum corridor hummed with the usual morning chaos. Students crowded around the metal locker bays. They traded weekend stories and copied homework assignments.

I turned the corner into the B-wing.

Locker 412 sat at the far end of the hall. For the past month, the space beside the metal door belonged to him. He anchored the corridor. His broad shoulders, his scuffed leather jacket, his dark, restless energy commanded the space. He waited for me every single morning.

I stopped walking.

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13:03 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 97 Two Days Of Dead Silence

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The space beside my locker was a barren, empty stretch of beige cinderblock.

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The air rushed out of my lungs. A cold knot formed in the center of my stomach.

I forced my legs to move. I closed the distance and spun the silver combination dial. My fingers shook. I pulled the metal door open,

staring at the neat stacks of textbooks inside. I waited for the scent of worn cedar and sharp peppermint to wash over me. I waited for the

rough scrape of his voice.

The warning bell shrieked overhead.

He did not show up.

I grabbed my AP European History textbook and shut the locker. I walked to class alone. The invisible shield surrounding me felt thin and

fragile. The student body operated on primal instincts. They noticed the shift in the ecosystem. The wide, terrified perimeter they usually

granted me began to shrink.

The classroom door opened again.

The hinges gave a familiar squeak. The ambient chatter in the room died in a fraction of a second.

Ryder stepped over the threshold.

He wore his heavy leather jacket and a dark gray t-shirt. His dark hair was a messy, untamed tangle. The fading bruises on his jaw looked stark against his pale skin. He radiated a dark, lethal tension that stripped the oxygen from the air.

He did not apologize to the teacher for his tardiness. He did not offer an excuse.

He walked down the center aisle.

My heart stalled. My hands gripped the edges of my open textbook. I waited for him to stop at my desk. I waited for him to slide into the empty chair beside mine. I waited for a single glance, a tiny fracture in his impenetrable armor to prove the kiss in the rain meant

something.

Ryder walked right past my row.

He kept his gaze fixed on the back wall.

He walked to the far corner of the classroom. He dropped his bag onto the floor. He slumped into a desk in the back row, crossing his

arms over his broad chest. He stretched his long legs out into the aisle. He cast his eyes downward, retreating into the dark, isolated vault

he built to survive the world.

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