I nodded. “Got it. Sorry.”
Elijah looked me over again, his lips pressing together as his gaze ran up and down my body. Then he gave a small nod and walked away, disappearing back into the crowd. My legs wobbled, and reached out for a nearby tree to steady myself.
At leas
t he didn’t tell the others I was here.
Then I paused, my spine stiffening.
Why hadn’t he told them? It would’ve been so easy. I was right there, ready to be tortured and humiliated, a sacrificial lamb delivered like a prize to this rich boy fight club.
And Elijah had kept quiet.
Why?
Chapter 9
The second I made it back to my dorm, I kicked off my shoes and sank onto the couch, pulling my knees up to my chest. My damn hoodie still smelled like Elijah, even though he’d only touched me for a minute, so I yanked it off and wrapped a blanket around myself instead.
It was close to 1 a.m., but my body was so strung out and wired I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I sat in the dark and gazed out the window until I saw figures slowly emerge from the woods a couple hours later, heading back toward the dorms across campus.
There must’ve been a few fights, by the look of it. I saw at least two guys holding a hand to their faces, and one of them leaned slightly on his buddy, as if walking was painful. I wondered if he was the kid Cole had fought.
The four Princes emerged last, like four territorial wolves stalking out of the woods. Cole had a tank top on, but the tattoos on his arms still stood out starkly against his skin in the moonlight. Mason clapped him on the back, and Finn and Elijah were deep in conversation. None of them looked up at me, but I shrank back into the couch cushions anyway.
When there were finally out of sight, I hauled myself off the couch, brushed my teeth, and fell face-first into bed.
I slept until almost noon the next day, and as I lay in bed with an arm draped over my face, I decided Elijah was right.
Whatever the hell kind of fucked up shit was going on at this school, whatever the Princes did in the middle of the night, it was none of my fucking business, and I resolved to keep my nose out of anything that didn’t concern me.
Especially if it involved the four of them.
It’s amazing what you can get used to. How adaptable humans can be to shitty situations.
It’s also amazing how even when you think you’ve got a handle on things, even after weeks of keeping it together, the tiniest nudge can push you right back over the edge.
I pulled on my locker door so hard the entire bank of lockers rattled, and Sable, one of Adena’s best friends, turned to glare at me from a few yards down the hall.
“Hey, watch it, white trash! Some of us are trying to get our shit here.”
I clenched my jaw, ignoring her as I gave the locker door another vicious tug. Someone, somehow, had managed to wedge the fucking thing closed, and all my notes for the English Lit test on Monday were inside.
At least, I hoped they were.
If someone had fucked with my locker again, who the hell knew whether my notes would still even be there, or whether they’d be intact even if they were?
My phone rang in my backpack, but I ignored it. I’d forgotten to put it on silent for class, though it hardly mattered—not a lot of people called me.
Frustration building inside me like hot steam, I pounded my fist against the blue metal door, and Sable turned to me, a sneer twisting her darkly painted lips.
“Jesus, give it up, you freak,” she hissed. “It’s not gonna fucking open.”
She shoved past me, clipping me hard with her shoulder so I slammed back into the lockers again, involuntarily this time. Whirling, I pounded my fist hard against the blue door, tears I’d been holding in since I arrived at Oak Park six weeks ago burning my eyes.
Why the fuck couldn’t I do one stupid, simple thing without people trying to ruin it?
Why hadn’t they gotten bored by now? Moved on to someone else?