Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

All I can do is stare. “Did Colton say that?”

Spencer laughs as people start to crowd around, wanting to know exactly what’s going on so they can run home to their country club mothers and tell them all about it. This bullshit is going to spread far and wide.

He shakes his head. “As if he’d admit to that. He didn’t have to tell me, it’s fucking obvious. Why else would Charles move you into his home? Carrington has strict rules about fraternizing with the staff and though Colton calls you the help, we all know it ain’t true. You’re staying in the main house, aren’t you? If you were ‘the help’ you’d be out back with the rest of the leeches.”

I hardly have a second to respond before he continues. “Did you get the DNA results back yet?” he questions before shaking his head at himself. “Obviously. Charles wouldn’t have moved you in if he hadn’t, right? Fuck. No wonder Colt’s been so fucking pissy. This is hilarious.”

“Dude,” Milo cuts in, but Spencer is on a roll.

“You know,” he says, leaning in closer, his eyes becoming hooded as he looks me up and down, laying on the charm way too thick. “Charles Carrington has an empire bigger than anyone else on this side of the country, just your inheritance alone is going to outweigh any one of the pricks here. You and I could make a deal. I know you’re trailer trash but stick with me and I can make you a presentable young woman of society. We could get hitched and combined with my inheritance, we’d be unstoppable.”

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

I laugh at him, loving how his eyes darken at my mockery. “You’ve got to be kidding, right? You know, I really am just the help. At least my mom is. We’re just waiting for the old live-in to move out of the pool house.”

“Yeah, right. Like I’d believe that.” Spencer laughs, taking a step back with his hands buried deep in the pockets of his expensive uniform slacks. He winks and it’s lethal. “Offer still stands, babe, but if I were you, I’d be taking on the Carrington name. It’ll open all sorts of doors.”

With that, he walks away, taking his confidence with him, a confidence that is so strong that it has me questioning my sanity. His theory makes sense but it couldn’t be true. Why else would Charles have gone to this effort though?

I spy Colton down the end of the hallway, and as if sensing my gaze his eyes snap to mine, a deadly glare full of hatred. Maybe Spencer is right. Maybe Charles is my father and my dad … no. I refuse to believe it. My dad and I were like peas in a pod. Not to mention, I have his dark hair and sea blue eyes, though mom’s genes are pretty damn strong too.

I fall back against my locker, zoning out and ignoring the whispers that continue to surround me. I knew today would be weird, but illegitimate love child and marriage proposals before 9 am wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

I feel a devilish grin pulling across my face only to realize my eyes are still locked on Colton’s. He tears his away and I hear the slam of his locker door all the way up here before he stalks off with Jude on his six.

A chuckle pulls from within and a strange excitement begins to pulse in my veins. I can only imagine what other bullshit today is going to bring, and for some oddly fascinating reason, I can’t wait.

Bring it on Bellevue Springs Academy, you can’t break me.

Chapter 7

I sprint up the stairs of the Carrington mansion, taking them two at a time. I’m going to piss my fucking pants. Surprise, surprise, Bellevue Springs Academy doesn’t come equipped with female bathrooms. I’ve had to hold it all day long. If I was a betting woman, I would have used the guy’s bathroom during class but I’m a smart woman, and I know a losing bet when I see one.

I would have been alright if my maybe half-brother wasn’t so douchey and had offered me a ride home, but apparently his babysitting duties finished as soon as I was in school and had made it before the bell. Stupid prick. I’d do anything to get my hands on him and tear him limb from limb.

It was the longest twenty-minute walk of my life. There’s something about the way you have to walk, squeeze, and clench all at the same time that’s somewhat humiliating. By the time I reached the long-ass driveway and had to wait for someone on the other end to open it up, I was as close to dying as I’d ever been before.

I fucking ran. I wasn’t going to make it.