The sound of heels on the floor alerted me that I wasn’t alone. “Ah, Raine, there you are.” I turned around to see Mrs. Rushton, school secretary, standing behind me with a folder clasped in her hands. “The headmaster would like to see you in his office, please.”
My stomach sank. This had to be about my locker.
As I followed her in the direction of the office, I felt a prickling sensation down my spine. Someone was watching me.
When I turned around, there was no one there. The hallway was completely silent and empty.
Hurrying to catch up with Mrs. Rushton, I brushed it off as my wild imagination. After everything that had happened at the party, and my subsequent nightmares, it wasn’t really a surprise that I was so jumpy.
Seated in a buttery-soft leather chair, I looked across the large mahogany desk at Professor Sharpe, attempting not to let my nerves show. The one and only time I’d been in the headmaster’s office was after my uncle had divorced my aunt, and there was a question of how my remaining school fees would be paid. Thankfully my uncle had come through in the end, although he was going to be washing his hands of me once the school year ended, which meant relying on student loans for my university education. I still felt the sting of the betrayal, that he’d thrown a twenty-year marriage with my aunt away for an affair with his work colleague, and had moved in with her at the first possible opportunity. His new family was his priority now, and he’d essentially lost all sense of responsibility towards me. My aunt had been devastated, but lately, she seemed herself again. And I actually had Carter’s parents to thank for that in part, because they’d been there for her while she picked up the pieces.
My thoughts returned to the present as Professor Sharpe cleared his throat, eyeing me carefully from behind his glasses. He was a tall, imposing figure, with grey, swept-back hair and a permanently severe expression on his face. Today, though, his eyes were full of sympathy as he looked at me. He cleared his throat. “Miss Laurent. I have been made aware of your…situation. Here at Alstone High, we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding bullying. Can you give me the name, or names, of anyone you believe may be behind this?”
I couldn’t. Because I didn’t know. And even if I did, giving him names would only make me more of a target. There was no winning in this situation. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
A huff of disapproval came from his mouth before he cleared his throat again. “I see. Rest assured, your locker will be back to normal by lunchtime today. If you have any inkling of who may be involved, or if you have any other concerns, my door is always open. I will not allow my students to be harassed within these walls.”
“Thank you, sir.” I gave him a small smile, which I hoped was believable, although I had the feeling that it was more of a grimace.
He nodded, dismissing me. “That’ll be all. See my secretary on the way out, and she will give you a slip to excuse you from your missed class.”
As I made my way to my class, my stomach churned. Everything was spiralling out of control in my life, and it all led back to one person. Carter Blackthorne.
27
Everything in my head was so fucked up. What I’d done with Raine, both at the party and afterwards, had been completely unplanned. That wasn’t what was fucking with my head, though. Sex had always been about mutual pleasure, but there had never been a connection like the one I’d felt between me and Raine. And afterwards I’d had a sudden, instinctive need to take care of her. I wanted to stay with her, to make sure she was okay. That wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before. If I was honest, the whole thing had left me shaken.
Fuck. Between my dad banging on about her all the time and making me resent her, all the shit that had happened so far today, and my now almost uncontrollable want for her, I was beyond confused.
“Carter?” I looked up from my tray of food, and there she was, clutching her books to her chest, biting her lip as she looked down at me. I felt everyone’s stares flying between us both. The increasingly hostile looks Ana and her bitch posse were throwing at her, the football team’s curious glances, Xavier’s knowing expression, and the weight of the stares of the students at the surrounding tables. All of this registered in an instant.
The gossip about her was already rampant. She didn’t deserve any of this. Who knew what other shit
people would make up about her next, if I gave her my attention?
“What makes you think you have the right to talk to me?” I spoke without meeting her gaze, unable to look at her.
A pained hiss escaped her lips. “I-I just…”
“Whatever it is, I’m not interested.” I affected a bored tone, rocking back in my seat and stretching my legs out in front of me.
“You think because you whored yourself out to him, you have the right to be here, at our table?” My fists clenched at the sneering question from Tina, one of Ana’s friends. Fuck, I needed to punch something. “Listen up, hun. People like us don’t mix with people like you. Now, why don’t you run along to your little chess club, or wherever your people hang out?”
Raine’s soft gasp fucking pierced straight through me, and I physically winced.
“Drama club,” Anastasia muttered from next to me.
“Okay, fuck off to your little drama club.” Tina tossed her hair over her shoulder and made a dismissive motion with her hand.
“Hey, I’m in the drama club,” Xavier pointed out. He glanced in my direction, and I could feel the “what the fuck” look he was boring into the side of my head.
Tina huffed. “Whatever.” She turned back to Raine. “Since you seem to like being on your knees… If you’re still hard up for cash, I heard the school is looking for a new cleaner.”
Everyone else remained silent, waiting to see what I was going to do, ready to follow my lead. Raine remained frozen in place in front of me, and I raised my gaze to hers, finally. The pain and sadness in her hazel eyes almost caused me to falter. Almost. I couldn’t let people know how much she meant to me. Fuck, no. She didn’t mean anything to me. She couldn’t.
I was only fooling myself.
The connection between us sparked to life, as she begged me with her eyes to acknowledge it, to tell her she wasn’t alone in this, to back her up. I took a deep breath and made myself hold her gaze as I forced the words from my lips. “Go, Laurent. Whatever you have to say, I’m not interested.”