Beautiful Brute (Court University 3)

Now, I was making shit right finally, and my buddies, as much as I loved them, weren’t going to take that away from me.

LJ started to say something, but Royal waved a hand. It was like a silent exchange was going on I wasn’t a part of.

Royal cradled his arms. “We want you to be happy. We want that, so how can we do that for you?”

A nod from the others in the screen, and I fought from pinching my eyes. Instead, I tapped my keyboard. “Just let me do what I have to do.”

A jaw clench from Royal, then another nod from the others. Royal sat back and eventually did move the conversation on to other things. Things like December, things like his wedding. The others popped in too, when appropriate, and I did as well. Happy for that.

They were things that, gratefully, had nothing to do with me.

Chapter Eleven

Cleo

A week or so of classes passed, but I’d begged housing for a new living placement. I spent the majority of my time outside of my living space and the other, locked up in it. Between avoiding Jax and hiding out from Kit, it’d been a necessity. My friend had been incessant on trying to hash things out with me, texting me, calling me. I avoided her at all costs and thought, with a new placement, I might be able to talk to her again—eventually. She’d said things weren’t her fault, that she’d been misled and I believed her, but I was just so embarrassed about the whole thing. Embarrassed about my place in the whole thing. I was naked and pressed up against my stepbrother only days later and all the countless times before with him and me simply made me sick. Add to the fact I’d found the pair of them screwing?

I just couldn’t talk to her. Not yet.

Housing hadn’t budged following my request, not with the term already starting and placements solid. I’d been told the best they could do for me was something for next term, but I couldn’t wait until next term. Not with how awkward as hell things had been. Kit was basically stalking me.

Then there was Jax.

He lingered, always there. I barely left my room, but I didn’t have to. I felt him down the hall from me. Just silently waiting.

I’ll be waiting for you, Girl Scout… And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t make me wait long.”

He actually said that to me, said that like I’d ever touch him again. Jaxen Ambrose was dangerous, absolute filth and the scum of the earth. As it turned out, he had gotten Dad to assist with a placement in Tempest Hall. But unbeknownst to my adoptive father, Jax had wiggled his way into my dorm specifically. Neither Dad nor Mom knew anything about my stepbrother actually living with me, and how did I know? Because of the way the conversation went.

“Have you run into your stepbrother yet?” Dad’d asked me, simply giddy. Both he and Mom had been blowing up my phone since I hadn’t checked in as soon as I’d arrived to school. I always did so I had more than a few text messages and missed phone calls before I finally answered. Dad had laughed light. “I hoped for it to be a surprise, but I got him into Tempest Hall with you. I’m sure he’s nearby. You should look for him.”

Because he hadn’t known. He hadn’t known at all that Jax was in the same living space as me. If he did, he would have told me.

And yes, I was definitely surprised.

“It’ll be so nice to have him nearby,” Mom had said too, a video call. “You can help him, and you both can get to know each other.”

Dad had simply appeared ecstatic on the line, agreeing. He really wanted this situation to work out between Jax and me.

But how could it? I had a psychopath for a stepbrother, one out to get me at the first strike. I was so frustrated and depressed about my situation I didn’t even go to classes for the first week. Just stayed in my room. I kept thinking the ball was about to drop, that Jax would strike. But worse…

That I would succumb to it.

I had no idea how an interaction would be between us if I let it happen, and what had started as a daring act to put me out of my comfort zone and lose my virginity turned into a tried and true nightmare. I’d just wanted to be free for once, not be bound by my head, and someone had taken advantage of that. Someone with perfect green eyes and a handsome grin. Someone who’s laughter had elicited nothing but tingles when I’d met him.

But now haunted my dreams.

Eventually, I had to come to terms with

my current reality. This was my life, a mess, but my life nonetheless. My parents, God love them, really wanted this to work between Jax and me, and though I knew that was a hopeless case, I just couldn’t disappoint them. Doing that would crush my dad’s heart. I knew that Jax really didn’t care about any of this. He obviously had issues with me, Mom, and my adoptive father. Truth be told, he might even hate Rick Fairchild as much as he hated me, but at the end of the day, my dad didn’t know that. My dad never mentioned any hate or issues that Jax had with him because every time we talked and he talked about Jax, it was only good things. They were still checking in with each other, getting along.

So how could I ruin that?

It’d be selfish so I refused. Instead, I put my big girl panties on and went to class. I went on with my life. I proceeded in the typical college experience, getting coffee before my classes.

That’s when I spotted Kit.

She’d been at the Bean Brewery, the hottest spot to go for coffee on campus, which was why I went there. It was always busy, but they were fast. Especially when you used the app to put your order in.