A Rose to Keep (The Society 1)

“Actually—” Heather started to say.

“Shut it, trash face. No one wants you here,” Chloe said, not averting her gaze from mine as she was nasty to my friend.

I could handle everyone hating me. The nasty shit said about Heather, now that I couldn’t stand.

Chloe had the upper hand with her dominant position over me. I grabbed the table, shoving out my chair, and stood.

“Let’s get something straight here, I don’t want your guys. You can keep them. As far as I’m concerned, the rose, the entire selection process is an insult. I don’t want them, you can keep them. In fact, do your job and make sure they stay the hell away from us.”

I took a step closer. I wasn’t as tall as Chloe. The moment I hit high school, it was like I stopped growing, but I wasn’t afraid of her. “And the next time you call Heather trash, be careful. I’ll make sure you know what it’s like to eat trash. Try me. I’m not afraid of you.”

Chloe’s eyes turned into slits as she glared even more at me. Threatening the queen bee was probably not a good idea.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Gideon asked.

I didn’t need to look to know the four giant pains in my ass had arrived.

Without turning my back on Chloe, I answered. “I’m simply telling Chloe that if she wants you guys, she can take you all. I want nothing to do with you. Are we done here?” I asked.

No one had ever stood up to Chloe and survived to tell the tale. Not that she’d killed them or anything. They often left the school as the bullying got a little too much. Me, I was prepared for it.

“Watch your back, Roberts,” she said.

“Then you better watch yours.” I took a seat as Chloe walked away.

“Not so fast,” Gideon said.

I tensed up. Now the asshole himself is going to make my life miserable. I glanced at Heather, who had given me a smile. I saw the tears in her eyes, and because of it, I wanted to beat the shit out of Chloe.

All my life, I’d considered myself to be a calm and placid person. These instant harsh reactions to Chloe surprised me.

“You will not under any circumstances hurt Sian or her friend. Do you understand me?” Gideon asked.

This made me turn around. Had I heard him correctly?

“Do you really expect me to believe you want her over me?” Chloe asked. “She is nothing.”

“Do I need to make sure you’re cast out?” Gideon asked.

“You wouldn’t.”

He took a step toward her. “Try me.”

There was no laughter in his gaze. This man, he looked … scary as hell. His gaze never once left hers.

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Yes or no.”

“I’ll leave her alone. For now. You will regret this, Gideon.”

I averted my gaze, looking down at my now cold oatmeal. My appetite was gone.

“Are you okay?” Heather asked.

“Yeah, have they gone?”

“They’ve gone to get some food.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, running my spoon between the thickening oatmeal. I’d entered the hall hungry, now, I couldn’t stomach any food.

“Thank you,” Heather said.

“For what?”

“Sticking up for me. You’re the only one who has accepted me.”

I smiled at my friend. “You’re the most normal person here.”

“Yeah, right.” She giggled. “And that makes you the strangest person.”

Heather knew I’d gone to a public school, and about my nanny. My close relationship where my nanny was more like a mother to me than my own was. I was never going to fit in here.

“Uh-oh,” Heather said.

“I hate it when you do that.”

“They’re coming here.”

Seconds later, four trays landed on either side of me and Heather. William and Dante sat on either side of Heather, which meant Gideon and Mateo were to my left and right. I couldn’t help but close my eyes and count to ten.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Dante asked.

“I lost my appetite.” At least I could sip at my coffee. It still tasted the best.

Drinking it down, I saw Heather smiling at me. She found this a great source of entertainment. At that moment, I wanted to strangle her. I smiled as well.

“Do we get to know the joke?” William asked.

“There is no joke. Neither of us expected the Saintly Devils would sit with us senior year,” I said.

“And to top that off, we’ve also become the enemies of the queen herself,” Heather said. “Who would have thought? From being completely ignored to number one in a flash.”

Heather took a bite of her toast and I watched her. She was likely trying to figure everything out, her brain working overtime to come up with some kind of reason why they’d pick me. For that, I was grateful. This wasn’t because they’d been longing for me for some time. Some unrequited love or some crap like that. I wrote all about the jock wanting the girl who didn’t quite fit in. They were fun stories, but come on, that never happened.