I shrug and wave a hand at the cafeteria. All the tables are occupied and we’ve still got half our meals left. We’re not going to throw them in the trash just because Dirk has decided to be an asshole.
“So what were you two fine specimens talking about?”
Jess sighs. “Oh, just about that time you pantsed Sally Harbinger in the middle of the sports hall and you encouraged everyone to bully her. She was so embarrassed she left school and sadly became bulimic and anorexic.”
Dirk grunts. “Ancient history, not interesting.”
“It was last year,” Jess snaps.
Dirk grins, not giving a damn about what he did to that poor girl. I remember all too well how her life spiraled after he bullied her, and suddenly I feel sick at even being close to him. Forgetting my food, I rise to my feet and grab my laptop bag.
“Whoah, this is a first.” Dirk chuckles meanly. “Manatee Maddie leaving food on the table?”
“You’re a fucking piece of shit,” Jess hisses, leaping to her feet. “You’re pathetic. Still acting like this when we’re in college. Does it make you feel big, Dirk? Does it make you feel tough?”
Manatee Maddie.
The nickname cuts into me, reminding me of all the times he and his douchebag friends hurled it at me in high school. I want to say something, to throw an insult back at him, but a sob is trying to climb its way up my throat, making it impossible to speak.
Jess looks over at me, her eyes wide in rage, her fists clenched. “Maddie, I think we should report him for what he just said. Let the whole campus learn just who their football star really is.”
Dirk laughs, but there’s an edge to it now. “Do you think that would end well for you, Manatee? Do you really want the whole campus to learn about your nickname? Fucking hell. I’m only messing around. You two are so sensitive.”
“You can clearly see she doesn’t like it when you call her that,” Jess snaps. “I don’t know why you have to be such a dick.”
“Listen, when you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth, sometimes you have to eat a little shit. It’s not the end of the world,” he says.
My mind fills with a memory from high school, when Dirk and all his friends chased me down the hallway, making oinking noises. I ended up in the library, sobbing silently in the corner. Jess was sick that day so I couldn’t even find comfort with her.
“I’ve never flaunted my situation,” I say, pushing the words past my tears. “I’ve never lauded it over anyone. And yeah, maybe I did have more than most growing up, but I’ve always been grateful for it. I’ve had my fair share of problems and…”
I trail off as Dirk stuffs a big handful of French fries into his mouth, munching loudly as he stares up at me, grinning as he chews.
“Fuck you,” I spit.
I turn and march away, stalking out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. Jess running after me.
“Are you okay?” she murmurs softly.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” It’s a lie, and she knows it. “I think I might head home. I’m done with classes for the day. I was going to do some work in the library, but I can’t stand the thought of running into that prick again.”
“Maybe we should report him.”
I sigh, shaking my head. “Everyone at this school loves him. Did you see the Dean at the last football game?”
“You went to a football game?”
Her surprise is so over the top, her eyebrows shooting up like they’re going to fly clean off her head. I can’t help but laugh.
“No, but I saw the pictures in the student gazette. He was wearing a T-shirt with Dirk’s face on it. Imagine that, Jess, the Dean of the whole damn school.”
Jess runs a hand through her hair. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“And miss Victorian literature?” I tease lightly. “I know how much you love that class. Honestly, I’m fine.”
After asking if I’m sure, we hug and go our separate ways. I manage to keep the tears at bay until I’ve left the building, but they burst from my eyes. I curse myself even as I wander over to the parking lot, where there are fewer people, telling myself to get my act together.
I shouldn’t let him make me cry like this. I’m not in high school anymore.
But the nickname keeps bouncing around in my head.
Manatee Maddie, Manatee Maddie.
“Maddie?”
I turn at the sound of Maxton’s voice. He’s standing near his sleek black Genesis G80, wearing a sharp suit and a deep frown on his face.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Chapter Eighteen
Maxton
“What are you doing here?” she asks, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
My body vibrated with protective impulses when I see the way her eyes are shining with tears. She’s trying to fight the sobs, but when I wrap my arms around her she collapses against my chest. I hold her tightly, fire filling my veins.