Isaiah
“Go away,Isaiah. She’s mine. You’ve had her to yourself for weeks.” Sloane’s eyebrow hitched, and there was an evil glint lingering, which was her usual look when it came to me.
My arms were crossed over my uniform as I rested lazily against the far wall of the girls’ hallway. It was wild in here at the crack of dawn. Like a fucking zoo. There were girls rushing down the hall with wet hair, and some had green shit on their skin, covering every inch of their face except their eyes. It was frightening, and the excess in estrogen did nothing but make me antsy.
One chick ran past with only a towel on, and when she saw me standing there in a mist of hairspray and perfume, she screamed, and her towel fell. I quickly shut my eyes and pushed forward, running right into Sloane. “She’s my girlfriend, Sloane. And yes, I had her for weeks to myself, but she was in a fucking coma. Doesn’t really count.”
“Does too.”
“Oh my goodness, you two! Just let him in, or he’ll never go away. You know how persistent he is.” The humor in Gemma’s voice made the entire five minutes that I stood in the girls’ hallway worth it. In the past, I’d only ever come down here during the late night, even before Gemma. It was a whole new era in the mornings.
“Ugh, fine.” Sloane huffed and shut the door behind me, silencing all the catty chatter happening on the outside.
“It’s crazy out there,” I said, stepping farther into the room. I glanced around their girly dorm and searched for the only person I really wanted to see.
“Says the guy who carried me out of a literal gun fight.” Gemma popped out of her bathroom, and it was jarring to see her like this. Her cheeks were painted with a tint of pink, her green eyes brighter than ever. The bags underneath had faded, and it looked as if she had actually gotten some sleep.
I, however, had not. I worried all night long that she would have a nightmare and I wouldn’t be there to help her, but she reminded me that she’d been having nightmares and remembering things that she’d forced away for years, and this was no different. Except now, she truly felt safe. Even with Bain here, she said she felt safe. He was still a rat in my eyes, and the Rebels and I would never stop watching him, but he had saved her, and he’d stayed true to his word. So, I would stay true to mine.
Gemma insisted that she get back to classes as soon as the doctor cleared her, despite everything that was unfolding outside of this palatial school. Her name, along with Tobias’, had been withheld from the news, and they remained anonymous, so Tate couldn’t think of any other reason to keep her from normalcy. If she wanted to come back to school, then she could come back to school.
He’d reminded me that Gemma felt at home here above anywhere else, and it was the perfect place to put her, given that her newfound father also resided here.
Tate—who I now refrained from calling Uncle—had been busy since returning back. There were messes to clean up and explanations to the SMC on his whereabouts—along with mine and Gemma’s. And let’s not forget the fact that he now had to place two new students at St. Mary’s: one being Journey, which was surely going to be the new talk of the gossip blog, Mary’s Murmurs, and the other being Tobias—when he was ready.
For now, he stayed away. There was a lot Gemma and I weren’t aware of, but I knew that Tate was keeping a watchful eye on him and helping him as much as he could. Tobias was Tate’s son, but according to what he’d said to me one night at the hospital when Gemma was still recovering, there may never be a bond between them. There may never be hope for a relationship. Tobias wasn’t the same boy he was when Gemma knew him, and Tobias was smart enough to realize that, which was why he was still staying away. I respected that.
And Gemma understood. She knew how damaging trauma could be. But it still hurt her that she hadn’t seen him yet. She was quiet about it. Reserved.
But I knew her. I felt her feelings as if they were my own.
Just like I knew that she was nervous for today.
Not because of what had happened over the last few weeks—because, again, no one knew but a few of us. She was nervous because I told her that I was going to pick her up around her waist, place her hot little ass on the dining hall table during breakfast and kiss her senseless in front of everyone because we now had the freedom to do so.
Considering that we were never truly exclusive, I wanted to make a point to show everyone that we were. I explained very calmly that now that she was mine and the dangers that we were faced with no longer hid in the shadows, neither would we.
Gemma was my girlfriend, and the whole fucking lot of St. Mary’s would know it. Maybe I was a little possessive, but there was a difference between possessive and controlling. She was mine for as long as she wanted me.
“Ready?” I finally asked as Sloane and Gemma packed their bags.
Gemma looked at me out of the corner of her eye, and I winked. “Isaiah, you better not.”
“Oh, I am.”
She tried to fight a smile, but I saw the cute little way her lips tugged.
“He better not what?” Sloane asked, spraying some perfume on her uniform.
My eyebrows waggled. “I’m markin’ my claim.”
“You’re what?”
Gemma sighed, walking closer to me, but not before shooting me a look. “He said he’s going to kiss me in front of everyone to indicate that we are boyfriend and girlfriend.”
I shook my finger. “That is not what I said. I said I was going to plop your hot little ass on the dining table and kiss you in front of everyone because I can and I will.”
Sloane’s lips smashed together as she held back a laugh. “Gemma, your face is so red right now.”