by Amy Brown
“Okay.”
“She transferred in last year on a scholarship. She’s doing fine now, but it was very rough on her in the beginning.”
I nod. “I’m glad she’s doing better. It’s definitely challenging. Some of the students there aren’t very… welcoming.”
She narrows her eyes. “The Elites.”
Surprised she’d know what they’re called, I say, “Yes. They make things very hard on us new students.”
“Yes. Lucia told me all about it. I’m happy I don’t go to that school. I have my group of friends at my school across town, and I’m thankful for that.”
It’s obvious she’s agitated, but I can’t imagine what her friend could possibly have to do with me. Perhaps she’s simply worried about Lucia because she’s had a hard time of it. “I eat lunch with a great group of kids. Perhaps Lucia could join us?” I smile, hoping to cheer her up.
“Oh, Lucia has plenty of friends now. She’s very careful to steer clear of The Elites. So long as she avoids them, she’s okay.” She studies me. “She almost quit though. When everything happened to her last year, she almost gave up to go back to the east side. Her parents wouldn’t let her waste her scholarship though, so she toughed it out.”
“I’m so sorry she had to go through… whatever it is she went through.”
“I hesitated coming to you. Usually, I keep my nose out of your business. You’ve been very kind though, and I feel I need to protect you.”
My breath catches in my throat. “From what?”
“The Elites.”
I widen my eyes. “I need protecting from them?” Sophia and Jules hate me, but the others really haven’t done anything to me. In fact, Mason has been the best part of Longhorn Academy for me. I’m definitely beginning to care about him, and each time we’re together my feelings get stronger. I don’t like that he thinks he has to ignore me around his friends. I’m holding out hope that might change with time.
She clenches her jaw. “I don’t want to hurt you, but what they’ll do to you will be far worse if I don’t help you.”
“You’re scaring me, Lily. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.” My voice is hushed, and my hands cold. I have no idea what her secret is, but I can’t shake the feeling of doom in the pit of my stomach.
She grimaces. “No, of course you don’t. I’m sorry, I’m speaking in riddles.” She sits on the edge of my bed, and her breathing is elevated. “The Elites play a game with most of the transfer students. The boy transfer students have a different game than the girls. The male students are physically bullied. The Elites sometimes drop them in trashcans, and beat them up in the bathroom. Typical bully stuff.”
I narrow my eyes. “What game do they play with f… female transfer students?”
Her eyes are filled with regret. “It’s much more insidious.”
I don’t want to hear what she has to say, but I know I must. I hold her gaze, dreading her words. “Tell me.”
“I’m sorry, Charity. You don’t deserve what they’re trying to do to you.”
I swallow hard. “Tell me. Tell me what they’re planning.”
She exhales. “I’m sure you already know that Jules and Sophia are the main girl Elites.”
“Yes. Sophia actually attacked me once. Mason stopped her.”
She frowns. “Mason… stopped her?”
“He did.”
“That’s… puzzling.” She clears her throat. “Well, of the male Elites, Travis, Jeremy, and Mason are the worst.”
I wince when she mentions Mason. I think I’d secretly hoped he’d be left out of this. “Worst how?”
“They’re the ones who came up with the game for the girl transfer students. Travis and Jeremy do the most damage, but Mason joins in occasionally.” She grimaces. “He… he’s the one who hurt Lucia.”
All I can do is stare at her and listen.
“They have a plan to hurt you. I… I know this because Lucia found out about it from a friend of hers. She says you seem nice, and she can’t stand by and watch them hurt you like they did her.”
“Hurt me how?”
“Well, she wanted me to find out if any of the male Elites have tried to befriend you.” She studies me, noticing when I flinch. “Has one of them tried something?”
I feel sick as I say, “Jeremy and Mason have both been very friendly.” Mason has been especially friendly. The lump in my throat almost chokes me, as I try to control my emotions.
“Oh, God.” She sighs. “I was hoping maybe they hadn’t noticed you, and would leave you alone.”
“No. From day one they’ve been trying to talk to me.”
“You need to stop talking to them immediately, Charity.”
“But why?”
“Because…” She closes her eyes and then opens them. “Because they’re trying to seduce you, so that they can publicly humiliate you.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Why would they?”
“They hate poor students infiltrating their snobby school. They don’t want anyone to go to Longhorn Academy but rich kids. They’re sick and twisted. They don’t even see poor kids as people. They just use and bully them for their own pleasure. They’re disgusting.”
As I hold her gaze, I feel lightheaded. I want to yell at her and accuse her of lying. But she has no reason to lie to me. Lily has never been anything but kind to me. She wants to protect me.
Protect me from Mason.
It’s hard to grasp what’s happening. I can’t believe Mason’s attention has all been simply to trick me. That just doesn’t seem possible. His smiles are so genuine, and the way he looks at me when we fuck. It all felt so real. I felt like he really liked and cared about me.
“You say they humiliate the girls. How?” I whisper.
She looks like she has a bad taste in her mouth. “With Lucia, Mason befriended her, slept with her, and then the next day there were nude photos of her on her locker, along with all the explicit text messages between them. From there Jules and Sophia made her life a living hell. She couldn’t move without them calling her a whore, and cornering her in bathrooms. Her life was torture.”
I stare at her in horror. “My God. My God. What a monster he must be.” A monster I let inside me. A monster I gave my virginity to. Willingly. I cover my face, trying not to vomit. I let Mason have me because I trusted he was a good person. But he isn’t a good person. He’s the most horrible person I’ve ever known. “I feel so stupid.”
“No. Don’t feel stupid.” Lily puts her arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry, love. I know you probably liked him. He’s very charming. Lucia never suspected a thing either. They’re very good at what they do.”
Hot tears spill down my cheeks, and a sob escapes my throat. I don’t want to cry over Mason, but my heart feels like it’s smashed into pieces. Lily hugs me harder, whispering words of comfort. She thinks she warned me in time. She doesn’t know he’s already slept with me. I’m humiliated to admit that to her or to anyone. I’ve been such a fool. I didn’t believe Paula when she tried to warn me, but I can’t ignore Lily. She knows someone who was personally betrayed by Mason. This is different. These aren’t just rumors. This is real.
“At least you found out now. Poor Lucia didn’t discover the truth until it was too late.” Lily pats my back.
“You… you said she slept with Mason, and the next day at school he turned on her?” I sniff and use the napkin from earlier to dab my nose.
“Yes. She was in shock. Kids were laughing at her and pointing, but she had no idea what was going on. Not until she got to her locker.” Lily scowls. “Then the girls started in on her. Sophia and Jules hounded her every day at school.”
I frown. “Is it always the same M.O.?”
“Yes. One of the boys seduces the girl, next day of school they embarrass them. It’s a well-established pattern.”
“Why doesn’t the administration do something? Do the girls not complain to their parents? If it were my daughter, I�
��d be furious to know they allowed that to go on.”
She gives me a sympathetic look. “The Elites only do this to transfer or scholarship students. Principal Warren would never go to bat for the few poor kids who come to her school. It’s the rich parents who help fund things at Longhorn Academy. She caters to them.”
“That’s horrible.”
“I know. But it’s just how it is. Money talks around here.”
I study the crumpled napkin in my clenched fist. “Mason still thinks I’m poor. That’s why he did this to me.” I glance up at her. “He thinks I have no voice, or power. He thinks he can do whatever he wants because I’m poverty stricken.”
She brushes a curl of hair from my face. “Yes.”
I meet her gaze. “But I’m not poor. Because of Fred marrying Mom, I’m now the step-daughter of one of the richest men in the area.”
“Also true.” She sighs. “But you don’t want to take those crazy people on. You’ve found out about Mason in time, and I say you just stop talking to him, and move on with your life. I’m sure he’ll jump to the next victim, once you aren’t going to sleep with him.”
My face burns as I struggle with being truthful. She’s told me something incredibly valuable. Lily has done me a huge favor, and perhaps I owe her the truth. I sigh, keeping my gaze down. “I already… I… I already slept with Mason.”
She gasps. “What?”
I wince. “Several times.”
She gapes at me like a trout. “But… that’s not possible”
I laugh gruffly. “It is, I assure you.”
I have the bruises and bite marks to prove it.
“My God, Charity. I’m so sorry.” She squeezes my chilled fingers. “I hoped to spare you.”
I cringe at the idea she feels pity for me. I definitely don’t want that. “I don’t understand why Mason has still been flirting with me. We’ve been together many times now, and he’s still pursuing me.”
She wrinkles her brow, looking completely confused. “Mason should have turned on you by now. That’s what they do, they sleep with the girls, and then the very next school day, BAM, they humiliate the girls. It’s been their twisted pattern for years.”
A shiver goes through me at the thought of what might have happened to me every day since the lake. “And they never deviate from that pattern?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Lucia says they always sleep with the girl and then pounce.” She meets my gaze. “Why is Mason waiting?”
“Perhaps they’ve changed the game.”
“Maybe.” She frowns. “But why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go to school tomorrow, just in case.” She rubs my back, searching my face. “What do you think?”
I sigh. “I have a math quiz tomorrow.”
“Oh. Well, you could take a makeup test.”
I clench my jaw, feeling hurt and angry. “Why should I have to? I’ve worked so hard to keep my grades up, even when Mom hit financial rock bottom, I always kept my grades up.” The very idea that, on a whim, Mason would fuck up my school grades, take my virginity, and then callously throw me to the wolves, as if I’m nothing to him, has me trembling from his betrayal. “They have no right to treat us like this. We’ve done nothing to them, and they have no business treating us like dirt.”
“I agree, but what can you do? They have all the power.”
Rage seethes inside of me. “There are more of us than them.”
“What?” She looks uneasy.
“We easily outnumber The Elites. How do they control the school when there are so few of them?”
“Well… because their parents are rich.”
“Lots of the kids that go to Longhorn Academy are rich, but they’re not included in The Elites. Why do they stand for being bullied by the others?”
She shrugs. “They’re sheep. They’re afraid of being singled out, so they go along with everything, praying they’re not the target.”
“Exactly.” I nod. “Maybe it’s time we stopped being sheep.”
“Now, Charity, I only told you this so you could avoid being Mason’s next victim.”
I scowl. “Yes. But it’s too late.”
Her mouth droops. “I know. I’m so sorry.”
I give her a weak smile. “It’s not your fault I fell for his lies.” It’s still almost impossible for me to accept that Mason was faking everything with me. I’d have sworn on a stack of bibles that he had actual feelings for me. Obviously, I was dead wrong.
“I wish Lucia had come to me sooner.”
I grimace. “That can’t be helped now. At least she tried.” I sigh. “No, what’s done is done. He already took my virginity. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before he puts photos and text messages on my locker.”
“Yes, especially since he should already have done that.”
Perhaps I should be flattered that Mason didn’t immediately throw me to the wolves. Although, I’m sure it’s more about his personal gratification than any feelings he has for me. I wouldn’t think sex with me would be the best he’s ever had, so I can’t imagine why he’s stalling.
When my phone vibrates on the nightstand, I see it’s a text from Mason. I stiffen, and growl, “Speak of the Devil.”
She bugs her eyes. “He texted you?”
I nod, and grab my phone to read his message.
Want to meet up and talk?”
I scowl. By “talk” I’m sure he means fuck. “He wants to talk,” I say scathingly.
“Oh, God.” Lily looks flustered. “What are you going to say?”
“I’d love to say ‘Fuck off. I know you’re a lying piece of shit.’ But I’m not sure I want him to know I know what a lying piece of shit he is just yet.”
“No. You should just ignore him.”
I frown. “Or… I should make him pay.”
“Charity,” she whispers. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”
I laugh harshly. “He should be in trouble. Not me. I’m his victim.”
My phone buzzes again. Are you mad at me for earlier today?
Oh, lover boy, you have no idea just how mad I am.
I get off the bed, and begin pacing. My heart aches with the betrayal I’m feeling, but I’m also driven to do something. “There are definitely more of us than them. It’s insane that the entire school allows a dozen bullies to control them. Perhaps the Elites time has come,” I mutter.
Lily stands too, her face pale. “Please, Charity. Think about this some more. You’re hurt and angry right now. You should sleep on what I’ve told you, and make a more logical decision in the morning.”
I meet her gaze, feeling a bit numb. “But Mason wants to see me now. I can’t disappoint him.”
Lily touches my arm. “If something bad happens to you, I’ll feel responsible. Please don’t do anything foolish.”
I cover her hand with mine. “Lily, you saved me. Yes, I gave Mason something precious that I can’t ever take back.” I swallow hard. “But… but at least you told me what was happening before he launched the entire attack.”
“You can’t just turn your back on him, and move on?” Her voice wobbles.
I shake my head. “He needs to pay for his behavior. I’m not the kind of girl who just lets someone piss on me without fighting back.”
She hugs me hard. “Oh, Charity. I’m so sorry he hurt you. Please be careful.”
“I’ll be very careful.” My words are muffled by her shoulder.
She lets go of me, her face painted with stress. “What are you going to do?”
I exhale roughly, girding my courage. “I’m going to meet with him, of course.”
“You won’t do anything illegal, right?”
I laugh. “No. I’m not going to murder or maim him.” He will pay though. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do, but I think it’s definitely time the Non-Elites step up and reclaim our school.
I grab my phone and te
xt Mason. You made it clear today in the library bathroom, that I’m not good enough for you. Maybe you should text Sophia instead of me.
Fuck Sophia.
I smile maliciously. That’s not very nice, Mason.
I need to see you.
What would your Elite friends say if they knew you meet, and fuck me, in secret?
Fuck my friends and fuck The Elites.
I laugh again, surprised at how reckless he seems. You really want to see me tonight?
Yes. I need you, Charity.
Where should I have my mom drop me off?
Lily touches my arm. “I need to get back to work, or I might get fired.”
I force a smile. “Of course. I’m… I’m fine now.”
“Are you sure about this, Charity? Revenge has a way of biting you back.”
I harden my jaw. “He can’t treat girls this way, and get away with it. He needs to see what it feels like to be betrayed.”
She shakes her head, and moves toward the door. “If I can help you, just tell me how.”
“Thank you, Lily.” I appreciate her offer, but I know my need for retaliation goes against her own beliefs. I won’t drag her into this if I can help it.
Mason texts his response. The lake? In an hour?
Smirking, I laugh. That’s perfect. This can all end where it began. I’ll be there soon.
Can’t wait.
That’s what you think.
Next, I text Paula, and after a very lengthy and heated back and forth, I go to get ready. If this was a real date, I’d shower and make sure I looked pretty for Mason. Even though I’m furious, my heart does ache with sadness. I’m depressed that what I hoped was happening between Mason and I was just a lie. The entire time he was playing me. Reeling me in so he could cause maximum damage to me.
Mason thinks he’s going to fuck me later, but little does he know, he’s the one getting fucked tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mason
The clock is running out on Charity and me. Tonight might be one of the last times I have her. My heart aches at the thought of that, but I’m not strong enough to withstand the other Elites turning on me. As much as I want Charity to be mine, and only mine, it can’t happen.
