by J Bree
“Run.” I whisper and then I let go. Harlow flings herself into Devon's arms and he pulls her out of the chapel. The other students part and some follow them out. I see that the crowd is dispersing and then I hear why.
“Miss Anderson. My office. Now.”
The principal has arrived.
Joey looks at me and the sick pleasure I see in his eyes melts the ice I’ve encased myself in a little. He thinks he’s untouchable. Maybe. Maybe he just hasn’t found the right opponent yet.
Chapter Twelve
Mr. Trevelen leaves me in his office to go and check on Harlow.
He’s not happy with me but he also hasn’t expelled me yet. Joey didn’t just play the recording in the chapel, I have to face the fact that the entire school has now heard the call. They all know about the worst thing that has happened to me.
Or so they think.
I wait for two whole minutes before I reach out and take the phone on Trevelen’s desk. I punch in Matteo’s number and I wait for him to answer. My eyes dance around and focus in on the watercolor painting of lilies over the bookshelf. It’s pretty but bland. There’s no real passion in the strokes, just like every kid at this school. Pretty, vapid, empty, useless.
“How did you get access to the principal’s landline?” he answers and I wonder again if he has eyes in the school.
“They’re going to expel me. I broke a girls nose.” My voice is flat, emotionless. My eyes trace to blood drying on my hands with detached interest.
Matteo chuckles but he stops when I don’t join him. I can hear the chatter in the background. He’s at his house, I can tell by the sounds of the ocean and the low tones of the shitty jazz rap he listens to when he’s plotting. I recognize all of the voices as the henchmen he likes to surround himself with. A show of muscle to distract from the fact that Matteo is always the most dangerous man in the room. “What’s happened, my Wolf?”
I’m not his. I will never be his. I will fight tooth and nail, with everything I have, to not be his girl. It doesn’t matter though, I can never tell him that, only bide my time until I can make an escape.
“I need your help. I’m willing to call in a favor.”
I can hear him moving around and closing a door. His voice is gentle, soothing, but I’m not falling for his games anymore. I’m not the scared little girl on that 911 call anymore. I just need him to fix this for me, I need him to have my back again. “No favor necessary. Tell me what you need.”
I twirl the phone’s cord around my finger and stare at it will glassy eyes. I need to hold onto this calm, apathy as long as I possibly can. “I cannot be expelled. I’m going to destroy the kid who is doing this to me.”
“What is he doing? I can remove his piece from the board if you want me to.” The calm offer to kill Joey for me is tempting. I’m definitely going to hell because it takes me a full minute before I can reply.
“No. I’m going to destroy him at his own game. It’s not satisfying if I can’t do it myself.”
“That’s my girl. I’ll fix it for you. No favor required but I will ask that you make it to the Club meeting in the summer.”
He’s so intent on getting me to the meeting so I take note, filing it away for inspection at a later date when I can think clearly. I hear the principal coming back so I agree and hang up. By the time I’ve straightened myself back into my chair Mr Trevelen strides back into his office. He sits down and begins to fidget with his shirt cuffs. He seems so nervous and I feel bad for putting him in this situation. He believed in me enough to offer me the scholarship despite my emancipation. He’d had to fight with the school board for them to let me in. Now I’d just proved them all right, I’m just an angry girl from Mounts Bay who can’t fit in with the polished, upper society teenagers. I’ve failed him. Don’t lose it now, I tell myself as I blink back the hot tears.
He finally clears his throat and opens his mouth. The phone rings. He frowns but holds up a finger to signal that I must wait. I nod and he picks up the phone.
“Yvette, I’m sure I just asked you to hold calls.”
He pauses and then he turns ghostly pale.
“Put him through.”
Sometimes I’m amazed at the reach Matteo has managed to achieve. I doubt he even knew Hannaford existed before I told him I was applying here. I also know the moment I got my scholarship he would have started to reach out and find all of the secrets he would need to use to manipulate these people. I wondered what Trevelen had done. I wonder what skeletons he was hiding that Matteo was threatening to shine a light on. From the look on his face it wasn’t good. He looked like he wanted to vomit up his breakfast all over his lovely oak desk.
After a terse ‘of course’ Mr Trevelen hangs up and then he looks at me like he’s never seen me before. He looks at me like he’s let a monster into his school.
He has.
“I’m going to let you off with a warning this time, Miss Anderson, in light of… new information. Harlow will also be receiving a warning for her prank on you. I will not be so lenient on you of you choose to retaliate.” I stare him down. I’m sure he would turn a blind eye on anything I choose to do from here on out now he’s been threatened by the Jackal. I nod obediently and stand.
“I’m going to go get cleaned up. I’ll skip my next class but I’ll be in my Health Ed.”
He nods and motions for me to leave as he drags a silk handkerchief over his sweaty forehead. I’m tempted to call Matteo back and ask what his buttons were but, sometimes, ignorance is bliss. I’d rather not find out the depths of evil this man has stooped to.
Yvette stares at me as I walk out free and clear. Classes have resumed so I don’t see anyone all the way up to the girls dorms. I head into the bathroom to shower and clean Harlow’s blood off of me. I take my bag into the stall with me and I don’t let it out of my sight as I wash down. The shaking starts when I dry off. I takes twice as long as it should to redress thanks to the trembling. I will finish today with my head held high and then tomorrow I will let myself crumble.
As I walk into the classroom all of the eyes in the room turn towards me.
No one expected me to last the day and yet here I was, taking my seat in Health Ed and ignoring the lot of them. I would not cry. I wouldn’t let them enjoy my tears. I'd survived my body being put through hell but this sort of psychological torture grated against me. The Wolf has retreated and I’m back to the little girl who cries and has crushes and wants to be liked. I kind of hate her. I can’t wait to graduate and leave all of this behind, so much for my new start.
I unpack my bag and set everything out onto my desk in clear lines as the whispers get louder. I can't have any sort of control anywhere else but in my pencils right now so I measure everything out with my fingertips. When that doesn't calm my racing heart I start to count backwards from a hundred in French, my go-to for panic reduction. The over complicated number system keeps enough of my brain occupied that I can usually fight back the panic.
As the bell begins to toll Avery, Ash, Harley, and Blaise walk in and sit in their usual spot behind me. It’s the only class we all share and I’m pissed I have it today of all days. Thankfully I don’t have to sit next to Harley. I hear Avery snort out a laugh that doesn’t suit her manicured appearance. She’s the epitome of grace and beauty. When you think about the beauty that wealth can create she’s exactly what you would picture.
She murmurs, “Stupid Mounty’s” and then opens her books. She seems pissed about all of this but I'm sure it's because she wanted to be the one to break me.
“Your brother really fucked up everyone’s chances of winning the sweep.” Harley isn’t even trying to be discreet, I think he’s enjoying my downfall more than anyone else. The guy who bore witness to the retribution I wrought isn't in this room at all, I'm left with the pompous asshole instead. There’s something in his eyes when he looks back at the sound of his voice, a recognition, that tells me he’s still trying to figure me out. Well, good luck.
> “She still looks at Blaise like she would enjoy a ride on his dick. Looks like the money is yours, man.” Ash drawls, and I want to kick his perfect face in.
I turn to give him a scathing look but they’re all enjoying every second of this torture. Harley is looking at me the same way he was in the chapel. I try not to shiver at the intensity. Blaise looks over at me and for the first time he actually looks. I squirm in my seat as his eyes trail over my scuffed shoes, nails chewed to the wicks, and the mess of black ringlets that is my hair. I know I look nothing like any of the girls at Hannaford and for the first time since I started here I feel pissed off about it. I’ve never felt so out of place in this school with all of these obscenely privileged kids.
“I don’t fuck fans.”
They all howl with laughter and even Avery manages a smug look in my direction. I turn back to the front of the class and ignore the comments all around me as the other students snicker and join in. Only Lauren, who’s still sitting as far away from me as she can to not be targeted by association, is silent.
I decide on the spot that I’m going to burn my Vanth Falling t-shirt and sleep in the nude from now on. I will never listen to his beautiful voice again. I’d rather die than admire this guy anymore.
After class I go to the library and email in all of my classwork for the week, my obsessive need to be ahead working in my favor once again. I tell each of my teachers I’m feeling unwell and will not be able to go to any classes in the foreseeable future. Then I go to the dining hall and grab a box of protein bars.
I don’t leave my room for a week.
Chapter Thirteen
After my self imposed sabbatical from my classes I make an important decision: I’m going to unleash the Wolf on these wealthy assholes and show them some real life consequences for their terrible behaviour. Things the rest of us had to learn as children, things I had learn the hardest way imaginable.
Sneaking around the dorms during classes is not the easiest thing to do. Technically, all of the guys who live here should be in classes but there’s the chance someone else is playing hooky or genuinely sick and hanging around. What I'm about to do cannot have any witnesses so I’m extra cautious and I take my time.
The ballet flats I'm wearing are the softest soles I could find in shoes and I’ve worn them enough to know exactly how to position my feet to go unnoticed. They are silent on the old oak floorboards. My black tights and tee are closely fitted and don't rustle either. There's surgical gloves on my hands from my first aid kit and my hair is swept under my biggest knit cap. I’ve become the living shadow I’ve had to be hundreds of times before.
I remember the path to Joey’s room and I slip through the unlocked door easily. This will teach him to lock the damn thing.
I wait until I'm sure he's not here and then I begin the slow and careful process of checking for security cameras. There's no obvious lenses but I'm sure he’s more imaginative than that. The living areas and the bathroom are clear but I find a small camera that faces the bed.
Typical. Fucking. Rapist.
Collecting trophies is the usual predator MO but I’m still pissed to see it. Did he still have the footage of him trying to force himself on me? Was he planning on sharing around the video of the assault as proof he’d won the bet? He had told me that nudes were so common at this school that no one really cared about them but what about sex tapes? Would the other students care about seeing a rape or would someone be willing to report Joey? I already knew the answer to that.
I swipe it, tucking it into my bra. I'm sure I'll find something abhorrent on it that will come in handy later but I'm here for one thing.
His stash.
I walk back to the front door and start a meticulous search for his drugs. He’s certainly not shy about all of the contraband in his room. There's alcohol everywhere, whiskey and rum mostly, and there's even glasses half full still in the sink like he was interrupted before classes this morning. I wonder if he's ever truly sober. He must be a high functioning addict to be getting away with it, hiding the scent alone is tricky and to sit tests while buzzed must be an experience. I’ve never smelt it on his breath but there’s ways around that.
The bathroom turns up dozens of bottles of prescription medications. I snap photos of all of the labels in case there's anything of interest there. But still no drugs. They have to be here somewhere. I’m getting antsy and frustrated at how long it’s taking to find something worth finding. I should have hours before Joey is due back but he doesn’t come across as someone who cares about the rules at Hannaford. I begin to pace the rooms as I think.
On my third trip around the lounge room I finally hear it.
There's a lose floorboard in the sitting area in front of the luxurious leather couch. I drop down to my hands and knees to run my fingers along the edges of the wooden plank. The gap is razor fine, just barely registering on my fingertips, but it’s there. I have to use a knife from the kitchen to prize it open but when it does I could crow with happiness.
Inside a small recess there's a tiny box, no bigger than the palm of my hand but a little longer. I open it carefully and find three bags of coke, a fake ID, and a stack of crisp hundred dollar bills. I flick through the cash and make a quick estimate of ten grand. Pocket change to this guy but enough to buy a lot of drugs for one person. I take a photo of the ID to check it later. I try not to touch the bags at all but as I move the box I heard the tinkling sort of rustle of something else sliding around. I use the flashlight on my phone to look for the culprit.
There's a small heart shaped locket. It's obviously pricey, I'd guess the stones on the front are real diamonds but it's nothing special when you consider the Beaumont's are billionaires. My fingers catch on the raised edges of the back and I flip it over. There’s a delicate, tiny inscription on the back.
You before my blood,
My soul, my life,
My heart, Iris Arbour.
Arbour. Joey has taken this from Harley, probably earlier in the year when Avery was in damage control and Ash told her to let them fight it out. I stare at the words. They are lovers words, something private and sacred. I would guess that Iris is his mother, has she died and this is something he has left to remember her? Joey is the kind of heartless psychopath to enjoy taking something of that sort of value.
I slip the necklace around my neck. I don’t have any pockets and I’m afraid I won’t feel it if it slips out of my bra. The metal feels cold against my skin.
I slip the box back into the gap and take photos of the placement. As I slip out of the room and head back to my room the necklace swings against the hollow of my neck in an unfamiliar way. It feels like a win against Joey already.
When I arrive at the second period class I share with Harley he frowns at me as he moves his books from my desk. I know I’m radiating my smugness out for everyone to see. I’m using it as my armor for the day so I don’t feel any of the barbs being thrown at me. I’ve already had two teachers pulls me aside and offer counseling because of the 911 call. The students are less kind about it. I’ve had to watch a couple of juniors do a dramatic reenactment in the dining hall over my early breakfast. They both looked at me, baiting me to hit them and risk another run in with the principal, but the Wolf doesn’t make rash decisions and today I am the Wolf. I just watched them with a blank face and then gave them a slow, deeply ironic clap that echoed through the dining hall. Their bravado quickly dried up and I get to watch them gulp and run away.
“Where were you this morning?” Harley says as he gives me a sidelong look. I watch him out of the corner of my eye but I don’t give him any extra attention. My mind is on bigger things today. “Are you still in a blood thirsty rage or have you mellowed enough to talk to me?”
“I have nothing to say to you or your little friends.” I reply and then I tune him out completely. He gives up trying pretty quickly.
The class drags but only because I’m waiting for the big reveal I know is coming. When the
bell finally goes I shove everything into my bag as quickly as I can. Harley notices and does the same, his eyebrows drawn in tight as he stares at me.
“If you enjoy watching Joey get what he deserves you should probably follow me.” I murmur just to get to see the look on his face. It doesn't disappoint.
“What did you-fuck it, lead the way, Mounty.” He gestures with his arm and I take the lead. He falls in step with me and he's got his phone out, texting with one hand. We get some looks as we walk together, the other students aware of the animosity between us.
“The twins might have a heart attack if they see this so you might not want to tell them.” I say as we approach the crowd that is slowly building in the front courtyard. Harley gives me this sort of dazed look but he shakes his head and shoves his phone back in his pocket. I push through the crowd and when I finally get to the front I school my face into a blank look so the shit-eating grin doesn't accidentally pop out.
Joseph Beaumont Jr is in handcuffs.
The crowd is full of gasps and whispers already, and all of the voices are laced with a reverent kind of fear. To see the self appointed king of the school being subjected to something so pedestrian, so scandalous, as being put in handcuffs. There's three police officers and while one holds Joeys wrists, another is talking to him quietly. The third one, a tall imposing man, is talking to the principal in a heated discussion. I'm sure this is a first for Hannaford.
