“Anyway, my point is, that’s proof that he definitely has access to a private investigator,” I went on. “Also, I’m pretty sure Adam said that he thought the investigator was someone from one of their dad’s companies.”
Ms. Flores nodded slowly. “Okay. That could help. But—”
“But I shouldn’t get my hopes up,” I cut in with a sigh. “Because Hunter gets away with everything.”
“I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that we’d have to ask Charles Connery for the details of every single investigator that his companies have on their books. So it’ll take some time. It’ll also depend on how cooperative Mr. Connery feels like being. For all we know, he might try to protect his son and refuse to give us any details.”
“That’s true.”
Ms. Flores furrowed her brows. “Are you absolutely sure it’s Hunter?” she asked. Before I could reply, she held up a palm. “I’m only asking because I thought you two had sorted out your issues. I heard a few students gossiping earlier in the week about him pulling you into the cafeteria and announcing that you were off his blacklist. I also heard something about an email that got sent out a few days ago?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. The email she’d just mentioned went out to every single student at RFA on Tuesday night, including me and my friends. It was from Hunter, and he’d reiterated what he said in the cafeteria on Monday—I was off the blacklist, and anyone caught harassing or bullying me was dead fucking meat.
I knew it was just something he wanted me to see in order to throw me off my game, and he probably sent out a second email to everyone afterwards—everyone except me, Adam, Trina, and my new Medusa friends—to let them know that the first email was part of a ploy and not to be taken seriously.
The truth was, the bullying hadn’t stopped at all.
No one actually said or did anything to my face, because they didn’t have a chance to do so with me holed up in my dorm. Instead it was a silent type of bullying—tons of abusive texts and emails from brand new anonymous accounts, similar to the ones I used to get. These newer ones were more threatening, though, so now I felt unsafe all the time. Even when I was just walking around Blair Hall, I found myself catching my breath constantly, wondering what danger lurked around every corner.
“It has to be him,” I said to Ms. Flores, lifting my chin. “I told him about the video, because I thought we were okay with each other. Then just two days later… well, you know what happened.”
She nodded and pursed her lips. “All right. I’ll make sure our focus stays on him, then,” she said. She reached out to pat me on the shoulder. “I know I’ve probably said this a hundred times, but I’m so sorry this is still happening to you, Laney.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said softly.
“I know, but I’m still sorry for what it’s doing to you,” she said. “Hopefully our investigation turns up something soon. If we get enough evidence, we can get Hunter expelled.”
I let out a short sigh. “I doubt he’ll face any consequences like that,” I said, shoulders slumping. “I think by now I’ve realized that the real RFA motto is this: The more money you have, the more shit you can get away with at our school.”
Ms. Flores let out a soft laugh, eyes crinkling around the edges. “Hey, you’re finally getting the hang of life in Royal Falls!” she said. Her amused expression quickly faded to a more serious one. “In all seriousness, though, he won’t get away with it. I promise.”
“Okay.” I sighed again. “I just want it to be over.”
“It will be one day. And you know what they say—the best revenge is a life lived well. Keep focusing on that.”
I forced a smile. “I’m trying. I’ve joined the Medusa Society, and they’re initiating me soon,” I replied. “They’re going to keep the bullies away from me, and I’ll also get a free ride through college once I graduate from here. One of the perks of membership, apparently.”
Her eyebrows rose. “That’s fantastic news!” she said. “I’ve never actually met any of those Medusa girls, but I’ve heard good things about them.”
“Yeah, they’re really nice.”
“When are you getting initiated into their club?”
“They messaged me last night to say that it’s happening tomorrow,” I said. “I’m not sure exactly when, though.”
“You better get to bed early tonight, then. None of your usual wild Friday night antics,” she joked.
I giggled softly and nodded. “Yup, that’s me. Huge party animal,” I said. I gestured to the messenger bags. “Anyway, I should probably get started on my work for the day.”
“Of course.” Ms. Flores crouched down and removed several files from the bags. “Here’s all of your classwork for the day,” she said, handing three of them to me. “And this one contains your homework,” she added, handing me another blue file.
I groaned. “There’s so much to get through.”
“You’ll be fine. You’re a smart kid.”
I motioned to the blue gift bag she’d left on the floor next to the other bags. “What’s that?” I asked. “Is it someone’s birthday?”
Her eyes fell on the bag and widened. “Oh! I completely forgot about that,” she said. “It’s not mine. I found it outside your door when I arrived. I figured one of your friends left it there to cheer you up.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared at it. “It wasn’t ticking, was it?” I asked wryly.
Ms. Flores laughed. “No, I think it’s just a gift.” She glanced at her watch. “Anyway, I better head off. I have a meeting in a few minutes.”
When she was gone, I set the coffee down on my nightstand and crouched next to the blue bag, eyes narrowing with suspicion again.
I knew it wasn’t from Adam or Trina. They wouldn’t leave something outside my door like this. It could be from the Medusa girls, though. A sort of good luck gift, seeing as my initiation was happening tomorrow.
I peered inside to see an envelope with my name on the front and a box wrapped in pale blue paper with a silver ribbon around it. The box also had a small card on it, tucked under the center of the ribbon.
I fished it out and opened it to find a message scrawled in distinctly masculine handwriting. Thought you should have one of your own – H
My stomach started churning, and I dropped the card like it was on fire.
It was from Hunter.
For a few tense moments, I simply stared at the gift, unsure if I should open it or not. My curiosity finally won out, and I ripped the wrapping paper off to find a velvety jewelry box beneath. My brows shot up as I opened the box, revealing a sparkling necklace.
The delicate chain was made of silver with tiny glinting diamonds on every second link, and the pendant was in the shape of an L. Not a regular L like my last necklace—well, Lindsay Connery’s necklace—but an elegant calligraphic L. It was inlaid with more diamonds and little violet-colored gems that I could only assume were amethysts. The deep shade of purple would complement my green eyes perfectly.
Hunter obviously knew that. He must’ve selected this piece very carefully in order to appeal to me and tug at my heartstrings, but I couldn’t let it get to me. I had to remain stubborn and refuse to engage with his bullshit, or else he’d worm his way right back into my life.
With my pulse racing, I snapped the jewelry box shut and shoved it in the back of my desk drawer. The envelope went straight in the wastebasket next to my desk, still sealed. I assumed it contained a letter from Hunter, but I didn’t want to read anything he had to say to me.
The only reason I didn’t toss the necklace in the trash as well was that it was too beautiful to discard. I would never wear it—I wouldn’t give Hunter the satisfaction—but I could give it to the next friend I made whose named started with the letter L. Maybe Layla from the Medusa Society could have it if we grew close enough.
I tried my best to put Hunter’s gift out of my mind and spent the next several hours working my ass off. B
y four o’clock, all of my Friday classwork was done, and I’d also managed to make a serious dent in my weekend homework.
Trina showed up at my door just before five. We had an English test coming up soon, so we’d arranged to spend the evening studying together.
As she unpacked her notebooks and different colored pens, I filled her in on the gift bag Hunter left by my doorstep this morning. Her eyes rolled so far back in her head that she looked like she was auditioning for an Exorcist reboot.
“Please tell me you didn’t read the letter,” she said.
I shook my head and jerked a thumb toward the wastebasket. “Nope. Tossed it straight out.”
She snickered. “Good. The last thing you need right now is any of his bullshit excuses,” she said. She picked up a book and held it out to me. “Anyway… are you ready to critically analyze Jane Eyre, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Heart of Darkness for the billionth time?”
We spent the next two hours going through our old class notes, highlighting the most salient points and discussing them with each other. At seven, my stomach started to grumble, and Trina yawned and stretched out on the carpet. “I think it’s time for us to take a break and order a pizza,” she said, reaching for her phone. “What do you think?”
“I think I’ll die if we don’t order it right this second,” I said with a grin, stretching out next to her.
Twenty minutes later, we were shoveling greasy, cheesy goodness into our mouths as we watched the first episode of The Handmaid’s Tale TV series. It wasn’t exactly proper study, seeing as we were meant to be concentrating on the book, but it still seemed relevant enough for us to not feel guilty about it.
Halfway through the episode, I wiped my hands with a napkin, balled it up, and tossed it into the trash by my desk. As my eyes fell on the wastebasket, there was a fluttering in my chest, and my fingers started tingling.
Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to read Hunter’s letter after all. Maybe he’d said something in it that could be construed as evidence against him. An admission of guilt, perhaps. Or an apology, which was basically the same thing.
Or maybe he’d written something that would blow everything out of the water and prove that I was wrong about him this whole time. Maybe he was actually innocent all along…
I knew I was heading down a dangerous path, but I couldn’t stop my thoughts from veering that way. Unable to contain my curiosity for a minute longer, I used another napkin to wipe my mouth, and then I padded over to the wastebasket and crouched to drop it in. With furrowed brows, I looked around for the envelope, but I couldn’t see it anywhere. It must’ve slipped beneath the other stuff.
“What are you doing?” Trina asked, glancing over at me.
“Just throwing away the used napkins,” I said lightly.
She returned her gaze to the TV, and I quickly rummaged through the papers in the wastebasket. It was all old notes and a few gum wrappers. No envelope.
“You’re looking for the letter, aren’t you?” Trina asked, looking over at me again.
My face turned hot. “Um… maybe.”
“Laney, you can’t read it.”
“I know I shouldn’t, but I thought—”
She cut me off. “No, I mean you literally can’t. It’s gone.”
“Huh?”
She held up her palms and bit her bottom lip. “Don’t be mad, okay?” she said in a timid tone, cheeks flushing pink.
I sighed. “You got rid of it, didn’t you?”
“Uh-huh. I knew you’d get curious eventually, so I thought I should destroy it before you did.”
“How?” I asked, brows rising. I hadn’t even noticed her go into the wastebasket at all.
“When I needed to pee earlier, I went to your desk to grab the keycard for the bathroom, and I saw the letter sitting right there in the trash can. I took it into the bathroom with me, ripped it up, and flushed it down the toilet.”
“So now I’ll never know what it said.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking stricken. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“It’s okay,” I murmured, padding back over to her. “I get it.”
“I didn’t read it, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just tore it right up.”
“I was kinda hoping you did read it, actually,” I said.
“Why?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.
I lowered my eyes. “I know it’s stupid, but I can’t stop wondering what it said.”
“Probably just the same bullshit he’s been texting to you,” she replied.
I snapped my gaze up to meet hers. “He’s been texting me?”
“Yeah, from Asher’s phone, I think. It’s all been forwarded to me.”
“What did he say?”
“I don’t think I should tell you.”
“Please, Trina.”
She sighed and held up a hand. “Okay, fine. I’ll tell you. But if you regret hearing this later, you can’t blame me.”
“I won’t.”
“All right. I deleted the messages, because fuck him, but I still remember the gist of them. They said something like: there’s something I need to tell you, and it’s really important, but I have to do it in person.”
“Hm. I wonder what it is.”
She rolled her eyes again. “Please don’t fall for it. It’s obviously just another attempt to manipulate you into seeing him.”
“I don’t know,” I said slowly, rubbing the back of my neck. “What if Adam actually had a point the other day?”
“About what?”
“When he said it might not be Hunter behind the video at the assembly. What if he was right?”
Trina groaned. “For fuck’s sake. I knew I shouldn’t have told you about the messages,” she said. “It’s working for him already! You’re starting to doubt yourself.”
“Well, it’s just not making much sense anymore. Why would he do something so horrible and then spend so much time and effort claiming that it wasn’t him?”
“Um, duh? To reel you right back in so he can fuck you over again.”
“But the necklace,” I said, nodding toward the desk drawer. “It looked expensive as hell. If he was really guilty and actually hated me, why would he spend so much money just to trick me?”
“Laney, you can’t start falling for this again. You have to think about it from his point of view.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the jewelry is just more rich-boy bullshit, like that check he tried to give you at the elephant gala,” she said, nostrils flaring. “Money is literally nothing to him. His weekly allowance is probably equal to the GDP of a small country. So you might think the necklace is a big grand gesture, but to him it’s just another easy way to trick you.”
My shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I’m being a dumbass.”
“No, it’s not your fault,” she said, face softening. “You didn’t grow up in his world. You aren’t used to all the rich-boy fuckery yet.”
“I should be used to it,” I said with a grimace. “I’ve dealt with my fair share already.”
She patted my arm and gave me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry. It’ll get easier.”
We finished the pizza and returned to our studies. By half past nine, I was exhausted, and I couldn’t contain my yawns.
“I think we’ve done enough,” Trina said, noticing my tiredness. “I feel pretty ready for the test. Do you?”
I smothered another yawn and nodded. “I think so.”
“Good, because if I have to read one more note about the use of color in The Handmaid’s Tale, I might spontaneously combust.” She grinned and started packing up her stuff. “Hey, I forgot to ask. When are you officially joining the Medusas?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Oh, wow. Did they tell you what’s happening in the initiation yet?”
“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “I just have to wait and see.”
She stood up and gave me a hug
. “Well, good luck with it! Hope it’s fun,” she said. “And I hope you don’t get any more weird vibes from them.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said, hugging her back.
After she was gone, I took a quick shower, put on my pajamas and climbed into bed. I was so tired that my eyes were already shut before my head hit the pillow.
Despite my exhaustion, something jolted me awake a while later. With bleary eyes, I looked at the clock on my nightstand to see that it was just before midnight. I yawned and stretched my limbs, wondering what shook me out of my heavy slumber.
Then I heard it again. A thud. The noise sent me bolting upright as my heart leapt into my mouth.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the dark, and I whipped my head around, searching every inch of my room for the source of the sound.
There was nothing there. No one.
For a moment, I thought I might’ve imagined the thudding sound, but then I heard a cough from my bathroom.
“For fuck’s sake, keep it down,” someone whispered. It was a distinctly masculine voice. “You’ll wake her up before we even get in there.”
My scrambled brain begged my legs to move, but I was paralyzed with fear.
No, no, no…
It was happening all over again. Hunter and his cronies had broken in to terrorize me. They’d probably put a ladder against the wall outside, pried my bathroom window open and climbed inside one by one.
I heard slow footsteps now, getting closer and closer to the bathroom door. My vision blurred and my chest tightened, sucking the air out of my lungs, and my mind was overwhelmed with a sense of impending doom. I recognized the feeling instantly. I was having a panic attack.
I forced myself to inhale and exhale deeply through my nose. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I struggled to control my breathing, and when the attack passed, I slipped out from under my sheets and quietly padded toward the main door, hoping I could sneak out of the dorm before Hunter and his friends left my bathroom.
No such luck.
The bathroom door creaked open, and three masked figures emerged. “Shit! She fucking heard us,” one of them muttered. “Get her. Quick!”
I let out a piercing scream and dashed toward the door. Before I reached it, two of the black-clad figures grabbed me, one by the arms and one by the legs. They carried me over to my bed and put me down, tightening their grip on me as I struggled and thrashed. “Help!” I shrieked, hoping someone else in Blair Hall would hear my pleas. “Help me! Please!”
Shattered Kingdom: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Royal Falls Elite Book 2) Page 4
