by Grace Reagal
I grimace. Not me. Definitely and never me.
Valentin laughs and leans down. His lips press against my ear. “You will find out. You’ve got yourself a deal, love. And your gun will be in your locker by the end of today.”
***
My phone starts ringing as I set up my homework. When I realize that it’s not the phone that Valentin had given me, I sigh in relief. I am not ready to deal with the agreement I had made today.
I mean, I refuse to regret it. I had made the plan knowing what it would mean to actually agree to it. This is the smart play, I know. In fact, I should be proud of myself for managing to trick Valentin.
I grin. He has totally and completely fallen for it.
An unknown number flashes on my screen and my heart beats faster with excitement. I feel like a loser remembering what Valentin had said to me today.
“You know no one other than your family.”
I want to prove him wrong.
“Hello?”
“He broke up with her!”
I sit up quickly, surprised by the loud voice. It takes a moment to register that it’s Mell. “Mell…?”
“Yes, Mell! How do you not have my name in your contacts!?”
I pull the phone from my ear, wincing. “You’ve never called me from this number before.”
“Oh yeah, my stepdad broke that one. Anyways what the hell did you do to make him break up with Cassandra? I thought they were getting ready to have kids—”
My head is spinning from all the information and how loud she is screaming. “I literally have no idea about what you’re talking about, Mell. Can you slow down and speak like a normal human being? Also, are you okay? Why weren’t you at school today? Do you feel fine after Friday? Your—”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for getting me home by the way, but how are you not understanding this? You made Valentin Nikolaev break up with his girlfriend of like three years! What did you do?” She sounds like she is enjoying this immensely.
I shake my head, confused. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information but it’s obviously not reliable because I literally did no such thing!”
“Oh, trust me. It was a reliable source.”
“Where did you hear this from? His brother or something?”
There’s silence from her end and I realize quickly that I should not have gone there. Finally, she speaks but I can hear the anger in her voice. “Fuck that douchebag.”
I know it has a lot to do with what happened Friday but I’d rather talk to her face to face. I change the topic. “Okay, can you tell me, without yelling and shattering my eardrums, exactly what you supposedly heard.”
I lay back, knowing this is going to be one drama of a story.
“Okay, so this is what’s circulating around the school currently, although it’s been changing from hour to hour. You cornered Valentin and seduced him by promising to suck his dick better than Cassandra—”
“What?” Now I am the one screaming.
“Kitty, are you all right up there?” I hear Nana ask from downstairs.
Pulling the phone from my ear I yell down, “Yeah! I’m fine!” I put the phone back in my ear and hiss, “What the heck are you talking about, Mell?”
“Wait, I’m not even done with the story yet. So after seducing him, you gave him an ultimatum that he had to leave Cassandra or else. They said you were being a boss ass bitch and was like ‘I’m not gonna be anyone’s side ho so it’s either me or her.’ So he texted Cassandra this afternoon ‘We’re done.’ Please tell me it’s true!”
I grip my comforter in my fist. “That. Is. Not. True. I had nothing to do with them breaking up. We just have a project we have to do for AP sem. That’s. All. Spread that.”
I can hear Mell laughing. “I’m kind of disappointed, but also I find it hilariously funny.”
“Funny how?”
“That you think I can just tell a couple of people your boring ass version and suddenly the school won’t think of you like a badass ho.”
“Mell!”
“Who are you talking to up there, Kitty?”
I groan. I yell out, “I’m fine, Nana!”
I hiss into the phone, “Mell.”
I hear some noise in the background and a male voice yelling. Mell sighs. “Gotta go, Kitty.” I can hear her grin when she says. “See you tomorrow.”
***
Valentin
I grin, watching the view outside. The buildings and lights are beautiful, much more so than Russia, although I still prefer my home country to this place.
Across the city, I can see the Giovanni building.
I smile.
Soon I will be in there.
Kitten thinks she has me by the balls. I have to give it to her; she is a good fucking liar. I almost fell for it.
Almost.
Because no matter how many times she gives me puppy-eyed-innocent looks that beg “Trust me, I can’t lie,” at the end of the day, she would never be willing to give up her virtue. She is too much of a fucking prude.
I laugh as I remember how she couldn’t even say “virginity.”
But no matter, her plan is good and I can use it for my own advantage.
It is obvious that Caterina Giovanni cannot be intimidated. Anyone by this point would have peed themselves ten times and would have been crawling toward me, begging me to stop. But whatever I do, she just brushes it off.
This is a perfect way to get her.
Yes, I will have to do something that Father had never taught me.
He has always told me: “Make them fear you and they will never cross you.”
But I will have to change things up with this one. She is different than the rest.
Instead of fear, I would give her love.
I have figured out quickly that Kitten is strong, trusting, and loyal. Once I clinch that, I will fuck her and get on to the bigger point in businesses.
I swing back my beer, watching lights flash below me. “Beware, Kitten. I’m coming for you.”
Chapter 21
Caterina
“Mom? Dad?”
Mom turns around from the passenger seat. “Yes, baby?”
“How do you guys have time to take me to school and back?” I look at Dad in the rearview mirror. “Don’t you have a business to run, Dad?” I turn to Mom. “And don’t you have cases to get to?”
There’s a pause in the car before they both start laughing.
Dad stops at a red light and turns toward me, amusement in his eyes. “You know I’m the owner of my company and your mother is a senior partner at her firm.”
Mom pipes up, smiling. “When you reach that point in your life, you’re allowed to take an hour here and there.”
I groan. “But every day?” I look at Dad. “Every. Day?” I thought that they would eventually get tired of it and send one of the drivers to drive me to school. I know that they are terrified of me getting kidnapped or killed or random stories from Dateline. It is unreasonable and I mind it more now that I get a taste of freedom in a normal school.
Dad smiles, his eyes twinkling. “Yes, Caterina. Every day. That was our deal. If you don’t want to keep it, we can always hire a tutor—”
I shake my head, my eyes wide. “No! No! No!” I quickly say. “I’m totally fine with this arrangement, Dad.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure Caterina because we really can—”
Mom chuckles and nudges him. “She wants high school, Dom. Your being really pushy isn’t going to change that.”
He grumbles, “A father can try,” and turns back, hitting the gas hard.
Mom laughs. “You’re too gruff and domineering, babe.”
I can see the scowl on his face.
Mom starts teasing him even more. “Aw, what? Are you mad that—”
Suddenly, the window by her side rolls down. She shrieks as rain splatters on her, “What the frack!” Mom has words that she fills in for the f-word. It is kind of fu
nny. “Roll up the windows!”
I burst out laughing along with Dad as Mom tries to duck the rain. “I am not joking, Dominic Giovanni—I will kill you! Do you know how long it took me to do my hair?”
Dad stops the car smoothly, pulling up at the side of the high school. He turns to Mom and runs his hands down her hair. “You look great, love.” Grinning, he turns to me. “Doesn’t it look better like this, Caterina?”
I nod, biting my lip so I don’t burst out laughing again. “Yeah, Dad. I really think you did her a favor. Mom, you should wear it like this sometimes.”
Mom yells in frustration and leans over Dad’s lap, pressing a button to roll up the window. I can see her fuming as she faces the both of us. Before anything can happen to me, I jump out of the car. Flipping my jacket hood on, I wave goodbye.
“Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!”
They both yell goodbye, and as I duck under a tree, I can hear Mom screaming angrily. Laughing, I run toward the entrance of the school.
That happiness dissipates the moment I step into the school. I’m instantly surrounded by seven girls. Their faces are familiar.
Cassandra’s friends.
Oh, heck no.
I cannot deal with this on top of all that’s happening.
I grip the straps of my backpack, and feel at peace a little, knowing I have my gun with me again. I’m not going to use it, but it still brings me a sense of protection.
I try to push past them, but two pairs of hands pull me back.
One of the girls says, “We’re going to go to the bathroom, bitch.”
They start pushing me toward the bathroom. I push the two girls off of me. “Don’t touch me.” I can feel people watching us from their lockers, but no one does anything to help me. Cowards.
Spineless cowards.
Before I know it, I’m pushed into the bathroom. They slam the door shut and lock it, instantly surrounding me again. Where had they even gotten the bathroom key?
Instantly my body tenses up, and changes. I shake the two girls off. “Get. Off. Of. Me!”
I look around at each girl. “So, Cassandra is sending her little minions to do her dirty work?”
Instead of talking to me about something I’ve had no hand in, she is going to send in people to beat me up? Wow, she is a real class act.
A collection of them yell at me. Something about not being minions while also managing to defend their queen.
I laugh, dropping my backpack on the floor. “So, what are you guys planning on doing, huh?”
I look at a short blonde girl, and grin. “Are you going to beat me up?”
A tall, lean girl steps forward. Her hair is up in a tight bun at the top of her head. She looks angry. “As a matter of fact, yes. We are.”
I cock my head, glancing quickly around the bathroom. There is nothing that I can use as a weapon for self-defense. “Do you even know why you’re doing this?”
The blonde one speaks up now, her voice high. “You broke up Cassie and Valentin!”
Another girl yells, “You talked shit about Cassie so you can fuck him.”
“You wanted to get back at her so you did, like, this whole scheme to break them up!”
“They were supposed to have babies together, you bitch!”
I am finding it kind of amusing how they all stress one word in their fairytale sentences.
A dark girl with long braids growls at me. “And you’re new!”
One of the girls next to her turned, looking offended. She hisses, “Hey! I’m new too.”
The girl rolls her eyes. “I didn’t mean you, obviously.”
“Oh, okay then. I just thought you know. ’Cause—”
I interrupt their tirade, my head spinning. “Okay, so let me get this straight.” I turn to the girl with the braids. “I’m new.” I move my eyes to the short blonde. “And I broke up a couple, and as a newbie that’s a horrible sin.” I look between two girls, not sure who had said something about babies. “And apparently they were married and ready to have these adorable kids.” I point at the tall girl next to her. “And now all seven of you are going to beat me up.”
I look up at the ceiling, muttering, “Do I have everything covered? I feel like I’m missing something…”
I take a deep breath. “No, I think that’s all.” I intertwine my hands in front of me. “Well, okay then. That’s not at all that happened, but I don’t think any of you care…so…let’s get into it.”
There’s silence.
I chuckle. “I think someone is supposed to step up and throw a punch.” I tuck loose hair behind my ears. “And then two people get a hold of my arm and hold me down…” I look around. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…seven girls. Okay, there might not be a job for all of you so we might have to make three of you an audience. Oh, and one of you can record.”
I blink, smiling widely. “So, who’s doing what?”
They all look at me like I’m crazy.
Me? Pshhh…I’m not crazy!
But it’s funny they have no idea who they’re up against. I’ve been training for this my whole life.
Hm…I could knock at least two of them out instantly before the others start pulling my hair and scratching me.
One of the girls behind me yells out a war cry that sounds like a cat dying and I feel her sprint up behind me.
I sidestep her calmly, sending her flying into one of her friends. She screams, “I’m sorry!” as they both tumble down.
At that, every girl seems to get the courage to gang up on me because I hear other war cries and suddenly, five bodies are running into me. I manage to land a solid punch in two of the girls’ stomachs which send them sprawling on the ground. But at least three of them jump on me.
And exactly like I had thought, they start pulling at my hair and I feel fingernails skidding over my arms. I try to cover my face because even in the middle of it all, all that is running through my mind is that that if my parents see anything, it is going to be bad.
I feel hands pulling at my ponytail, “Give. Cassandra. Back. Her. Boyfriend!”
I elbow the girl in her nose. “Stop. Screeching. In. My. Ear!”
There’s a shriek and she jumps off of me. “Oh, my God. I think she broke my face!”
One of the girls finally lands a real punch in my chest. I groan. “Dude, how low can you get? Boobs? You’re a girl too. Are you being serious?” It really freakin’ hurt.
I lift up my head and headbutt her. I hear her scream and her body falls off mine. Finally, I’m able to slip through the remaining bodies and jump up. I back myself against the wall and straighten my sweater, breathing hard.
“If anyone else wants to come at me, know that I will knock your fudging teeth out.”
Yes, I say ‘fudging.’ So what? Mom has creative words for swears, so I follow her lead.
At least three of them look like they’re about to start crying. I had landed pretty good punches in their guts, so I could understand why. The others are all around the bathroom, one had gone in a stall…to hide I think.
Suddenly, the door bursts open. I see Mell standing there with Tom by her side. Their mouths both drop open as they see the bathroom. Mell blinks. “What the…”
The girls start shrieking amongst each other. I look across the bathroom in the mirror and check myself to make sure I look presentable. Leaning down, I pick up my backpack and walk toward the exit.
Tom, who is wearing a shocked look on his face, grips his backpack straps. “Are you…okay?”
I gasp out a laugh. “Yeah, just a few scratches.”
Mell leans against the wall, and bursts out laughing. “Oh my god, dude, this whole time we were trying to get the door open, we thought they were beating you up. But—but—” She starts laughing harder.
She shakes her head and brushes her bangs out of her eyes. “I can’t believe you, Kitty.”
I shrug, not knowing how to respond to their surprise. I couldn’t very well tell them that my p
arents are billionaires who have trained me how to kill kidnappers, could I? To distract them I say, “How did you guys even find each other?” I turn to Tom. “I thought you guys didn’t know each other.”
He says, “We don’t,” at the same time Mell says, “Our moms used to be friends.”
There’s silence for a moment before Mell walks toward me. She nods to Tom. “Do you have a tissue?”
He nods quickly and gets one out of his backpack.
Tom hands a tissue to Mell, and she laughs, grinning at me. “Girl, you know how to fight. That was seven girls. All who were hella angry for their queen.” She leans toward me and dabs it on my cheek. “And you came out with only a couple of scratches.”
She laughs, small dimples appearing in her cheeks. “And I think I can hear them crying.” As she wipes the blood she says, “Oh, by the way. Thanks for Friday.”
She drops it in casually and so I just smile and say, “No problem.”
Tom looks around nervously. “Let’s go before any teachers come. You know how strict they are about fighting.”
We hear footsteps around the corner. My eyes widen. “Oh, shoot. I think they might already be here. Let’s go!”
We sprint down the hallway and up the stairs, just as the bell rings.
***
When I walk into the cafeteria, I walk smack into Chase. The boy I have been trying to avoid this whole week. I jump back, my hand going to my heart. “You scared me!”
I scan his face and grimace. I can see the purple bruises and other wounds on his face.
We both speak at the same time.
I say, “I am so so sorry Chase” at the same time he says, “How can I thank you, beautiful?”
A grin emerges from his face and he laughs, running a hand over his face. “What reason would you have to be sorry?”
I stumble over my words. “I—I think—I might have been the reason—I’m sorry—”
He shakes his head, watching me with intensity. “No, Kitty. Don’t even think about blaming yourself. This is…” his lips fall in a frown and his eyes darken, “…just some shit that’s between me and Nikolaev.”
