by Katie May
I didn’t bother to tell a giddy Maria that this was B’s room. At the end of the day, I had no doubt I would spend more time here than in my own. Curled around B’s dainty body. The pervasive scent of her honeysuckle body wash enticing me. The soft skin beneath my fingers.
Maria stood, waiting, and I awkwardly waved. What did she want from me?
When the tension became almost palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife, I opened the door, slipped inside, and lightly shut it.
It took me a moment to take stock of B’s minuscule dorm room, and another moment for the proper anger to fester.
Her room was in shambles. Clothing littered the ground, and her dresser balanced precariously on one leg. Her bedspread, the school-sanctioned peach color, was shredded, as well as her mattress.
All I saw was red, vibrant in its intensity. I barely even noticed that my hands were clenched into fists by my sides, the overwhelming need to smash them into someone’s face nearly killing me. I had no doubt who was behind this destruction.
The same asshole who had threatened her. Who she had threatened with pleasure I could only dream of having.
B was bent over her duffle bag, muttering inarticulately beneath her breath as she inventoried her belongings.
She was dressed in that damn leotard—the leotard that was both a godsend and my own personal hell. How was it possible for someone to look so perfect, so beautiful? The fabric accentuated her delectable curves, and her golden hair was flowing around her shoulders. It was a different color than Maria’s. While Maria’s was so blond it was almost white, B’s was pure, undiluted gold. Darker strands of brown were woven throughout, heightening the brown in her eyes.
A memory assaulted me then—a memory I didn’t recognize—and I staggered.
“You fucking cunt,” a malicious voice sneered.
My voice was raspy from years of no use, but the words came out clearly. “I’m going to kill you.”
He laughed, the sound grating on my nerves. Anger thrummed through my veins like wave after wave of electricity.
“I’d like to see you try.”
I was pulled out of my strange daydream by B’s voice. Shaking my head, I willed myself back to the present. Trying to understand my vision was like trying to push back the waves of the ocean: impossible.
Just a product of this fucked up school, I told myself.
“You just going to stand there like a creeper?” B quipped, not bothering to turn around. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked them to the side. “You know what, never mind. I’m done. Fuck them right in the ass with a dildo made of barbed wire.”
With a dramatic sigh, she flopped onto the bed, placing a hand over her eyes. The bed creaked dangerously, but B didn’t react.
I hesitantly reached down and grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor, folding them up and setting them on her still standing desk.
“I’m tired and hungry and sweaty and just not in the mood for this shit.” Once again, she released an agitated sigh. One eye blinked open, surveying me. “Come cuddle.”
There was both a plea and a demand in her voice. Vulnerable and dominant. My cock hardened shamelessly, but she fortunately had already reshut her eyes.
I didn’t need to be told twice. Quickly, I scurried to the bed and dropped down beside her. She immediately curled onto my chest, her head in the crook of my neck, and I breathed in her heady, distinct scent.
Being with B was wandering alone at night, then suddenly emerging in a bright paradise. It was the elation you felt drinking water after years in the desert. It was rainbows and sunshine and every fucking cheesy description you could think of.
“Sorry if I’m sweaty,” she mumbled sleepily into my chest. It was well into the morning, the sun breaking through the foliage of trees outside her window, but I knew B would be tired after an intensive workout. More times than I could count, B would return from gymnastics practice dead to the world. She would collapse onto the nearest flat surface, the rest of the world diminishing to mere background noise.
I wanted to ask her what had happened, if those assholes had hurt her, if she was okay, but I was content just to hold her. Love her. Feel her heartbeat thrum against my chest. Her silky soft hair brushed my face with each twitch of her body, and I inhaled her scent. Love for her reverberated through my body, my heart, like a sledgehammer, until all that existed was her. Her and me, in a cocoon of our own making.
“I think I’m going to go to the admissions office later on,” she confided softly. “I can’t handle…I just don’t want to deal with people.”
I snorted. Understatement of the century. B really only had two moods. Stabby and murdery. I had the distinct feeling that Kace, Aiden, and Tanner evoked the latter one. Only I was fortunate enough to see the full spectrum.
She giggled against my chest, hearing what I didn’t say aloud.
“I’m not usually this…” She trailed off, unable to find an appropriate word. I didn’t think there was any word in the English dictionary that could describe Bianaca Steal.
C-R-A-Z-Y
I wrote into the sensitive skin of her arm. I didn’t have to see her to know that she rolled her eyes.
“I’m always crazy,” she countered. “But they just bring out the psychopathic crazy.”
Patting my stomach, she abruptly jumped to her feet.
“I need to shower and get dressed. Are you staying here?”
I nodded. There was nowhere else I would rather be.
Her eyes softened as they traced my features, there and gone too quickly for me to be certain I hadn’t imagined it. My heart pounded erratically in my chest at her unexpected display of affection.
She grabbed her uniform off the floor and slipped out, smiling at me. My head fell backward on her pillow, and I groaned.
That woman…she was going to be the death of me.
7
Bianaca
The first person I saw when I entered the admissions office was Kace.
He wore the standard school uniform that showcased his muscular thighs and toned back. He wasn’t as big as Tanner nor as tall as Beau, but he was definitely not lacking in the muscle department.
He was bending over a filing cabinet when I stepped up, and my eyes, unbidden, landed on his firm ass. Straightening, he flashed a wicked grin over his shoulder.
“Well hello, pretty lady,” he teased. My cheeks wanted to erupt in flames at being caught ogling, but I willed my expression to remain impassive. He may have had a good butt, but he was a dick. They all were.
I had heard whispers of them as I had walked the halls. The Three Horsemen. Apparently, they were waiting for their fourth. A stupid nickname, if I did say so myself.
Without preamble, I dropped my information packet into his hands. His brow furrowed, lips curving downward adorably.
I pointed to my room number, trembling with agitation.
“I want to change rooms,” I said curtly.
Kace’s eyes widened marginally, almost imperceptibly, at my tone, but his signature grin remained in place.
“That’s not allowed.”
He handed me the packet back and stepped toward the desk. Surprisingly, we were the only two in the office. It was almost eerie without the chatter of students and the clicking of keyboards being typed on.
“Why the hell isn’t it allowed?” I asked, standing in the center of the room. My eyes followed his movements as my body remained still. Frozen in shock.
He casually, almost indolently, sat in his leather chair, legs kicked back. He grinned impishly at me.
“Don’t know. I didn’t write the rules.” Shrugging, he turned toward his computer, dismissing me.
Oh, hell no. I was not being fucking dismissed by him.
With a speed that shocked even myself, I moved around the desk and placed myself in front of his computer screen. In this position, I found myself standing between his legs, those long lashes of his fluttering against prominent cheekbones. I briefly los
t my train of thought as he stared up at me.
His lips curled up on one side in a crooked grin.
“So you threaten me, destroy my room, and annoy the living hell out of me…all because of where I was placed to live in. Outside of my control, might I add. And when I try to switch rooms, you tell me it’s impossible. Am I hearing this right?” I asked. My voice rose with each word until I was practically shouting.
Still, that infuriating smirk never left his handsome face.
“I didn’t destroy your room, nor did I threaten you,” he said at last, and my temper flared.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I threw my arm back, irritated, not seeing the coffee cup until it shattered and black liquid spilled everywhere.
Cursing, I jumped away from Kace, an apology on my lips. That apology died when I took in the laughter dancing in his eyes. The mirth in his smile.
The blisteringly hot liquid landed on the keyboard, sizzling, before cascading onto the floor. Still, Kace did not stop smiling.
Laughing, he jumped to his feet.
“I always hated that damn computer. Seriously, I think it was made in the 90s.”
“Um…”
Fear strangled me. It may have been a piece of shit computer, but it was still the school’s, and it still cost money. Money that I didn’t have. Breathing was difficult as I stared at the sparking keyboard.
“What’s wrong?” Kace asked, amusement draining from his eyes. He began to take a step toward me, thought better of it, and stepped backward.
“What’s wrong?” I laughed in disbelief. “What’s wrong is that there’s a broken computer here that I’m going to have to pay for.”
I began to run through a list of my expenses. Gymnastics itself cost an arm and a leg. Literally. Mom and Steve had agreed to pay for that, if only to get me out of the house and their lives. I recently took a job as a waitress on the weekends—so long as I didn’t have a gymnastics meet on that Saturday—but the tips were subpar at best. I didn’t need expensive clothing. Thrift stores could sustain me for a little while. I even came across a few leotards on more than one occasion while shopping there. I could potentially sell a few of my solid gold medals as well as—
“I’ll take care of it,” Kace said off-handedly. I blinked.
“Huh?”
“I’ll take care of it,” he repeated.
I was struck dumb. Speechless. The scared little girl within me wanted to jump on his offer like it was a raft floating in the ocean. The independent woman wanted to scoff at his condescending tone. I didn’t need people to pity me, pity my upbringing, and I especially didn’t need them to splurge money on me like I was some type of prostitute.
Money, I had come to realize, always had strings attached. No one ever willingly handed it out. No one ever willingly protected someone they didn’t know. Didn’t like.
I crossed my arms under my breasts, and his eyes instinctively flickered downward, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Just as quickly, they danced upward, once more meeting my eyes.
“What do you want?” I asked cagily.
His eyes widened in horror.
“You seem to be under this delusional mentality that someone can’t do something nice for another person without expecting something in return.” He began to pace, his feet leaving imprints on the off-white carpeting.
Leaning back against the distressed wood of the desk, I folded my arms over my chest. “I don’t know why you, of all people, would expect anything different. You and your friends hate me.”
He didn’t let up his erratic pacing.
“We hate what you represent,” he said dismissively. He punctuated that statement with a wave of his hand, effectively sliding it under the rug in his own mind. I bristled. “Josie was our best friend,” he continued. “When she and her girlfriend went missing…I’ve never seen Aiden lose it like that. They were both his little sisters.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and I honestly was. However, I didn’t know how any of that related to me. It was merely a coincidence that I happened to be placed in Josie’s old room.
“If it wasn’t for the dreams—” Kace broke off abruptly, running a shaky hand through his auburn hair. “That’s not important.”
On the contrary, I had the distinct feeling that it was extremely important. When Kace’s eyes flitted around the cluttered office, not sticking on one thing in particular, I realized he was hiding something from me. Something that had to do with Josie and this entire mess I found myself in. He knew why Aiden was so antagonistic toward me. He knew…and was keeping his mouth shut.
My retort died on my lips at the sound of footsteps.
Spinning on my heel, I came face to face with a stampede of teachers. They all wore solid black clothing and similar white masks, moving as fluid as water to form a semi-circle around Kace and me. I didn’t have to see their eyes to know that they would be fixed on the sputtering computer.
My heart hammered in my chest, each breath clogging my throat. There was something about these professors, something about the power they exuded that went beyond a mere authority figure, that caused my stomach to plummet through the floorboards.
Instinctively, I inched a step closer to Kace. My hands trembled by my sides, but I shoved them into my skirt pocket. For some reason, I knew that any show of fear from me would be fatal.
As quickly as I thought that, I swept it away in a tidal wave of anger. They were teachers, not monsters. There was no logical explanation for why I felt such unease in their presence.
Kace, however, went ramrod straight beside me, his lips flattening into a thin line. He bowed his head submissively, peeking through a fringe of dark lashes.
“I apologize,” he said sincerely. “I spilled my coffee, and Bianaca was helping me clean up.”
For a second, it was so silent I could’ve heard a pin drop. That silence was penetrated by the slap of flesh. I turned, wide-eyed, just in time to see Kace rubbing at his now red cheek. One of the professors slowly lowered his—her?—gloved hand.
Terror cemented me to the ground. Terror and something akin to disbelief. What the hell had I just witnessed?
I immediately opened my mouth to call out the horrendous human being who dared put a hand on Kace, but the boy in question grabbed my shoulders, placing a hand over my mouth. I struggled futilely in his iron vise of a grip, but he refused to relent his hold.
I wanted to scream at these masked men and women. These cowards.
How fucking dare they?
Seething, I watched them calmly glide out of the room. It was only then that Kace released me, sighing heavily and throwing himself into the chair. He looked tired. Worn. Dark circles were prominent beneath his mossy green eyes.
“What the hell?” I whispered. For some reason, I found I couldn’t raise my voice. Now that the fear had ebbed, my body trembled with fury.
“Don’t,” he warned me. With a tired sigh, he ran his fingers once more through his garnet streaked hair.
“Don’t what?” I snapped. “Don’t act appalled that a teacher laid a hand on you? Don’t be disgusted? We need to call the cops!”
His body was drooping with fatigue, but at my words, he straightened and his eyes turned icy.
“I will deny everything,” he said curtly.
I gaped.
“What? Why the hell would you do that?” I demanded. He jumped to his feet abruptly, towering over me. The part of me that had been abused and taken advantage of wanted to cower away, but I held firm, meeting his eyes.
“Stay out of things you know nothing about,” he hissed, teeth flashing in the artificial school lighting. My heart pounded in my chest, but not in fear. Just then, he was heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
Standing toe-to-toe with him, I held up my chin imperiously. “Make me.”
He grunted, muttering something indistinct beneath his breath, before sidestepping me and racing out of the office. He kicked a garbage can as he went, not bothering to watch it and
the garbage scatter across the floor.
My stomach clenched, my mind racing a mile a minute. When I tried to process what I had just witnessed, a headache erupted behind my eyes. It just didn’t make sense. Kace’s reaction. The teachers inflicting physical harm on the students.
And, perhaps most importantly, the flicker of fear in his normally jubilant eyes. I had seen fear like that once before—in my own eyes when I looked into the mirror, after Dylan had…
It was a sort of haunted expression that made me question how much he really knew about this school.
I thought of my own acceptance…or something. The memory was fuzzy. I remembered the car accident, but not the explicit reasons why I had been driving under such distress, and I somewhat recalled… a conversation with my parents, perhaps?
My head continued to pound in tandem to my racing heart.
Releasing a breath, I glanced once more around the empty admissions office. It felt smaller without Kace’s larger-than-life presence. Empty.
Hoisting my backpack farther up my shoulder, I stepped into the hallway. For the first time, I spotted more than one student roaming the halls. They all wore a similar style of uniform to the one I had on. A few of them cast me perplexed glances before quickly looking away. No doubt they had witnessed Kace’s tantrum through the glass windows.
And probably even the slap to his face.
My temper flared once more as I met each of their gazes. If they had seen, why hadn’t they done anything?
My eyes locked on a striking shade of blue on the other end of the school hall. He was impossible to miss, towering over the other students at six feet and four inches. His eyes narrowed into thin slits even as a malicious smirk tugged up a corner of his mouth.
No.
I thought I had escaped him. In my mind, he was nothing more than a distant memory. A nightmare that demanded it remain buried.
