by J. L. Beck
Out of nowhere, a door opens right in front of me, and I almost run into it face first.
“Oh, sh— I’m sorry…” the guy who almost hit me with his door says, his eyes finding mine. They’re a vivid blue, so blue that for a moment I forget what the hell it is that I’m doing.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His deep baritone voice breaks the trance and I find my voice through the fog.
“Yes, I’m fine…well, besides this... it seems the building numbers on my class schedule are messed up. I ended up in the wrong building and then late for my first class because I had to run across campus.” I blow out a frustrated sigh. It’s not his fault, I know that, but I can’t help but vent.
“Why don’t you come into my office and I’ll see if I can help you with that,” he says, holding the door open for me. I walk in and take the seat at the front of his desk. It holds a little metal plague that says S. Miller, Dean’s Assistant. Looking at him, he doesn’t seem to be much older than me, and though I know it’s none of my business, I wonder how he got into a position like this.
I hand him the piece of paper as he sits down in the chair on the other side of the desk. I take him in, he’s handsome, young, and could pass for a student that goes here. His eyes glance over the paper his eyebrows pointing down, his features turning serious.
“I think someone was trying to play a prank on you.” He frowns a moment later.
His assumption isn’t just correct it’s spot-the-fuck-on. “Yeah, I figured as much…my stepbrother thinks stuff like this is funny. This is my first day here and I missed move-in day and orientation so I have no idea where anything is. Figures he would turn my first day of classes into a real-life nightmare.”
“Ah, brothers of all kinds can be a pain in the ass. I have two. I know all about it, and I’m the middle child so I have to deal with both at the same time.”
I’m only slightly surprised by his use of words, after all, he isn’t much older than me.
“Let’s turn your crap day into a better one. I’ll print you the right schedule right now and you can get back to your classes, hopefully on time.”
He types some stuff into the computer, his long fingers stroking over the keys. A second later, a soft knock sounds on the door, making us both look up. The door, which wasn’t closed all the way, swings open a few inches, revealing a woman my age.
“Oh, gosh. I’m sorry I didn’t know there was anyone in here,” she apologizes, her cheeks tinting pink as if she’s embarrassed or something.
“It’s fine, you can come in, Jules.” He waves his hand, motioning for her to walk in, a smile on his lips.
“This is…” He looks down at the paper in his hand. “Ava. She’s new, today is her first day. Maybe you could show her around campus? From the sound of things she’s not having a very good time.” A soft chuckle passes his lips and I wouldn’t be surprised if he has women throwing themselves at him. I swing my gaze back to the girl, Jules as he called her, feeling sorry that he put her on the spot like that. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by it though and graces me with a bright smile.
“Sure, I would love to,” she answers, the genuineness of her tone telling me she isn’t lying. “When is your next class?”
I blink. “In twenty minutes…but if you’re busy. I mean, I’d understand if you can’t do it. If you have something else that you needed to do—” I try to give her a way out, but she shakes her head the mass of blonde ringlet curls bounces with the movement.
“No way Jose. I have plenty of time, most of my classes are in the evening and only a few times a week. Plus anyone that’s a friend of Seb’s, is a friend of mine.”
Friend? I don’t know if we’re friends. It’s kinda his job to help me, though he certainly doesn’t have to be nice to me while he does it.
“Oh okay…” I smile, feeling a little better knowing that I won’t be burdening her. The last thing I want is to make her feel like she has to help me. I’m used to doing things on my own. I’ve done it this way for three years, and if she couldn’t help me, then I would have figured it out myself. I’m a big girl, as Vance would say.
“How about I take you to your next class and maybe later we can get some coffee and I can show you around the rest of the campus?”
“That would be great,” I sigh. It really, really would. I need this, so much, so much more than I want to admit.
“Perfect!” she exclaims, her eyes moving back to Mr. Miller. “I’ll call you later, Sebastian.”
“Tell Rem I said hi, and that he should show his face more than once a week,” Mr. Miller teases, and I get the feeling that these two know each other on a personal level.
“Will do. He’s been buried in homework lately,” Jules responds.
“Homework, you say?” He lifts a thick brow and grins before averting his eyes back to the computer. Jules’ cheeks heat, and she nibbles on her bottom lip. Oh, yes, these two definitely know each other, and whoever Rem is, he’s with Jules. It doesn’t take Sebastian long to get my schedule printed and send me out the door.
Jules walks me to class and for once, I feel like I might have made a good choice with coming to school here. She tells me about her boyfriend Remington, and how Mr. Miller is actually Sebastian, and Remington’s brother. She asks me a few questions about myself that I answer with a vague response. I don’t want anyone to know how fucked up my situation is. Everyone has problems, that doesn’t mean we need to broadcast them.
“Here, let me text you. Then later, when you finish up classes for the day, we can meet up. Oh, and if you have any questions, give me a call. I’ll help you however I can. I know all too well what it’s like to be the new girl.” She smiles and makes me feel like there is more to her story. I rattle off my number and she sends me a quick text, my phone signaling the incoming message from my pocket.
“Thank you, and I truly do mean it. It was very nice of you to… to do this.” My thanks is awkward, but Jules doesn’t say anything about it. She just gives me a soft smile and then a hug, as if she knows how badly I need to be hugged right now.
“It gets easier. I promise,” she whispers into my ear before releasing me. I really hope she’s right, because if it gets worse, I’m not sure what the hell I’m going to do. Vance successfully ruined the start of my first day of classes. I guess there was a silver lining in all of this. I had made my first friend. I bet Vance Preston wasn’t expecting that to happen.
My next three classes fly by and before I realize it, it’s the afternoon and I haven’t eaten a thing, the rumbling of my stomach providing proof.
Rubbing the organ, I promise to feed it as soon as possible and head toward a coffee shop I saw on the corner while leaving one of my classes earlier. Fishing my phone from my pocket, I check the time, when that one single distraction sends me colliding into another body, or brick wall. Before I can stop it, I’m tumbling backward, my ass cushioning my fall as I land hard against the sidewalk. Pain radiates up my spine at the impact.
“Watch where you’re going,” somebody sneers, but as soon as I hear the icy tone of his voice, I know who it is that just sent me falling to my ass.
And the universe just keeps shitting on me.
“Sorry,” I mumble, shoving up from the ground, ass aching as I do. I drag my eyes up his stupidly gorgeous body, stopping on his arrogant face. Tight jaw, firm lips, piercing eyes that look like daggers are growing inside of them.
Yup, that’s Vance Preston. Brooding, angry, and with a chip the size of Texas on his shoulder. I hate that I find him attractive, while also wanting to sucker punch him in the throat. While most chicks throw themselves at him, I just want to throw shit at him.
“Heard you were in the dean’s office earlier.” His eyes narrow. “Did you use that thing between your legs to get your schedule changed or something?”
First, how the hell did he know I was in the dean’s office, does he have eyes everywhere?
And two, why is he referring to my vagina as
a thing, while accusing me of whoring myself out to get a schedule change.
Taking a step back, I crane my neck up at him. “Excuse me?”
I’m not even shocked to hear him talk so shitty about me, but I am shocked that he would do so in such a public place. Then again, he probably doesn’t care what people think about him, not that it matters since no one would dare say something so vile to him.
His lips twist into a grin. “Your pussy, did you use it to manipulate the dean? It wouldn’t surprise me. Master manipulators have a tendency to do that kind of thing. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”
My teeth grind together… don’t say anything, don’t say anything… I tell myself, but my mouth pops open anyway, because who the hell does he think he is? My resolve snaps and I take a giant step forward pressing a finger into his very firm, very well defined chest.
“What is your problem? I didn’t lie about anything and I wouldn’t have been in the dean’s office if it wasn’t for you and your cruel little joke,” I yell, drawing attention from a passersby.
His icy gaze drops down to where my finger is touching him, and he grabs said finger, tossing my hand back as if I’m a piece of garbage. He leans into my face, piss and vinegar marring his features. He’s like a bull that’s been poked with a hot branding iron and I’m the one holding it.
“You.” The growl that rumbles out of his chest vibrates through me. “You are my problem and until you leave, running back to wherever the fuck you came from, you will continue to be. Want it to stop, just say the word. Leave, and it will all end. Stay, and I’ll break you so badly you won’t even recognize yourself.”
My lips curl without thought, and even though I don’t have a mean bone in my body, I can’t help but say the first words that come to mind. “Fuck you, Vance. You don’t own me, or this school, so do your worst, you can’t break something that’s already broken.”
I’m not dumb, truly I’m not. I know I shouldn’t taunt him, push him, but it’s so hard to allow him to say the shit he is about me. His face turns emotionless and I shiver at the image before me. It’s worse than the icy gaze he was giving me moments ago.
“Checkmate, Ava, checkmate,” he whispers against the shell of my ear before shoving past me. I’m not a dog, and I won’t roll over and play dead. If he wants to hurt me, he’s going to have to try harder than that.
◆◆◆
Not wanting to go home and face Vance yet, or worse yet nothing at all, I decide to do a little shopping. By the time I get home, the sun is setting, and my stomach is grumbling, demanding me to feed it. The shower is calling my name and I have a paper to write. Oh the joys of the first day of classes. I pull onto the long driveway that leads to the house and immediately see cars lined up along the road and in front of the house.
What the hell is going on?
I can already feel my blood boiling in my veins. People scurry across the driveway as I press the garage opener in my mom’s car, only to find there’s nowhere for me to park since there appears to be a game of beer bong taking place in my parking space.
He’s got balls… massive ones, if he thinks this is going to fly. And who has a house party on a Monday, anyway? Doesn’t anyone care about classes? Sleep? Throwing the car into park, I get out, my teeth grinding so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them cracks.
The music inside the house is so loud I can hear it outside, the ground shaking from the bass. This asshole is going to get the police called on us. My appearance draws the attention of a bunch of people that are standing in the yard, red cups in hand. A few of the girls sneer at me, while the guys stare at me like I’m a fawn entering the lion’s den.
Grabbing my shopping bags out of the car in a haste, I march up the walkway and onto the front porch. If this asshole thinks he can ruin me by doing some adolescent bullshit, then he’s got another thing coming. I’m shutting this shit show down, right now.
Chapter Eight
Vance
I feel her before I see her. That’s the strange thing about being drawn to someone you have no business being drawn to. You feel them deep inside you, like your soul is speaking what your mind refuses to acknowledge.
“Heads up, little stepsister alert. And she’s looking hot as fuck, and a little bit psycho,” Clark chuckles, a billow of smoke escaping his lips. Sarah is slung across my lap, acting as if she belongs there, and though she doesn’t, I don’t have the patience to tell her otherwise. She twirls a piece of blonde hair around her finger, looking bored.
She’s not who I want...who my blood sings for… As if my body knows she’s close, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. A second later Ava appears in the foyer, her hands filled with bags, a scowl the size of Texas on her face. Like the perfect mix of drugs, her presence sends endorphins racing through my veins. It cripples me, making me weak, but it also gives me the edge I want. The edge I need to hurt her.
Her cheeks are dark pink, and frustration creases her forehead and I know I’ve hit my mark. The schedule switch was supposed to be a little fun, just something to humor myself, but then I heard she had befriended Jules Peterson, and I couldn’t have her thinking her first day turned out okay.
So like always, Clark came to the rescue with the back-to-school-bash. A few texts and the mention of free beer and word spread like herpes on spring break.
“Hey stepsister,” I greet with a smug smile. Her hands curl into tiny fists and she looks like she has the urge to throw her shopping bags at me. She’s kinda adorable when she’s mad, her mousy brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail, her outfit sexy, but not overly eye-catching. I bet she had a guy or two lusting after her today.
Sarah wiggles in my lap, her well-manicured hand running over my chest possessively. Normally I would tell her to cut it out, she means nothing to me, has no hold over me, but right now I don’t mind it so much, not when I see jealousy flash in Ava’s emerald eyes.
“How was your first day? Did you find all your classes alright?” A couple of the guys chuckle beside me.
“Great, thanks for asking,” Ava sneered sarcastically, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would really appreciate it if you could quiet it down. Most of us have classes tomorrow and I have homework already, so…”
The fuck? Who does she think she is? Obviously, I need to bring her down a couple notches, show her who is really in control here.
“What are you, eighty? Just go to your room and close the door. It’s not like you were invited, and if I don’t want to see you, then I can guarantee no one else in this room does.” I hate myself a little bit more as I say the words, because while they’re mean, they stoke the fire of resentment toward her.
“Baby,” Sarah coos, her feral gaze turning toward Ava. “Give her a break. This is a big change for her. I mean, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for trailer trash like her to suddenly be living in a nice place like this. Especially with her dad being in rehab and all. She’s probably over the moon.”
Sarah’s words almost wipe the smile off my face. Trailer trash? Rehab? If it wasn’t for the sudden change in Ava’s demeanor, I wouldn’t even believe Sarah’s words. But seeing Ava’s eyes fall to the floor and the slump of her shoulders tells me that it’s true and I swear to God if she starts to cry again, I might lose it.
“Go on… run up to your room… no one wants you here…” Sarah cackles, shooing her with her hands, and I feel the sudden urge to shove her off my lap and go to Ava. This is wrong, treating her this way, breaking her down. But it’s right too.
She deserves this, deserves to feel pain, sadness. No matter if her father is in rehab, she probably didn’t spend the last three of the five years we’ve been apart struggling. She probably had a good fucking life, probably still does even living here and that alone solidifies my choices. I can’t let doubt lead me astray. I won’t let it.
Clark exhales a long sigh beside me before shoving up from his seat. My mouth pops open
, words piercing the edge of my tongue, but I don’t say shit. She’s fresh meat, and I hold no stake over her. If he wants to befriend her and fuck her into next week, then he can. It’s none of my business. I don’t care. Or at least I shouldn’t.
He leans down and whispers something into her ear. He’s close enough that if she turned at the right angle, their lips would touch, and for some reason, that pisses me off. Stupid, this is fucking stupid. Her being here, it’s toying with my emotions.
I try and force myself to look away, but I can’t. I’m transfixed on them, needing to know for sure that Clark doesn’t do something. Whatever he says to her causes her to shake her head, the movement slow and causing small wisps of hair to fall onto her face. She’s beautiful, so beautiful that it’s sickening. I want to brush those strands from her eyes, kiss her pink lips, and feel her tiny body beneath mine.
Then as if she can feel my gaze on her, her eyes lift to mine. For a fraction of a second, our eyes meet… the world is suspended in time around us. It’s just her and I. I’m not the bully anymore, and she isn’t a victim to my rage. Clark’s mouth starts to move again, and the moment between us ends.
I see her lips form the word sorry, and then she’s walking out of the room, just as Sarah had instructed, thankfully leaving Clark behind. He twists around, a dazzling grin on his face. His hazel eyes filled with mischief. I’m not sure what I would’ve done had he followed her upstairs. He’s my best friend, yeah, but I don’t think I could’ve handled it, not without lashing out in some way.
“What a loser.” Sarah purses her red lips, throwing her arms around me while trying to place a kiss on my lips. Yeah, no. I don’t kiss, and if I did, it wouldn’t be Sarah. She’s had a lot of dicks pass her lips, and I’m not about kissing anyone that puts dick in their mouth like most chew gum. And with Ava out of sight, there’s no need to keep Sarah on my lap. My need for her presence is done.
