“Well thank fuck for that,” Ranger grinds out, grabbing me by the tie. “You're a stuck-up, insufferable asshole. It's no surprise that you grew up in California.” The jerk holding my tie has eyes that are way too pretty for such a mean face. I decide then that he's my least favorite person at that school.
I hate him.
“Shall we show him where the bathroom is?” the twins ask in unison, and Ranger nods, stepping back and releasing me, so that Micah and Tobias can drag me down the hall toward the restrooms. I'm fighting and struggling against them, but holy hell, they're freaking strong.
Micah kicks open the door and the two redheaded asswads drag me in, pushing me into the wide stall at the end of the room.
Tobias opens the lid on the toilet, and the two boys shove me to my knees. I feel like my arms might rip from their sockets. The harder I struggle, the harder they seem to hold on.
“We like MMA fights,” one of the twins says as I make a grunting sound, the muscles in my arms screaming from the effort. “Good luck breaking out of our grip.”
“I'm not afraid of a freaking swirly,” I snap, breathing hard. “Are you sure you're juniors? Because this is some serious middle school bullshit.”
“Maybe. But nobody likes a face full of toilet water,” Micah says as Ranger strides into the stall to stand near the toilet. He glares down at me.
“Last chance, Chuck Carson,” Ranger snaps, grabbing my blond hair in his fist. I grit my teeth, but I'm not about to beg. And I'm not helping with that stupid project. I didn't mean to knock the binder into the water, and I'm not risking my entire secret to help fix it. Although don't you sort of feel like a jerk?
“Dunk her,” Tobias purrs.
“Dunk her,” Micah confirms.
Ranger kicks the toilet seat up, and then shoves my face into it. The water's cold as hell, and even though I hold my breath, some of it goes up my nose. It tastes like freaking chemicals. The twins are still holding my arms, keeping me from struggling too hard as Ranger flushes the toilet, and I gasp for air. It only lasts a few seconds, but when they dump me on my ass on the bathroom floor, I'm sopping wet and coughing, holding my hand to my throat as the three boys watch me impassively from above.
Church is standing in the bathroom, too, leaning against one of the sinks with his hands tucked in the pockets of his navy slacks. He looks disappointed. But he also looks pissed.
“All you had to do was help correct a mistake that you made, Mr. Carson. We weren't asking a lot.”
“Eat shit.” I shove up from my feet and go to push past them. Church steps in front of the door, blocking my escape.
“You can either fall in line and fix that attitude of yours, or we can fix it for you.” I glare at him, toilet water dripping down my face and off my chin. Church steps toward me and lifts a lock of soggy hair from my forehead, smirking at me. It's the first time I've seen him look so … mean. “You don't want to fuck with the Student Council.”
“Really? Because where I come from, we beat up the kids in the Student Council.” I shoulder past him and head out into the hall, making my way back to the dorm and a seriously hot fucking shower.
The Student Council.
Please.
I'm not about to let a bunch of geeky losers intimidate me.
I shower, change into my hoodie and sweats, and go running again. This time, I know exactly where I'm going and end up at the girls' dorm. I've got my phone this time, and a knife I jacked from the cafeteria—just in case. I thought I saw movement when I was here before, but thinking back on it, it might've just been an animal.
There's a bench on the edge of the weed-strewn courtyard that I sit down on, leaning back against the wood and pulling my phone from my pocket. My stomach fills with butterflies when I see a new message from Cody. But then I open it, and find a selfie of him and Monica on the boardwalk, dressed in tanks and shorts, oversized shades, and sun. Glancing up, I notice the little crystalline figures of snowflakes falling from the navy-purple sky.
They get surf, sand, and sea. I get snow and a frigid breeze and a swirly in a men's restroom.
Scrolling through filters, I pick one that makes me look rosy and fresh-faced, and I snap a selfie of my own. It's easier to pretend you're having a good time than admit that everything in your life has gone to hell.
At least, for me it is. This is just temporary. Just temporary.
I exhale, scrolling through social media for a while, but all that does is make me feel more alone, more depressed. It's like life is moving on at warp speed without me. I've only been gone for a month, and yet it feels like years. I miss my friends, my boyfriend, the beach. Just … everything.
The snow starts to come in big fat flakes, and I stand up, brushing some debris off the back of my sweats. There's a gold memorial plaque set into the wood that says J. Woodruff Memorial Bench. You are so loved. There's a date there, too, from about ten years ago. My brows go up, and I wonder if a teacher or an alumni member died or something.
Whatever.
I head back to the building, climb in the window, and look around with my phone functioning as a flashlight. There's nobody downstairs, just a bunch of locked doors that pique my curiosity. If the seating area is set up the way it is, like it's been trapped in time, then what's inside all of these other rooms?
This is my new hangout spot, for sure. That is, as long as I don't find any creepers in here. We are on school property, and the academy is pretty remote, but that doesn't mean there aren't other students who come here.
I finally gather enough courage to start exploring the upper floors. Doesn't take long. The building's five stories tall, but all the dorm rooms are locked. The bathrooms are open, and I get serious chills when I walk in and find a marble palace that's a near identical clone to the one in the boys' dorm. There are even soaps and shampoos on the wall, covered in dust. Looks like a freaking zombie movie or something.
I hightail it out of there and back down to the first floor, stripping the plastic off one of the couches, and settling down on the cushions. It's quiet here, and at least I feel like I have my own space. If I'm going to feel so alone, I'd rather not be surrounded by people.
It hurts too much that way.
I wake up freezing cold, curled up on the couch in the girls' dorm. My phone is dead, and I have no clue what time it is, but when I push up to my feet and check out the boarded window, I see it's pitch-black out there.
Climbing back outside, I shake off the fatigue and start off toward the boys' dorm. I have to admit, the running path and the woods on either side of it are a hell of a lot creepier in the middle of the night than they were a few hours ago. I curse myself for falling asleep and trudge along the path, feeling miserable and achy from sleeping in a curled up little ball.
When I do finally get back to the dorm, I find the front doors locked.
“No! You're freaking kidding me!” I curse, yanking on the handles and then noticing the sign taped to the outside of the glass.
“Doors are locked at 10 pm sharp. Students who find themselves outside the dormitory at this time should head to the headmaster's quarters. The dormitory doors are reopened at 6 am.”
Great.
Just great.
I turn around and put my back to the glass, debating the merits of trudging all the way up to Dad's place and then having to explain myself versus trying to wait out the sunrise. But my phone is dead, and I have no clue how many hours I have to wait. It's freezing ass cold out here, and to be frank, it's pretty creepy, too.