“Ellis, you good?” he barks.
“She probably just got some sense knocked into her, Mr. Norris,” Laurel replies in a baby voice that might be oddly amusing under any other circumstance.
Something in me snaps. The pressure that’s been building up all day becomes too much, and I lose it. I leap to my feet and whirl on her, red spots blurring my vision.
“You got a problem with me, Laurel?” I bark. “Why don’t grow a pair and say whatever you want to say to my face instead of sicing your collagen stuffed airheads on me?”
The gym goes quiet, but I can sense the excited tension mounting around us. Laurel’s eyes tighten into slits and she takes a step toward me.
“You know what I want to say to you, you hick piece of shit?” she hisses, low enough that Mr. Norris won’t possibly hear her. “Go back to whatever cousin-fucking town you came from. No one wants you here. You don’t belong here.”
That much is obvious, but I’m not about to be chased away by some entitled Princess with fake tits and a bad nose job. I tell her as much, and her eyes go wide with shock as the crowd around us “ooooohs”. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the boys have begun migrating to our side of the gym to catch a peek at the show.
“Ladies, that’s enough,” Mr. Norris shouts, but he’s blocked by the other students and can’t get to us right away.
It’s enough time for Laurel to charge me, her expression wild. I dodge her easily and my hands come up instinctively as I slip into my boxing stance. Laurel tries to attack me again, but I slip out of her way, staying light on my toes as I dance around her.
“Fucking hold still!” she shrieks as she dives headfirst at me. I let her catch me around the middle, but I wrap my arms around her torso and lock her in a bent over position. She struggles to break my hold on her, but I’m too strong.
Suddenly, Mr. Norris breaks through the crowd and grabs me by the arm. He gets a hold of Laurel’s shoulder and yanks her away from me.
“Vanderpick, Headmaster Aldridge’s office, now!” he orders.
She gives him a shocked look. “B-but, sir! Mallory started it!”
“Not from where I was standing, she didn’t,” he snaps. “Now get going.”
She shoots me a glare, and I try not to look overly smug as she storms to the locker room. Mr. Norris isn’t quite done, though, as he turns to glare down at me.
“Ellis, I’m giving you a pass because Vanderpick clearly provoked you and you’re new here, but you pull this crap in my class again, it’ll be a month’s worth of detention at best. Got it?”
I gulp and nod. “Got it. Sorry, sir.”
He lets me go and turns to the rest of the class, barking at them to get back to their games. I take a moment to catch my breath and let my nerves calm before I rejoin the girls. As if they have a mind of their own, my eyes stray to the other side of the gym, and I meet Saint’s gaze. He’s gazing at me, his face an unreadable mask, though his eyes still burn like blue fire.
After gym, when I return to the locker room to change, I find that someone has exacted Laurel’s revenge and destroyed my school uniform. I stare at the shreds of fabric scattered in front of my locker for several long minutes as the other girls move around me as though nothing has happened.
I’m tired. So, so tired. I don’t even have the energy to be properly enraged about this, even though the uniform is going to be expensive to replace. I don’t say anything to anyone, just grab my backpack and walk out of the room with my gym clothes still on, my white t-shirt with its Angelview Academy crest sticking uncomfortably to my chest.
The bell hasn’t rung yet, and the halls are blissfully quiet as I make my way from the gym. I’m not a quitter and am determined to stick it out here until the worst of this hate passes, but I just want to go to my room and hide out for the rest of the day. Soon enough, all these people will realize I’m not worth all the effort and leave me alone because they’ll forget about what happened this morning. They have to.
They just … have to.
Rounding a corner, I come to an abrupt halt and my heart stops. I hadn’t expected to run into anyone as I made my quick escape, but he’s standing up ahead, leaning against the wall as if waiting for me.
Saint.
He doesn’t even look like he’s just left a gym, with every blond hair in place and his uniform hugging his ripped frame. He’s also alone. Gabe’s nowhere in sight.
His gaze finds mine and he doesn’t say a word, just stares at me and I realize he expects me to come to him. To willingly walk up to him like a lamb to the slaughter. I briefly consider turning around and going back the way I came, but my pride won’t allow it. If I run from him now, I’ll always be running from him. I’ll solidify him as my own personal boogey-man and will spend the rest of my time at Angelview peeking around corners, afraid he’ll be there waiting for me.
No. I won’t let him bully me into submission.
Raising my chin, I march right up to the bastard, knowing this confrontation was coming sooner or later.
May as well get it over with.
“Sorry for the apple,” I snap when I reach him, silently adding, but you deserved it and more.
He doesn’t look surprised by my vehemence. No. The sonofabitch looks amused, his stunning eyes flashing with dark delight.
“I don’t think we’ve officially met,” he replies. His voice is deep. Too deep. Someone his age shouldn’t have a voice like that. It makes me think of starless nights, when the sky is so black, it’s suffocating to look at. “Mallory, was it? I’m Saint Angelle.”
“I know who you are,” I hiss. “Obviously, I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are, and they clearly don’t have any problem doing your bidding.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His smirk tells me he knows exactly what I’m talking about.
“Just tell them all to stop, okay?” My voice wavers just a bit, and it’s mortifying that I can’t stop the show of weakness in front of him. I know he doesn’t miss it either, because his grin widens. “Call off your dogs and leave me alone because I’m sorry. I mean that.”
“No, and I definitely mean that.” He says the words so easily, it shocks me. My anger spikes, my temper breaking free, and when I open my mouth, I can’t stop the words that roll from my tongue.
“Look, I get it. I humiliated you in front of the whole school. Is this twisted revenge really what you need to restore your fragile ego?”
“Do you really think it’s that simple? That you get to say sorry and then it’s just over?” He moves so fast I don’t have time to process his intent, and before I know it, he’s in front of me, his hands splayed on the wall on either side of my head. I’m trapped, cold stone at my back, hot furious boy at my front. My breath leaves my lungs in a rush as I stare up into his face, dumbstruck. “It’s not, Mallory.”
“What do you—”
“Listen to me very carefully,” he growls, lowering his face so it’s even with mine. “You have a choice here. Make it easy on yourself and go home or stay and suffer. There is no in-between for you now. You threw that away this morning, so walk away before I fuck up your entire world.”