My mother had made no effort to speak to me since I’d walked out on her a week ago, and I was in no hurry to reconnect with her after everything. I’d told Kinslee that I’d fallen out with her, leaving out the part about Caiden’s mum, and she’d been horrified. We’d ended up talking late into the night, and I was beyond grateful to have her support. She’d had her share of family problems, from the few things she’d mentioned, and I had the feeling that she really understood where I was coming from.
Standing in line to pay for my lunch after a long morning of lectures, I scanned the cafeteria tables and saw Weston waving at me. There they were. The Four, on a central table right by the windows.
I paid for my lunch and walked towards them with a smile. Their faces were masks of indifference, but I could see past the hard exterior now. Somehow, against all odds, we’d gone from enmity and mistrust to friendship and mutual respect.
Placing my tray down on the table in front of the empty seat next to Caiden, I pulled out the chair. His arm shot out, stilling my movements, and I turned to meet his intense gaze.
“Hi,” he said, then pulled me into his lap and kissed me, right there, in the middle of the crowded cafeteria.
“Wow. Hi.” I stared into his stormy eyes, taken aback by his public display. “What was that for?” I distantly heard Cassius say something, and I felt both curious and hostile stares burning into me from every direction, but all my focus was on the man in front of me.
He shrugged. “Just felt like it.”
“Um, okay.”
He spun me around. “Eat,” he instructed, then buried his face in my hair. “I missed you,” he muttered, tightening his arms around my waist.
My stomach flipped at his words.
A huge smile spread across my face. I reached for my plate and started eating, while the boys spoke in low conversation around me.
“Still slumming it, Caiden?” Portia’s irritating voice startled me, and I looked up to find her standing at the side of our table, staring at me sitting on Cade, her lip curled in the disdainful sneer she seemed to favour around me. She looked beautiful as always, her perfect red hair falling over her shoulders in tumbling waves, her boobs straining against her tight knitted top, and her artfully applied make-up giving her skin a flawless appearance.
“Insult my girl one more time and I’ll make your life hell.” Caiden’s low, growled threat came from behind me, close to my ear.
My mouth fell open in shock.
Portia’s brows flew up to her hairline, and her eyes flicked from me to Caiden in disbelief.
“Your girl?”
“You heard me.” He leaned forwards so his lips were right by my ear. “You okay, Snowflake?”
“Your girl?” I repeated dumbly, as I noticed Portia storm off out of the corner of my eye. “What’s—I mean. We haven’t discussed.” I couldn’t get my brain to work properly.
“Mine.” He brushed my hair away from my neck and kissed me once, just under my ear, then carried on speaking to Zayde as if nothing had happened.
What the fuck? I mouthed across the table to Weston, and he shrugged, grinning. I saw him pull out his phone and start tapping on the screen; then he placed it on the table and indicated to it with a nod of his head. A few seconds later, my phone vibrated with a message, and I surreptitiously opened it in my lap.
West: Told you he really likes you.
Well, fuck me. Maybe he was right.
I spent the rest of the afternoon floating around my lectures in a daze, basically acting like a dreamy schoolgirl whose first crush had just noticed her. I kept telling myself to get a grip, but Caiden’s words played on repeat in my mind. We needed to have a conversation about whatever was going on between us. At some point. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t push for anything. Just let whatever was going to happen, happen.
I left my last lecture of the day and exited the building. The day had turned to night during my lecture. I actually didn’t mind the dark winter evenings—I liked being able to see the stars. Heading down the path leading to the library, I tugged my coat more tightly around me to ward off the chill in the air.
The library was warm and welcoming after the outside cold, and I removed my heavy winter coat and gloves as I entered, then headed up to the silence of the top floor. Dumping my things on an empty table, I headed into the stacks to grab the books I needed. My plan was to fill my mind with studying tonight so I wouldn’t have to be constantly worrying about what the Four were doing at AMC. That was the idea anyway.
“Winter. Can I have a quick word?” The shadowy figure that suddenly appeared around the stacks made me jump back in fright.
“It’s just me.” He moved closer. James Granville.
“James, you scared me. What are you doing, hiding in the shadows like that?”
“Sorry.” He looked around nervously, on edge. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Um, okay. What’s up?”
He shuffled his feet, not looking at me. “I wanted to say I’m sorry how things turned out for us. I hope I didn’t cause problems for you.”
“That’s okay. I’m sorry, too. We could’ve been great friends.”
“But you picked Caiden Cavendish.” His mouth set in a flat line.
“James. I-I don’t know what to say. I—”
“It’s alright.” He stepped into the light, and I gasped. His left eye was swollen shut, puffy and bruised.
“Shit, James. What happened? Who did this to you?”
“That’s not important,” he said sharply.
I reached up to touch the bruising on his face, and he flinched. “You need to get some ice on that. I’m sorry.” Instinctively, I hugged him. His arms came around me, and he leaned his head on my shoulder.
“Thanks. I needed that,” he murmured, kissing my cheek, and then suddenly his lips were on mine.
I froze in shock.
Then my brain came back online with a roar, and I stamped down on his foot with all my strength.
He jumped backwards with an angry shout. “That hurt! Bitch!” He bent down, rubbing madly at his foot.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I was livid, hissing in his face. “Try that again and you’ll regret it. I mean it, James. Don’t. Fucking. Try. Me.”
“You and Cavendish deserve each other.” His mask slipped, and a vindictive smile appeared on his face. “I think I’m going to enjoy this, after all.”
Enjoy what? A sick feeling built in the pit of my stomach, and I could only stand and stare as he walked away from me, towards—was that my TA, Joseph?
As he reached him, he held up his hand, and they bumped fists, Joseph grasping a phone in his hand. Then they were gone, and I was left alone, confused, angry, and apprehensive.
I gathered the books I needed as quickly as I could and hurried back to my apartment, on high alert, constantly checking to make sure I wasn’t being followed. Kinslee was still out; she’d be at least another half an hour, so I settled at my desk with a huge mug of coffee, books piled around me and my laptop open, to start on my assignment, trying to push James’ weird behaviour to the back of my mind.