“No problem,” I say, my smile more genuine. Maybe Saint hasn’t said anything yet? Or maybe it just hasn’t reached these two? Whatever the case may be, I should probably just relax and enjoy their friendship while I still have it. “It ended up kind of being fun, in the end.”
“Funny you should mention that…” Loni trails off as the server returns for our food orders. We give them to her, as well as the menus, and she leaves us again with a parting smile.
I open my mouth to ask Loni what it was she was going to say, but Henry beats me to the punch.
“Did you guys hear about the shit that apparently went down with Saint and his parents?”
My stomach drops to the floor, I swear to God it does.
“Um … no,” I mutter, sounding all sorts of guilty. “What kind of drama?”
“Saint and his dad got in a fight in the parking lot before his parents left yesterday,” Henry explains with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on his face.
“Whoa, like a fight, fight?” Loni asks.
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “Though that would’ve been fucking epic. It was an argument, but it apparently got so heated, Saint shouted at his dad to, and I quote, get his crazy ass off the fucking campus before he put him in a body cast.”
“Holy shit,” I say on a sharp breath that hurts my lungs. That must’ve been why Saint showed up to my room so drunk last night. I wonder if that’s a common thing between him and his dad? If it is, I could almost feel sorry for the guy.
Almost.
Loni makes a face. “Well, his parents have to be crazy, I’ll give him that. What the hell else could possibly explain Saint?”
I decide it’s best we change the subject away from him.
“Hey Loni, you were going to say something before the server arrived, I think?”
Her face lights up as she remembers, and she sits up a little straighter in her chair. “Oh, yes! You’re right. Thank you, Mallory, you beautiful Southern belle, you.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you want?”
“Can’t I compliment my friend without an ulterior motive?” she asks, her face the picture of innocence.
“We both know you can’t,” I deadpan.
She releases a dramatic sigh. “Okay, here’s the thing. We had such a good time planning Parents’ Weekend, that I thought we’d keep the ball rolling right into the Halloween Masquerade Ball?”
“The what?” I ask. How many fucking events does this place have?
“The Halloween Masquerade Ball,” she repeats. “It takes place every year right before Fall Break. Since we did such a great job with Parents’ Weekend, the planning committee wanted yours truly to take on the ball as well.”
“And of course, you said yes,” Henry says in a dry voice, but it doesn’t carry to his eyes. Like always, the guy stares at her like she hung the moon, and I can’t help wondering if she’s ever noticed.
“Of course!” she declares. “The Ball is one of the highlights of the year. I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to make it my own spectacular extravaganza!”
I can’t help but laugh. Loni is so full of energy, she should exhaust me, but instead, she exhilarates me.
“All right, I’m in,” I say with a grin.
She turns to me, her hands clasped against her chest. “Really, Mallory? Don’t feel any pressure. You can tell me no if you really want to. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
“No, I really want to help,” I assure her. Though I have no intention of going to any social event at Angelview and risking absolute public humiliation one way or another, helping out with these kinds of things looks great on a college application. Especially if that college is Ivy League. Besides, Loni’s my best friend at Angelview, and she’s done so much for me already, it’s the least I can do for her.
That, and I want to soak up as much time with her as I can before she finds out I fucked Saint and dumps me as her friend. The very thought makes my gut twist and a cold sweat break out on my forehead.
Loni’s rattling on about the ball, but I’m suddenly trapped in a panic spiral. If Saint tells anyone what happened, I’m done for. Yet, I know there’s nothing I can do to stop him. If he decides to blab about the fact that we had sex, and not just any sex, fucking incredible sex, then I’m not just going to be the girl everyone hates anymore. I’m going to be the slut who lets her tormenter between her legs. Too late, I realize I’ve given Saint the exact thing he’s always wanted ever since we met.
A way to break me.
Son of a bitch!
The next morning when classes resume, I expect nothing but disgusted looks and slut-shaming as I make my way through the dining hall for breakfast. To my surprise, however, I get nothing. The usual dirty looks, sure, but nothing to indicate that my classmates have any new information they can use to make my life hell. I make it through breakfast in relative peace, and then head to English class.
Again, I expect weird stares and taunts as I cross campus, but few people even pay any attention to me. I had thought Saint would’ve been busy spreading horrible rumors about me after Saturday night, but I’m shocked to realize that he may have actually kept his stupid, gorgeous mouth shut.
As I walk into the classroom, though, I stop short. Liam’s in his usual, far away seat, his attention focused solely on me. The disgust I expected to see from everyone else is clear in his gaze.
Fuck.
He knows.
I suppose it was too much of me to expect Saint to keep the news of what we did from the other gods.
I make my way to my seat and try hard not to look at him, even though I can feel his eyes branding a scarlet S into my chest. He’s pissed, but I don’t really get why. He and Saint have a rocky relationship, sure, but that doesn’t mean he needs to sneer at me the entirety of English class just because I lost all sense of reason and slept with the guy.
Feeling indignant, I turn and meet his gaze with a glare of my own. We stare at each other for several moments, the silence stretching between us tense and sharp. I refuse to be the first to look away, even though I’m getting increasingly uncomfortable with our staring contest. At last, he releases a huff of indignation and drops his focus to the hand on his desk that he keeps clenching and unclenching
I look toward the front of the room as the teacher begins class, feeling as though I’ve just won some great victory. The feeling is short-lived, however, when not five minutes later, I can feel him staring at me again. I don’t look. I don’t engage. I’m not in the mood to play his head games.
If Liam’s so mad about me and Saint hooking up, then he can take it up with Saint.
I’m done with their swinging dick bullshit.
“Shit, Ellis, you’re quick on your feet.”
I don’t reply, swinging at Gabe as hard as I can. He manages to duck my gloved fist and dances out of my reach. We’ve got another free day in gym, and somehow, I let this asshole convince me to box with him. I think that part of me just saw it as an opportunity to burn off the steam that was still boiling inside me because of Liam’s dumb ass.
Admittedly, Gabe is pretty good, but I’m better. At first, I thought he was holding back, perhaps too afraid to hurt me, but he’s not holding back now. I’ve gotten in multiple hits, and he’s yet to land one. I’m not typically a violent person, but when the participant is willing, it can be pretty damn cathartic to beat the shit out of someone.