I go completely still, contemplating my next move. I should run. I can pretend I never saw him or Elliot tonight, and I never witnessed this fight. We can continue on and act like this never happened. I’m poised and ready to make my escape when he lifts his head, his nose in the air as if he scents me, like a wild animal.
I’m frozen. Like the nearby statues. Immobilized, quaking with fear inside. Today has already been too much. So much for me to deal with, and to end it with another horrible encounter with Whit Lancaster…
I don’t know if I’ll be able to stand it.
His startling blue gaze meets mine. Our gazes lock, and I can’t look away. Neither can he. The song keeps playing, the words filling my head, so apt in this moment.
Like you, like you
Like you, ooh
I found it hard to find someone like you
There’s a cut on the side of his mouth. I can see blood dripping down his chin. He turns his head to face me fully, and I gasp, covering my mouth with my fingers.
Whit always reminds me of the statues in the campus gardens. Beautiful. Perfect. Cold.
Heartless.
Seeing him now, the untouchable god among us peons, broken…bleeding.
Human.
Staggering on his feet, he walks toward me, larger than life. Powerful despite the damage that’s been done to him. His right eye is starting to swell shut. There’s a red, bruising scratch on one sharp cheekbone. His lips are moving, as if he’s speaking to me, so I rip one of my AirPods out of my ear only to catch the last few words he says to me.
“…you shouldn’t have been out here alone. Are you okay? Fucking Elliot.” He spits, the color of his saliva solid red.
I’m immediately furious. Who is he to tell me what to do? To act like he cares? So he ran to my defense and got his face battered in thanks to me. Really?
He could give a shit about me.
Whit has admitted he’s the leader of my schoolwide torment. They’re all bullies, but he’s the biggest one of them all.
“At least I’m not the one who’s bleeding all over the trail,” I retort, waving a hand at him.
He grins. There’s blood staining his teeth, reminding me of a beautiful devil. A fallen angel. As if he can read my mind, he spreads his arms out, looking like he might take flight. His position only emphasizes how soaked through his white shirt is, and I can see his flesh beneath. The dark shadow of his nipples. The muscle and sinew, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes raggedly.
My skin prickles with awareness, and I mentally tell myself to stop.
“That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, Savage,” he says, the maniacal grin still on his face. “Can’t even say thank you for saving your ass. Those two were going to beat you into a bloody pulp, I hope you know.”
“You probably called them on me and then ran in to break it up, hoping I’d believe you were my savior,” I throw at him. “I don’t trust you.”
“I should’ve let them have you,” he says, the smile slowly fading.
“Asshole,” I mutter as I start to move past him, eager to jog by and forget this entire interaction ever happened.
But we both know I can’t ignore him, and he can’t ignore me. I can’t leave him out here alone, even if he is the one who organized this in the first place. We have too much history between us.
Whit grabs my arm as I try to walk past him, stopping me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“As far away from you as possible.” I try to shake him off, but his fingers tighten around my upper arm. “Let go of me.”
“Gimme a minute,” he says with a grimace, stumbling on his feet, and I reach out to clasp his other arm, steadying him in place. He’s still cradling his stomach with one arm, his expression grim. “Fuck, I think that dick cracked my rib.”
Shock washes over me, along with the rain. His injuries are worse than I thought. “Why did you do that?”
“Do what?” he asks, his expression incredulous. “Save you from two assholes who were going to tear you apart in the middle of a rainstorm? Oh I don’t know. I thought you’d be glad I showed up.”
“What were you doing out here?”
“I should ask you the same question,” he retorts.
“You never answered my first question,” I remind him, my voice calm, my thoughts chaotic.
We stare at each other, the rain falling. Falling. I blink the drops out of my eyelashes, watching him carefully as he shifts. Winces. I reach for him, my fingers brushing against his mouth and he jerks his face away from my touch.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine.” He doesn’t answer me, and having him so close, dependent on me, needing me, fills me with panic. He doesn’t need anyone. He’s above this.
Above me.
But even the god of this school bleeds, and I’m witnessing it now. The rain washes the blood away, but I can tell he’s hurting. That black eye is going to be a doozy. How will he explain that?
“You don’t look fine,” I tell him. “Maybe you should try and see the nurse—”
“No,” he interrupts, his voice firm, his eyes cold. “And don’t you fucking dare tell anyone what you just witnessed. Got it? This stays here. Between us.”
Who the hell does he think he is? God, he’s infuriating. “You’re such an asshole,” I scream at him.
“Don’t ever forget it, Savage.” He jerks away from me, stumbling backward, landing onto the trail on his ass with a loud thump. “Fuck,” he groans, lying flat on his back in the middle of the path, his arms spread wide.
He doesn’t move. Just lies there on the pebble path amongst the puddles which are slowly turning into mud, with the rain coming down on him, his eyes closed. I study him for a moment, a war waging within me. I could offer him a hand and help him up. Walk him back to his fancy suite that isn’t even a part of the dorms, and forget this encounter ever happened.
Or I could leave him out here and let him figure out how he’s going to get back to his room. Not like he’d tell anyone I left him. He doesn’t even want anyone to know any of this happened.
Making my decision, I turn on my heel and head toward my dorm hall.
“Where the hell are you going?” he yells over the rain.
I glance over my shoulder to see he’s sitting up once again, his knees bent. His feet in puddles. “Why do you care?”
“Get back here!” he demands.
“Go to hell.” I start walking, but guilt eats at me. Gnaws at my stomach. At my heart.
At my soul.
He’s the worst human being on this planet. He’s made my life a living hell since I first started at this stupid school. He got the entire school to torment me every single day, and he’s not going to stop. Not until he gets what he wants.
And what he wants is…
Me.
On my knees, submitting to him. Letting him humiliate me. Making me do dirty, sexual things that I’ll no doubt enjoy, and then feel swamped with guilt when it’s over. He’s a sick, twisted fuck. Damaged. Broken.
But he pulls at something that’s deep within me. Something I don’t understand. He makes me feel. Our one moment together when we were fourteen probably only lasted fifteen minutes tops, but it’s burned into my brain forever. I want to know what it’s like to kiss him now. Touch him now.