Everyone was excited to hear the interview went well, and my mom was especially excited to hear Theo was able to help in some way. I resisted the urge to ask her if what Theo said was true about her turning him away when I was younger. We have enough on our plates without letting any more of his drama seep between us. I trust that whatever she decided then was for the best. And she was so happy to know that I attempted to have another cordial meal with him that it almost made the whole ordeal worth it.
“Coach Granger thinks it might be one of our top choices,” I explain to Emmet in excitement over lunch one day. “But…I don’t know.” He looks at me questioningly. “It’s awfully close,” I add with hesitation. “Just a couple hours away. I don’t know if it’s far enough from Jameson for me to feel comfortable.”
He doesn’t try to talk my fears down the way Coach did. He’s just as eager as I am to get the hell away from all of this.
“Well, the Theo complications aside, I’m excited for you,” he beams as he chews through a sandwich. “My college girl! Wherever you decide to go, it’ll be great. A whole new life for us!” He leans over and plants a playful, sloppy kiss on my cheek, getting mayonnaise on me.
“Gross!” I squeal out in laughter, pushing him away.
We both freeze as we catch a glimpse of Malcolm and the others glaring at us, as if any momentary sign of happiness from us is an affront to them. We reign in the display a little, but the closer we get to freedom, the less daunting the new Elites seem.
“Soon we’ll be far away from that kind of bull shit,” I grumble, nodding slightly towards them.
“How do we know there won’t be a new version of the Elites waiting for you at college?” Emmett asks grimly.
I cut my eyes over to him, saddened by how little perspective he has. He’s never known anything outside the fucked-up bubble of Jameson. He’s plagued with a very real inability to imagine any other kind of life.
“Movies,” I quip. “There’s plenty of stories of college and life that don’t involve corrupt millionaires or death threats or hostages or any of the crazy scenarios that are so common around here.”
“There’s plenty that do have those things though,” he defends himself as if it all really could be so normal.
I want to remind him that those are usually things people dream up for excitement or entertainment and that the average person doesn’t experience them firsthand, especially before the age of twenty. But I don’t want to steal away any weird sense of normalcy he has left to cling to. More than that, I’m ready to talk and think about anything but the Elites.
“I don’t have practice today,” I tell him, grabbing his hand under the table as I raise my eyebrows suggestively. “Want to go back to your place?”
We’ve both been busy with the start of school, and I’m eager to get him into bed to blow off some steam.
“I have something to take care of after school,” he replies, looking disappointed. But he quickly recovers and leans in close to my ear with the hum of his deep voice that drives me mad. “But soon enough I’ll get you alone and make up for lost time.”
His hand snakes up my thigh, teasing dangerously close between my legs, causing me to tense up with desire. My cheeks blush as I look around to see if anyone is watching. But truthfully, I want him so bad I’m tempted to drag him off to a closet before next period.
We run out of time before I have a chance to suggest sneaking away and before I know it, we’re both rushing off to our next classes. The Elites are gathered in their usual huddle in the hall, taking up more space than they need as a show of dominance.
“Who’s that girl?” Emmett asks, nodding to the brunette.
“Bridgett,” I reply. “She’s in track. Do you know anything about her?”
He shakes his head no and we quickly look away before they catch us staring. I’m still puzzled over the fact that she didn’t freak out on me at practice the other day. Whatever the new Elites are busying themselves with these days, it seems to have been enough to distract them. I expected some sort of backlash for my show of power in the hall the other week, but it has yet to happen.
“I’ll see you after school,” Emmett says, leaning in to kiss me. I notice him shooting one last look over to the Elites before he walks away.
I can tell he’s just as confused by the silence as I am. We expected them to come back with force. Malcolm has to prove himself as their new ringleader after all. Especially after I acted so defiantly on two occasions, even if one was only an accident. But things have been chillingly calm. It almost has us more on edge than we would be if they were attacking like we expected.
The rest of the school day is lost in a haze of taking notes and preparing for exams. With the Elites mostly staying out of our way, I can focus my energy where it's needed. My transcripts may be good enough leading up to now, but it’s all worthless if anything happens to screw up my last few months of high school.
After my last class, Emmett and I meet up in our usual spot near the lockers. He sweeps me up in a slow, deep kiss that only makes me more impatient for some alone time with him. We’re interrupted by a bouncy girl who bounds passed us to put a flyer up on the wall. She tells other students around us that tickets for prom go on sale tomorrow but intentionally ignores us. Likely something she’s been instructed to do by Malcolm and the others.
Senior Prom. Another totally normal high school experience that I haven’t had time to think about since coming here. I immediately push down any urge to go. If the Elites would even allow us to attend, I doubt it’d be something Emmett would want to bother with.
“I’ll get our tickets during lunch tomorrow,” he announces casually, catching me by surprise.
“What?” I gape. “We’re going?”
He looks down at me and wrinkles his brows. “Of course, we’re going,” he answers. “Why do you look so shocked?”
“I…I don’t know…,” I stammer. “I guess I just thought…that you wouldn’t want to. Or…that we couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t?” he asks in confusion.