It’s not even that shocking that my mom ran off when she did. While I hate her for abandoning me, I’d like to run the fuck away from here right now too, so a small part of me almost understands her actions.
I sigh at the thought of my mom and pull my phone out, only to see a video waiting for me from Mac, the head of security and a general pillar of my dad's touring team. He basically helped raise me on tour. I find the video along with a few messages from the roadie group chat about how much I’m missed and wishing me luck. My heart pangs with sadness. This group of people are my real family, the people who always had my back no matter what. It may not have been a long time since I’ve been away from my found family, but fuck I miss them. I send them a message back, telling them just how much I miss them and wish I was back with them before a shadow washes over me.
“You’re in my seat.” I look up to see Lincoln staring down at me as he towers above. Why the fuck does he have to be so freaking tall?
“There’s plenty of others.” I jut out my chin, the action practically begging him to fight me over it. I don’t know where the defensiveness is coming from, but after my run in with him and the others earlier, it isn’t hard to see that we aren’t going back to the way things were before I left.
“Mr. Saint, please take a seat, any one will do,” the teacher says as he breezes into the room, dropping a ton of textbooks on the table.
Lincoln glares at me before dropping into the seat beside me. Maverick and Finley finish out the back row.
Well, this is going to be fun.
I listen to the teacher drone on, introducing himself and the curriculum for the semester, trying to remember why I picked Business as an elective in homeschooling. I know I’ll never start my own label without it, and yeah, I plan on pursuing a Business degree eventually, but fuck. Could this guy’s voice be any more monotone? The guy’s rocking a monobrow too. I bet his nameisMono. Mono fucking Peters.
I look around the room, and spot Brittany, Blair’s best bitch, leaning back to talk to Maverick. She flicks her blonde hair at him, and her shirt is undone so far that I can see her bra from here. I roll my eyes when he throws a pen between her tits and she starts to giggle.
I turn my focus back to Mr. Peters and try to pay attention to what he’s talking about, but something about his voice just makes me tune out. Maybe I got my hopes up too early. Passing this class is essential. Not just to my GPA, but for my college applications too. I bite my lower lip, trying to pay attention again. I knew structured school was going to be an adjustment, but shit. If the teachers here are all like him, I’m fucked.
“What’s wrong, princess? Too good to be here with the rest of us?” Lincoln’s voice startles me. The question is quiet enough that I’m pretty sure Mr. Peters didn’t hear, but the snickering from the row in front of us tells me that they definitely heard.
I try to ignore him, but I can feel his stare burning into the side of my head. Why the fuck is he being such an asshole? “I just prefer different company.”
“Oh, I bet you do. I heard you enjoyed slumming it on the road.” His sneer, along with the obvious insinuation, pisses me off more. He doesn’t know one fucking thing about me.
“And here I was thinking Lincoln Saint wouldn’t ever lower himself to reading tabloids.”
I don’t deny his statement because there’s no point. If I deny it, it only makes it more true in their minds. If I say he’s right, I become a dirty slut. You’ve got to love the politics of Echoes Cove.
He doesn’t get a chance to respond as the teacher draws the class to a close. Shit. I didn’t take any notes. I couldn’t even tell you what he talked about. Fuck my life. I need to ask someone to help me with some notes.
As soon as the bell rings, I grab my bag and try to haul ass from the room but find myself cornered anyway.
“You shouldn’t have come back, princess,” Maverick snarls. “You’re not wanted here.”
I roll my eyes at him and try to push past him, but he’s a wall of immovable muscle. “Trust me, no one wants me to be here any less than I do. It’s just this year, and then I’m gone. How about you stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours?”
“Look at baby Royal trying to tell us what to do like she runs this place.” Lincoln barks out a laugh, and other laughter rings out. That’s when I realize the only person who left the room was the teacher.
Fuck, I hate private school.
“I’m not trying to tell you anything,” I insist, standing taller as I try to leave again, only for Finley to block my path. He’s always been a guy of few words, but when he says something, he always makes it count. I’ve known him to make people cry with less than a handful of words.
He still doesn’t say anything, though. He may be quiet, but he’s loyal as they come. He won’t move until Lincoln says so. It’s always been like this with them, but now I’m learning what it’s like to be on the other side of their team.
“I suggest you get with the program, princess. This is our school now. And you? You’re nothing but a minnow. Piss me off and see what that gets you.”
I narrow my eyes at Lincoln, hating the gauntlet he just threw down. I am not some weak-ass bitch. My dad might have come to a bitter end, but he raised me to be a boss-ass queen. “You already seem pissed off to me, so what’s the worst that could happen?”
The grin on my face only seeks to add fuel to the fire my words have ignited.
Lincoln's eyes turn icy, and he curls his lip. The wicked smile on his face doesn’t quite meet his eyes as his gaze roams over me from head to toe. The stare causes an icy drop of dread to run down my spine, but I try to keep my face impassive. “Sad, desperate, lost little princess. Nobody wants you, nobody loves you, and well… Let’s just say that when you’re gone, nobody will miss you either. You have no idea of the game you're playing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
The absolute quiet that follows me challenging him is enough to charge the air and make my hair stand on end.
“That means, Nobody, that you shouldn’t be here. This school doesn’t cater to the weak and pathetic. You’re not wanted here. You should have stayed gone with your coward father.” His sneer pricks at my heart, but I refuse to let myself be beaten on day one, and I’m becoming very aware that this really is going to be day one of what, I’m sure, is sure to be a nightmare of a year at ECP.