I’ve fought worse monsters than them and won, I’m not about to give up now.
CHAPTERFIVE
Ionly got lost three times, which I’m taking as a win. Who would’ve thought Serenity Falls would be big enough to get lost in? Sure as hell not me. After grabbing ramen, coffee, hot chocolate and granola bars, I found some cherry Lifesavers, which are my absolute weakness and the absolute holy grail, so I grabbed a few packs of those too along with my Pepsi Max. I’m not thrilled to spend any Kensington money, but after today, I deserve a little bit of happy and if it pisses Travis off in the process, well, extra awesome sprinkles on top for me.
I make my way back to campus listening to Halsey’sThe Traditionon repeat, full blast, while I try to shake off the icy rage that's gripped me since Travis triggered that memory.
I don’t quite understand why he hates me so much. It’s not like I knew who the hell he was when I slept with him. God knows I wouldn’t have slept with him if Ihadknown, even if he is literally walking sex on a stick. He could’ve pushed for my name, but he didn’t, so it’s not like this is allmyfault. Was I just supposed to know who he was?
I guess to his over-inflated ego, I absolutelyshouldhave known who he was, and maybe if I was one of those girls who is constantly on social media and pays attention to the who’s who of New York I would. But also, why try to tear me down so publicly? I’d put money on the fact that those people don’t know he fucked me. They probably just think he hates me because our parents got married. Because they think I’m a gold digger. I’d bet my last twenty dollars that they have no idea about the truth of why Travis hates me so much.
They don’t know me at all, otherwise they’d realize just how fucking gross it makes me feel to acknowledge that I’m using their money to survive right now.
I let out a deep breath and realize I’ve managed to make it back to my dorm building on autopilot. At least my subconscious is paying attention, I guess.
Buzzing myself into the building, I send up a little prayer that Penelope isn’t in the room. I can’t deal with a face-off with her right now too. I just want to curl up in a ball and hide for the evening, maybe do some reading to prepare for U.S. Gov and Politics, log into my online portal for my wellness class—I still love that all I have to do is wear a pedometer and upload my steps along with an exercise diary and it counts toward my credits. Best classever.
After traipsing up the stairs I find the door to my room open, Penelope standing in it, talking to two girls who I think live in the room opposite ours. They appear to be some of the group of girls I saw out on the quad earlier with Travis.
Awesome, just what I wanted to round off my day.
Blowing out a breath, I keep my head high and my shoulders back, ready to face more ridicule and bitchiness. I’ve spent my entire life being looked down on and called trash. I’m not sure why I thought coming here would be any different.
“Hey,” the bright and shiny blonde from across the hall says as I approach, her smile wide. “Are you okay? Travis is such an asshole. He needs to rein in his fan club. I’m Charli by the way.”
I blink, trying to keep my expression neutral and not have the shock that floods me show all over my face. “Hi, and thanks. I’m Briar.”
“I thought we’d invite Charli and Serena over for a movie night tonight,” Penelope says, watching me closely. I watch her back just as intently, trying to work out what her angle is. “I didn’t realize you were a scholarship kid like us. I thought you were just another rich bitch.”
I bark out a laugh. “Do Ilooklike a rich bitch?”
I mean, I can’t complain too much. I assumed they were all rich bitches too. That’ll teach me to just assume, I guess.
Serena laughs dryly. “Not at all, but you're here under the Kensington name. Like it or not, that means the rich kids will hate you, and the scholarship kids will most likely think you’re one of the rich assholes anyway.”
“Awesome,” I say with a tight smile. Pushing past Penelope, I head into the room and pack away my few goodies in a storage tub under my bed, trying not to get stuck on the fact that I’m an outcast here to literally everyone just because of who my mom married. “Well I’m not a scholarship kid like you guys, but I am also not a rich kid, even if my mom did marry a Kensington. I amnotone of them.”
It’s fine, Briar. We're good at being the outcast. It’s what we’ve always been.
“So, movie night?” Penelope asks as the girls disappear down the hall and she shuts the door to our room. I glance over at her as I drop onto my bed.
“Does this mean you’re going to dial back the raging bitch routine?”
She smiles at me and falls onto her bed. “Something like that. I was just pissed I had to share my room with a snobby prep kid. Turns out I need to reserve judgment until I get to know someone. My therapist has been telling me that for years, but people are usually assholes, so it’s hard to break the habit. That said, I’m not always a raging bitch, so… truce and fresh start?”
I run my gaze over her, looking for any sign of insincerity, but find nothing. It doesn’t mean I’m going to trust her with my secrets, but at least I won’t dread coming back to my room every day, so I nod my head and agree to her terms. “Truce.”
“Awesome,” she smiles. “I’m Penelope, but everyone calls me Penn.”
“Still just Briar.”
“Well, just Briar, I’m probably going to call you B. It's what I do. Everyone ends up with a nickname or letter, it’s just how I was raised. I’m going to order a few pizzas and the girls have gone foraging for popcorn. I’m thinking horror film. You in?”
I think it over for a second, I should really get ahead on reading, but maybe it will be nice to have friends. Even if they are just fair-weather ones to help me through the first semester. Something is better than nothing, right?
“Sounds good,” I say before I can change my mind.
She grins at me and winks. “Awesome. Welcome to the poor bad bitch club.”