“Do you want to take these with you now, or have them delivered?” Amanda asks, and I swear I’m almost blinded by her bright smile again.
“You deliver them?” I ask, trying not to let my shock show.
“We sure do. Just let me know your dorm, or your address if you’re not on campus, and we’ll have them shipped before the end of the day. If you’re on campus, they’ll be with you today, if you’re not, it’ll be tomorrow.”
“Oh. Right. Uhm, yeah I’m on campus.” I grab the Abnormal Psych book I need for this afternoon and arrange to have the rest sent to my room before saying goodbye and heading over to the coffee counter. I get my cold coffee and do a little happy dance. Peppermint probably won’t be around for long, because those basic fall bitches bring in pumpkin spice. And while I’m definitely a basic fall bitch, I can’t stand the pumpkin stuff. Give me peppermint till I die!
Though I won’t lie, if the pumpkin comes with this heat dialing back, I’ll take it, because I am over this warm weather already.
My phone buzzes and I frown, wondering who the hell is texting me. I don’t have many people that normally text me, no one here but Penn has my number yet and Emerson has fallen off the face of the earth since the party we went to before school started.
Mom:
Hi sweetheart! Chase and I are coming home next week. Mandatory family dinner next Thursday. No excuses since we’re giving you over a week’s notice! Love you.
I groan as I leave the bookstore. Tucking my phone back in my rear pocket, I wonder what I did in a past life to have to endure this one when I run smack into the Barbie parade that was with Travis and the others.
“Oh, look, it’s the Kensington charity case,” the girl who was hanging off of Travis the other day sneers, and I roll my eyes.
“Yep, that's me. Take it in. Gold digger galore, ladies, be careful of getting too close though. Poor is catching, you know? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go hunt down another trust fund baby to suck the life out of.”
They pause, giving me just enough time to dart around them, and I think I’m home free when I get yanked back by my hair. I fall onto my ass, somehow managing not to spill a drop of my drink, but the crunch of my phone in my back pocket has despair washing through me like a tidal wave.
Yeah, that thing is dead.
Awesome.
“That's where you belong, whore. Beneath me,” a brunette I don’t recognize says as she steps forward. “Enjoy your shower.”
I am momentarily stunned as she pours her drink over my head. They all cackle as it happens and I’m just struck stupid, unable to move. What are we, in high school? You have got to be kidding me with this petty, childish bullshit.
How is this my life?
They turn and walk away, leaving me ass down on the sidewalk covered in God only knows what the hell was in that cup of hers. It smells sweet, it’s bright freaking pink, and it’s cold as fuck. I wipe away as much of it as I can, refusing to let the tears that prick at my eyes fall, and climb to my feet.
Thank God I wear mostly black so whatever this is, it’s not going to stain.
It’s impossible to ignore everyone that's just watching me to see if I’ll break down, knowing that not one of them even thought about helping. I straighten my shoulders and lift my head high, slip on my natural resting bitch face mask despite the ice and syrup still in my hair, and head toward my dorm.
These bitches think a slushie bath is going to scare me off? They have no idea who I am, or even the truth of why Travis really hates me—not that I’m sure they care about the truth of anything.
They don’t know the things I had to overcome before I arrived in Serenity Falls, so if they think a little bullshit bullying is going to make me leave, they’ve got another thing coming.
“Briar?” I hear as I approach my dorm building.
I ignore the voice and keep walking, not really wanting to talk to anyone right now when I’m so close to being in a shower, but when someone grabs my arm and pulls me to halt, I clench my jaw. “People really need to stop manhandling me before I start fighting back.”
“Woah, I didn’t mean any harm,” Asher says, releasing me and putting his hands up in surrender as I look up at him. He frowns when his eyes run over me, and I ball my hands into fists. “What happened to you?”
I scoff at him, because it's ridiculously obvious what happened to me. “As if you don’t already know, but Travis’s little sorority hit squad happened. Now, can I go and shower before I’m late for my afternoon class?”
“I didn’t know. They did this?” he asks again, his jaw clenching as he folds his inked arms over his wide chest.
I let out a deep breath, realizing that trying to be a bitch just isn’t going to work with him, so I soften just a little. “Asher, I really just want to shower. It’s no big deal. I can handle bullies. I’ve been dealing with them my entire life.”
“Fine,” he says with a nod. “I mean, not fine, but fine. Just… if you need me, you know where I am.”
“Thank you,” I say, giving him the fakest smile of my life, and practically run into my building. I turn as I enter, catching him watching me while animatedly yelling at someone on his phone.