Chapter Three
I’m seething when Peyton shows up minutes later, sliding into the chair Leo occupied. She throws me a curious glance but doesn’t engage with me which is a blessing until I tamper down my inner violent shrew, all in hopes that I don’t stomp over to Leo and cuss him the fuck out. Fuck boys and fuck their pathetic games.
I’m pissed off, I’m embarrassed, and thinking about just crawling into a hole to die, but instead I have to sit here and pretend that I’m not replaying the way my body felt having his pressed up against me. I let out a silent groan of what this could mean for my time here, I don’t need the added drama, I just need to survive, but I don’t think a quick explanation to Blakely is going to fix whatever that was.
I stare at the clock on the wall as the teacher, Mr. Harrison runs through his expectations of the semester.Tick tick tick.The time moves at a sluggish pace and rather than take notes, as the lecture ends, I realise I’ve spent the entirety of the class scribbling drawings all over the page.A small falcon. A cage. A larger Great Horned Owl.And I’ve learned exactly nothing.
Despite the tremendous effort I made to not look over at Leo and Blakely, I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering their way. Blakely sat on her phone the entirety of the lesson, not that I’m one to talk, but Leo had his head in the textbook and actively took notes. They didn’t talk. Hell, from what I could see he didn’t look her way once.
Knowing I’m not going to be able to avoid it any longer, I wait for Peyton, I wait for Peyton to pack up her things and fall into step with her. She gives me a perceptive smile, before flicking her eyes over to where Leo is exiting the room with Blakely a step behind him.
“Ready to tell me what had you kicking kittens when I walked in?”
I huff out a breath and run my fingers through the ends of my long hair before nodding my head. “It was nothing. Just not the best introduction into the university.”
She bites the corner of her lip in thought, her eyebrows furrowing for a minute before she blows out a breath of her own. “Yeah, I expected as much. Most of us here have been going to school together since middle school, the others are going to test your metal to see if you’reworthyof being here with us.”
She uses her fingers to mock quotations around the word worthy and rolls her eyes like the whole idea of it is ridiculous. I stare at her with an eyebrow raised, but I’m kind enough to let her come to the conclusion on her own. The flush that colors her cheeks is brilliant and is evidence enough that she remembers just fine on her own. I cackle at her and she knows her shoulder gently against mine.
“Shut up.”
I hum under my breath but drop the subject. The hall is quiet as we make our way down, the students are talking with one another but when we step closer it becomes more of a hushed whisper. At first, I think it’s coincidence, but paired with the wide berth on either side of us, I’m guessing not. Peyton looks unfazed, just continues walking like this is totally normal. Maybe it is and I question her on it.
The look she gives me is sheepish and uncomfortable. I immediately fucking hate myself for asking, but she answers none the less. “I, uh, was dating this guy all through high school. You know how it is”I don’t, but I don’t interrupt.“I had the fairytale all planned, the marriage, house, kids. He got along with my brother; everything was perfect.”
She stops then, a pained expression on her face and I worry she’s not going to say anything more. I don’t push her on it, content on waiting her out. She swallows and blinks her eyes furiously like she’s trying to hold back tears, before opening her mouth again. “Well, he got engaged over the Summer and as you can tell by the way there’s no ring on my finger, it’s not me. I’ve been a bit of a social pariah since.”
I. Am. Murderous. My mind floods with all the different creative and cruel ways I could hurt this guy, and the rich fucks that have just abandoned her for it. This must show on my face because Peyton is tugging me to a stop and leveling me with a stern look, one that has me raising my eyebrows in surprise.
“It’s not his fault. Not really. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, I’m over him now.” My face screws up at her words because how could itnotbe his fault? But Peyton just laughs at me and starts walking again, happy to ignore the assholes around us. I look around discreetly, memorizing the faces of the ones who offer her dirty looks and sneers, to those who give her pitying looks. It’s disgusting.
“So, you said you’re not a scholarship student. Where are you from?” Back in full form, she offers me that blinding smile of hers, the picture of grace and wealth when she’s not shoveling food in her mouth like a starved person.
“Darling Valley.”
“Okay, not to be rude.”Which always means what they’re about to say next will be rude. “But if you’re from there, how the hell can you afford to be here. We drove through there once and it was literally terrifying, grown men were staring at my car like they were wondering how much they’d get to scrap it for part.”
I scoff. “That’s probably exactly what they were thinking. What were you driving? A Bentley?”
She rolls her eyes. “A Tesla.” I laugh at how obscenely rich person that is and she shoulders me again. I might need to start wearing shoulder pads around her, she’s boney and I bruise easy.
She lets me off the hook for ignoring her question and moves on to ‘safe’ topics. We talk back and forth, sharing little pieces of ourselves. She’s actually really good at this friend thing. Anytime she asks a question that I don’t want to answer, which is pretty much anything personal, she moves on as if she expected as much.
“What about your family?”
I wince and she sees, her eyebrows furrowing and head tilting slightly to the side like she doesn’t understand why that question would make me sweat. Thing is, I am a literal nobody. Nobody waiting for me. Nobody to go home to. No home of my own. My fingers flex at my side as I offer her a single shoulder shrug like this is totally normal and I’m not breaking a little inside at the reminder.
“Don’t have one. I’ve been in the system since forever. If I have a family, I don’t know who they are and if they know about me, they haven’t been looking.”
“Blood ties are nothing. A family is what you create and appreciate.” Her steps don’t falter, her words don’t waver, and I think I just fell in love with her a little. It’s clear we are both not sharing our story, but that’s okay. It’s day one.
My nose leads the way to the lunch hall, and I am starved. The grumbling of my stomach is likely to be heard in the next county over if I don’t put food in my mouth right the fuck now. Unfortunately for me, my stomach had been making it’s complaints known throughout my whole literature class, but luckily for me the chuckling boy who sat next to me pretty much threw a protein bar my way. I thanked him and devoured it in seconds.
It was enough to stop me from fainting on the damn spot, but now I’m teetering on the edge of hangry to steer-clear-until-fed-or-risk-getting-stabbed, and if I don’t stuff my face with carbs soon, it might just happen.
Settling in the first available table, I order quickly and send a quick message to Peyton asking if she’s coming to the hall for lunch. My phone pings and I’m expecting it to be Peyton’s reply, but instead it’s from Clarke.
I hate the thought of you there by yourself, so far away from me.