Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Ivy
My eyes can barely stay open.
I hid in a park behind a tree last night and didn’t have a single ounce of sleep.
But I’m here.
I’m here on Spine Ridge U campus and going to my classes, just as I swore. Nothing will make me give up that easily.
“Hey, Ivy! Come sit with us!” River Landon waves at me from the grass where he’s having lunch with the friend group I frequently join since I came to this university.
Fuck. I really did not want to sit down today when I didn’t bring anything with me to eat. But with River calling me over, I’ll have to go over there.
“How are your classes going?” Océane Pearce smiles at me, her dark skin so radiant in the bright sun that it dazzles even me. “Getting used to Spine Ridge U yet?”
I shrug and smile back. “It’s okay. I’m slowly easing into it.”
The twins, Xavier and Aspen Caruso, share a family-sized salad. One picks out the cucumbers and pickles, while the other vehemently avoids them and eats only the raisins and apple slices. Xavier tries to steal one of the apples, but Aspen swats his fork away. “Fruit’s mine. That was the deal.”
“Bitch,” he whispers under his breath, swatting at her fork too.
She spits a piece of raisin in his face.
“Gross!” Xavier wipes off his face, and Aspen scrunches her freckly nose in amusement.
River laughs. “Y’all can’t ever be nice, can you?”
“Girl’s been bothering me since she stole half my mother’s fucking womb from me,” Xavier growls, and Aspen punches his shoulder in response.
“So much love between you two, it’s infectious,” River jokes, running his fingers through his dark-brown hair.
“What are they fighting about now?” Talon, River’s older brother, asks as he stands over the group.
“Sharing air,” Océane jests as she gets up and pecks Talon on the cheeks. “Where’ve you been?”
“Extra class,” he says, smugly kissing her on the lips, claiming her in front of everyone. “Ready to get out of here?”
“Bet,” she says.
“Where are you going?” Aspen asks, throwing back her medium-length red hair she once told me was not natural even though it totally looks like it. “Somewhere fun?”
“Talon’s taking me out on a date.” She smiles brightly, her curly black hair waving in the wind. “See you all later. And Ivy, we should catch up soon. Message me, okay? We’ll make plans for a night out.” She winks.
“Got it!” I reply.
Talon throws his arm over her shoulders as they walk off.
“Those two have been slobbering each other’s faces off the entire day,” River groans.
“He’s just staking his claim,” Xavier says. “Who wouldn’t with that catch?”
Aspen makes a face. “Bro.”
“What? She is a catch.” He looks at me. “You can’t deny that.”
I nod. “True. She’s gorgeous.”
Xavier makes a weird gesture with his hands. “See?”
Aspen rolls her eyes, but Xavier’s already lost in his thoughts. He looks dazed as hell, staring at something in the distance. I follow his gaze to find Sunny Reed with her super long black-and-green hair waving from side to side as she struts around campus with her usual grumpy expression. Her friends tail behind her, trying to catch up like they’re trying to catch a whiff of air from the queen herself. When she turns, one of them pulls up her phone and takes a picture while she leans against the fountain with a killer smile.
“Xavier,” Aspen says, but he’s not even listening. “Hello, earth to Xavier.” She waves her hand in front of his face.
“What?” he mutters.
I laugh. “You’re staring.”
He looks away with furrowed brows. “No. I’m just tired of my classes, that’s it.” He swiftly dips his fork into the shared salad bowl and pulls out five cucumber slices, shoving them all in his mouth with some lettuce. “Want some?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” River asks.
“No, no, I’ve already eaten,” I lie.
I always lie.
If I didn’t … they’d know I never have food here. Ever.
And I don’t want them to know I’m not rich like they are.
Whatever is in the cafeteria costs money, which I don’t have. I don’t bring food from home because there is none. I save everything for breakfasts and dinners for both Cora and me; that’s it. I used to eat at work sometimes, but now that’s out of the question. I was used to two meals. Unfortunately, my stomach doesn’t agree with my need to fit in with the societal norms here at Spine Ridge University.
Almost everyone here is rich. Save for the couple of people who have a scholarship like I do. And most of them form a clique together to study and work their asses off so they don’t lose it.
I just want to blend in. Fake it ’til I make it.
I clear my throat and look around the college grounds when I notice a particular lanky brown-haired boy with a knife earring slowly walking toward me.
And then turning around the second our eyes connect.
Max
Two minutes ago
I’m jogging outside on campus terrain, enjoying the warm sun after a long day of classes. I pause for a moment to take a deep breath, but when I spot a familiar dark-brown-haired girl from the corner of my eye, I have to blink twice to make sure I’m not dreaming.
The girl Silas chased into the bathroom is sitting on the grass with a bunch of her friends. What a coincidence.
I tilt my head and watch her tuck away her bag while some people in the group eat. She smiles, awkwardly clutching her belly while chatting with them, and when they offer her a bite, she politely declines with more smiles.
I wonder what they’re talking about or if they even know what kind of guys she’s got chasing her. But I wonder most of all what she’s thinking about, if she’s worried about Heath and Silas, or if she’s too busy trying to survive to even care about them.
My phone buzzes, and I check who it is.
Heath: You’ve got a free hour, right?
Me: Yeah…
Heath: Go talk to her.
Me: I can’t lie.
Heath: Try. For me. Please.
I rub my lips together and sigh. It’s so, so fucking hard to say no when he asks me like that.
Not that I’d be able to resist talking to a girl like her. It’s just that first step that makes me want to run in the opposite direction. She’s too beautiful. Too … mysterious.
I swallow away the nerves and approach while she hasn’t seen me yet, but the second I get closer, she looks me right in the eyes.
I freeze, turn around, and walk off.
What the fuck are you even doing, Max?
You pathetic, nervous motherfucker. Get your shit together.
I run another lap around the Skull and Serpent House, but when I get back to the grass, she’s gone, along with her friends.
Fuck. I missed my chance.
Goddammit. If you only just gathered the courage to—
“Hey.”
I squeal and drop my bottle of water. “Fuck!”
But when I turn to see who spoke, I forget all about the bottle. And my open jaw.
It’s her. She’s right here in front of me. And even more beautiful up close than I could ever imagine with that silky-smooth hair, olive skin, and plump lips that would make anyone want to kiss them.
And she’s talking … to me .
“Hi?” she repeats, making an odd face.
But I still don’t know what to say. All I can do is stare. Stare at that gorgeous face, those dark, smoldering eyes I could just … drown in. Good God.
“Hello? Do you speak English?” she asks again, making signals with her hands, and I realize she’s trying to use sign language.
“Oh yeah,” I say, blushing like crazy. “Sorry.”
“Wow. Okay. Confusing.” Her face is all scrunched up because I’m being weird, and I know I am, but my God, even her face like that is nothing short of perfection.
“This might be a weird question,” she says, “but are you following me?”
My eyes widen. “No, I—”
“I saw you walking straight at me and then turning around while I was still sitting in the grass, and now you’re here again.”
Well fuck. Caught red-handed.
“What do you want?”
I don’t know what to say. My mind is broken. Completely and utterly broken just from talking to someone like her.
She snorts. “You always sneak up on girls and then pretend you can’t talk?”
“No. Not girls—”
She tilts her head and folds her arms. “Boys too?”
“Well, I mean, sure, I don’t mind boys.” I close my eyes and mentally slap myself. “No. What I meant was that I’m awkward. Not that I sneak up on anyone. I didn’t mean to. It just … happened.” I laugh it off as I scratch the back of my head, but at this point, I just sound dumb. “This is not at all what I wanted to say to you.”
She frowns, and the way all the hairs in her eyebrows curl and draw together is rather cute. “Then what did you want to say to me?”
Every second feels as though all the beats in my heart are musical notes written in the wind, hoping to flutter into her ears.
She rolls her eyes and bends over to pick up my water bottle at the same time I am, and our hands collide midair. The electricity is instant, and I retract my hand as she grabs the bottle and attempts to give it back.
“So … care to tell me why a dude from the Skull and Serpent Society is sneaking up on me?” She narrows her eyes. “Because you do realize I know you’re friends with them , right?”
Well damn. For a second there, I almost forgot Silas and Heath existed.
“I just wanted to talk to you,” I say.
“Yeah, right.”
“No, I mean it.” I clear my throat. “I saw you … before they even noticed you.”
She gives me a skeptical look before bursting into laughter. “Good one.”
She passes by me and walks off, so I saunter behind her, determined to see this through.
I follow in her footsteps. “Wait. It’s not a lie. I’m not here because of them. I want to get to know you.”
“Really?” she scoffs. “Why do you even think you want to? Because Silas chased me around?”
“Because you seem nice, and you’re… gorgeous.”
She pauses for a second. “You think I’m nice and gorgeous ?” A laugh bursts out of her like she tried to keep it together but failed.
God, why am I such an idiot when it comes to girls? I always know what to say to the guys, but girls? Girls scare me.
“Look, I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I don’t trust you. You’re friends with Rivera and Preston.”
“So?” I shrug. I don’t see the problem.
“This isn’t going to work.” She turns around again, but I don’t give up that easily.
“Wow. Hold on. You’re going to deny me just because of who I hang out with?” I ask.
“Yup. You got that right.”
“I’m not my friends,” I say.
“But you’re close.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah, it does.” Suddenly, she stops in her tracks and looks right at me. “You know why they’re after me, right?”
I shrug. “I don’t care.”
She makes a confused face. “You don’t care that I stole from your society?”
I empty my pockets and take out the change. “Steal whatever you want. I’m broke anyway. I don’t have anything, so I can’t lose anything either. Except my heart.”
She snorts. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know, but neither does my attraction to you, yet here I am.”
Her face turns pale as snow, and I realize I may have said that out loud.
Oh God.
Suddenly, her stomach growls, and she holds her hands in front of her belly. “You didn’t hear that.”
“Yes, I did.” I smile and place my hand on her shoulder. “I promise you, I am not interested in whatever reason those guys are after you. Just … let me take you out for a late lunch or early dinner. It’s on me.”
She eyes me up and down like she’s trying to determine the weight of my words.
“I know a fantastic place downtown, Sammy’s Sandwich Shop. He has the best teriyaki chicken sandwiches you could ever taste. Like, they make you want to eat ten of them. I’m not kidding. Drool-worthy.”
She snorts again, so I add a smile.
“Please?” I murmur. “I know we got off on the wrong foot. But will you please let me take you out for a sandwich?” I ask. “No strings attached.”
She sighs out loud and sizes me up again. “Okay, fine.”
I make a fist and hiss to myself, “Yes.”
But her chuckle clearly gives away that she heard it too. “Just food.” She raises a finger. “That’s it.”
“Got it,” I say with a big grin.
She snorts. “You are one persistent motherfucker, you know that?”
A proud smirk forms on my face. “You don’t even know how much.” I wink. “Meet me by the fountain in an hour.”
An hour later
I put on my jacket and comb through my hair in the mirror, ensuring I look nice before I waltz out the door. But the minute I do, Heath grabs my shoulders and stops me in my tracks.
“Wow, where are you going dressed up so nicely?”
“Out,” I reply.
He frowns. “With who?”
“You know who.” I make a face. “ You told me to talk to her.”
“Oh …” His brows wriggle, and he bites the piercing on his lip. “Why didn’t you say so?”
I sigh. “Because I don’t want you to ruin it.”
“Ruin what?” He snorts, and he points at my chest. “Remember why we’re doing this.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, we’re catching a thief.”
“Exactly.” He fishes a wad of cash from his pocket and stuffs it in my hands. “Keep this. Bring it with you to wherever you’re going. Make sure it’s visible at some point.”
I frown, confused. “Oh-kay…”
What is he trying to do here?
He leans in and whispers, “Don’t ask why. Just do it.”
His voice lulls me into submission. “Fine.”
“Good boy.”
My heart beats in my throat, but then he releases me and shoves me out the door. “Have fun with that little thief.”