Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Aspen
My eyes burned with exhaustion as I navigated my way through Miss Raleigh’s classroom and dropped down into my seat. The same table, I used to sit with Raven at. My heart dropped into my stomach, and the horrible feeling of shitting on her memory ate away at me. Myles killed her and I’d been a horny little slut, spreading my legs wide open for him when I’d felt an ounce of desire for the asshole. They were screwing with my head badly, and I needed to stay the hell away from them.
Miss Raleigh made her way to the front of the room, droning on and on about a lecture I didn’t even comprehend. This was only my second day back, and she didn’t care enough to bring me up to speed. To make matters worse, yesterday she mentioned there being a test on Wednesday—which just so happened to be tomorrow.
Sighing, I glanced around the classroom as her voice faded into the background. My gaze clashed with Collin’s instantly, as if he’d been staring at me for a while. The hard set of his jaw was a good indicator that he was still pissed at me.
I didn’t fucking care, though. He never asked me to be exclusive with him. We hooked up once , and all of the sudden he had some weird claim on me? Screw that. If anyone should have gotten my body out of the four of them, it should have been Myles. At least, by their logic.
As soon as Miss Raleigh turned her back to head back to her desk, I raised my finger, flipping him the bird. Instantly, his eyes narrowed. But what I hadn’t expected was for him to stand up in the middle of class, his gaze never straying from mine.
My heart rate skyrocketed. He was ballsier than I thought.
I half expected our teacher to get on his ass and tell him to sit the hell down, but she barely spared him a glance before returning to whatever the hell it was, she was doing.
His friends looked at him like he’d grown a second head, and hell, that was probably similar to my expression right now, too.
He stalked over to my desk, which wasn’t a far walk for him, and dropped down into the seat opposite me. He leaned forward, rage radiating from him, making the hair on the back of my neck rise.
“You think you’re cute, don’t you?” he demanded in a low voice.
I shrugged, nonchalantly, not wanting him to see how much he affected me. Collin was so cold and hot that it was impossible to know which version of him I’d be getting. “I like to think I’m fairly attractive.” I smirked.
“Being a bitch only gets you so far,” he continued.
I snorted in response. “What the hell do you want?”
His next words shocked me to my core, and admittedly, my heart even palpitated. “ You .” As much as that single word pleased me, he really fucking hurt me. If he’d wanted to be exclusive before, all he had to do was ask and I might have considered it.
“What do Madison and Payton think of that?” I countered. Rage simmered beneath my skin at the mere thought of those two bitches.
“I lied about screwing Madison,” he said sheepishly. “Payton was out of…spite.”
Lifting my chin, I glared at him. Did he really think that would work on me? “Well, was it worth it?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
A look of confusion crossed his features. “Was what worth it?” he countered, sounding genuinely confused.
“You played with my heart. I liked you, and you hurt me. I’m not just going to get over that.” Being vulnerable didn’t come easy to me. In fact, it was rather painful. But if I expected honesty from him, then I needed to be willing to express myself, too. “And don’t lie to me, Collin. I saw the hickeys on your neck when you came back from your little talk with Madison.”
His lips parted in shock, clearly surprised by my admission. “Look, Aspen…I’m sorry?—”
“You know,” I cut him off. “That word is starting to lose its meaning. Show me or go fuck yourself. I’m done playing games. And I will not be your Madison fill-in, do you hear me?”
Resigned, he leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh before nodding defeatedly. Good. At least we had that cleared up now.
“Just for the record,” he began again. “I didn’t fuck Madison. I left before it got that far.”
After classes ended for the day, I made my way to Monroe’s. My head was spinning with everything that had occurred last night. Hell, it was hard not to think about. Foster was easily the biggest guy I’d ever taken. Lengthy, but not too thick. He had been so damn perfect. My pussy fluttered at the simple reminder. My feelings pertaining to him were complicated at best. If I hated him as potently as I thought I did, then why beg him to rescue me from Hunter’s room? Why let him fuck me? Why did my body ignite when he allowed me to touch him?
Why, why, why?
Shaking my head to rid myself of these thoughts, I stepped through the front door. I knew Monroe wasn’t back, yet. He usually stayed after class to get paperwork done so that he didn’t have to bother with it at home unless it was a Friday. He’s been avoiding me since he woke up in bed with me. It was safe to say that he remembered what he did in his drunken state and that just made everything more awkward.
Unfortunately, Caroline was home. The scent of cookies wafted through the entire house, and I scrunched up my nose. Not because they didn’t smell good—they did , but because she couldn’t cook worth shit. Not even the simplest of meals. I highly doubted that her baking would be any better.
I picked up my pace, making a beeline for my room, hoping to get there before she could spot me and turn up her nose at my mere presence. She was still a bitch, but she hadn’t been as bad since she moved back in.
Slipping through my bedroom door, I closed it and dropped my bag on the floor near my closet. Life seemed too easy right now. If you discounted my warring emotions anyways. Things were starting to feel normal. I was struggling in school after missing so many days, Talissa was letting me work again, and Gia had welcomed me back into the fold with open arms. Even the mean girls hadn’t bothered me much. Then again, I’ve only been back for two days and haven’t really crossed paths with them. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen, and for once, these impending feelings had nothing to do with the boys who had tormented me relentlessly since I arrived here.
I got in bed, spreading my legs out before me and dislodging my phone from my jacket pocket. It wasn’t surprising that Rocky had already texted me a few times. Since we were ambushed by Foster yesterday, he’s been clingier.
Opening the messages, I glanced down at my screen.
Rocky
Are you going straight home after school?
I can walk with you if you want.
Are you still planning on drugging Henderson?
That last message made me pause. He was an idiot for putting that in text, but it wasn’t like I intended on killing the asshole. My intention had been to drug him and rape him. He stood by and watched them all do it to me. Hell, he orchestrated a few of the assaults. It only felt fitting to show him how it felt. But then the unexpected happened. He willingly fucked me. So, stealing his virginity was now out of the question, and maybe that was a good thing. I couldn’t help but wonder before if doing that to him was too far.
I hated having a stupid heart.
They all deserved to suffer for what they did to me, but as the days went on and as I spent more time with them, revenge started becoming less and less appealing.
Blowing out a breath, I typed out a response to Rocky.
Aspen
Can you come over? We need to talk.
Rocky wouldn’t be happy with my sudden change of heart. For some reason, he’d been just as eager to make them pay as I had.
My phone dinged with another message, and I glanced down at it again. Tension rolled through me. He was telling me that he was on the way, which meant I couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer. Not that avoidance had been my prerogative anyways.
It took him less time to get here than it should have, making me believe he’d already been heading this way before I even asked him to come. He barreled through my bedroom, closing the door behind him. In a few strides, he was seated on the edge of my bed with his body positioned toward me.
“Hey,” he greeted, sweeping his gaze over me. A look of concern flashed across his face. It wasn’t often that I asked him to come over. My feelings pertaining to him were still muddled and I didn’t have the slightest idea on how to sort through them.
I swallowed thickly before straightening my spine, using the bedframe as support. There was no point in deflecting or trying to beat out around the bush, so taking a direct approach seemed the most sensible.
“I don’t think I should drug Foster.”
His eyes widened momentarily in surprise, but then he nodded. “Okay, then let’s do something without the pills,” he offered.
I worried my lower lip between my teeth, relishing in the sting it caused. My mouth was swollen after yesterday—hell, everything felt swollen. “Actually,” I began reluctantly. “I was thinking about just letting it go.”
This time, he reeled back. Staring at me like I’d grown a second head. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked in bewilderment. “Did you forget what they did to you?”
Sighing, I dropped my hands in my lap and glanced down at my nails. These acrylics lasted longer than expected. After using them to tear down Foster’s back, my index one had managed to fall off on my right hand. “No. I didn’t forget. I just know that it won’t accomplish anything. I’ll antagonize them, and they’ll come back stronger. It’s a war I can’t win.” That was the truth. “They promised to leave me alone as long as I didn’t bate them.”
Rocky scoffed, rolling his eyes and glancing away, almost like he couldn’t even stand the sight of me. For some reason, that hurt more than I cared to admit. “Yeah,” he retorted. “Because Foster left you alone last night?”
“He didn’t hurt me. I actually managed to slice his face open.” I grinned, feeling pretty proud of myself for that.
Finally, he brought his gaze back to mine and narrowed his eyes. “Was that before or after you fucked him?”
My heart dropped into my stomach. He never asked what happened in those woods, but I suppose, that when we emerged, it was probably obvious. “It’s not like it was supposed to happen,” I defended.
“So what? You got all hot and bothered by the danger of it all and then fell on his dick?”
Heat spread through my veins and coiled around my insides. What the actual fuck was his problem? I knew they didn’t particularly like each other, but none of them were my boyfriends. “Screw you, Rocky,” I snapped. “You’re not so innocent when it comes to fucking other people either. Or did you already forget about Dixie?”
In a flash, his hand was locked around my throat. Not tightly, just firm enough to hold me in place. He leaned in, his breath a whisper against my lips. “I already explained that arrangement to you.” He clenched his jaw, his fingers applying a little more pressure.
I wasn’t used to seeing him so angry, but anyone had the power to surprise you. He was here for a reason. Everyone who got sent to the academy had a dark side. Either this was his, or it was just breaching the surface of what he was capable of. That thought both terrified me and excited me.
It must have shown on my face, because his grip loosened slightly, and he was looking at me as if seeing me for the first time.
“You like this , don’t you?” he asked.
I shook my head, but my sore vagina was pulsing tauntingly. My body was calling me a liar, and it annoyed me to no end.
Foster wanted me to stay away from Rocky. Collin seemed to want me to himself. And Rocky, wanted me to stay away from Foster—hell, maybe all of the guys were included in that. Maybe I just needed to steer clear of all of them. It would sure as hell make my life that much simpler.
“You’re lying,” he accused. “It gives you a rush. Knowing your life is in someone else’s hands. Knowing that I could easily tighten my grip around your dainty little neck and steal your oxygen.”
“Let go of me,” I growled, hating how fucking right he was.
Excitement flashed within his eyes. “You don’t want me to do that, either.” He smirked. “It’s written all over your face.”
I slapped his hands away and he released a laugh, not putting up a fight like I’d expected. He was infuriating. They all were. Hell, if they weren’t all on opposite sides of this drug bullshit that felt oddly like a childish gang, then they’d probably even be friends.
“Why do you guys all hate each other anyways?” I asked.
The amusement faded from his face, and he shifted uncomfortably. Clearly, this was a sensitive topic, but I wanted to know. “If I tell you, can you ensure that it’ll remain between us?” he countered. “It’s not really my story to tell.”
Swallowing, I nodded despite the confusion bubbling up inside of me. He released a sigh and then continued. “Dixie and Collin dated,” he explained.
My eyebrows shot into my hairline. “Seriously?”
This time, it was his turn to nod. “Yep. They were both new to the academy at this time. They dated for a little while before he cheated on her. By then, he’d already become friends with the assholes he hangs out with now. As if that wasn’t enough, he started flaunting his latest conquest around where she had to constantly be reminded of it.”
“So, you beating his ass wasn’t just for my benefit?” I smirked.
A smile played around the edges of his mouth, and he shook his head. “No. I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. I expected him to put up more of a fight, though.”
“Okay…” I trailed on. “That explains why you and Collin hate each other, but what about the others?”
“Well, Collin and Dixie broke up shortly after he became friends with Hunter. I’m not sure if they even knew he had a girlfriend since they hadn’t been friends long. But I do believe that Castillo swayed him into cheating on her somehow, maybe unintentionally.”
“I mean maybe ,” I tacked on. “But it was Collin’s decision.”
He sighed and nodded again. “Yeah, that’s true. That’s not the only reason I don’t like him, though,” he explained. “Talissa was going to give me a deal. Basically, what Foster and his bitches do for her now, she was going to do for me. But Hunter and Collin went behind my back and offered her something better. So, she cut me off and chose them. So now, I’m stuck getting product from them directly.”
My head spun with all this new information. “What about Myles and Foster?”
“Myles is a fucking psychopath. He’s a murderer , and his favorite victims are women. It’s morally wrong. It’s fucking depraved .” He shook his head, scrunching up his nose in distaste. “And Foster is just an asshole. He’s a sexist little bitch with mommy and daddy issues. They were all involved in what happened to Dory. She killed herself because of Jessica and Madison. She was good friends with Dixie.”
I’d known for a while that Collin had commitment issues, but he cheated on Dixie. How could I possibly know that he wouldn’t do that to me? He was officially back on my shit list.
My fingers worked through my hair, frustration gnawing at me. How did I get so wrapped up in this? Blowing out a breath, I nodded—more to myself than to him. It seemed like all the guys I was attracted to had girl drama except for Foster and Myles. Rocky was fucking his friend, Hunter was going through a breakup, Collin couldn’t keep his dick to himself no matter what, and Monroe’s wife was still living with him.
This was all one big cluster-fuck.