Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Nyx
Dear god – Tate McRae
On Saturday, I get a text from Peach when I leave my afternoon shift at the restaurant.
Peach: The girls are coming over for margaritas and cookies. Ella literally makes the best cookies in the world and my margaritas are amazing. You don't want to miss out. You know where we live. Come after your shift.
I yawn as I read it. It's only six p.m., but I'm exhausted from a week of classes and then enjoying my evenings getting familiar with my new violin.
It's perfect. So perfect, I spent the week wondering why I hadn't heard from Achilles.
Why hasn't he texted me or given me any attention?
And why does it make me feel empty? Was I already getting used to his unwanted focus?
So much so that it's not so unwanted anymore?
I bite my inner cheek as I look at the text from Peach. She's Achilles's neighbor, and the idea that I could bump into him is sending my heart racing, pumping pleasure through my veins. Excitement gets the better of me, and I tell Peach I'm on my way.
As I park in front of Peach's campus house, I question whether the mansions here will ever stop impressing me. They're nowhere near the buildings where we have classes, so the last time I saw them was for the house party at Achilles and Wren's house.
"Hi!" Alex shouts excitedly as she opens the door for me, eyes shining and telling me that she's already heavily tipsy.
I've barely passed through the doorway, and I've got a margarita in my hand, the smell of fresh-baked cookies making me salivate.
"Welcome to the house of angry girlfriends!" Peach exclaims when we walk into the living room.
She's standing on the sofa with a margarita in her hands, and "10 Things I Hate About You" by Leah Kate is playing loudly. Her drink sloshes to the sides of her glass as she jumps on the cushions.
Alex downs her drink and joins her, jumping with her as they scream the lyrics at each other.
"What. Is. Happening?" I ask, wide eyes watching my new friends act like they've all broken up with their boyfriends.
Ella settles by my side, holding a batch of cookies. She puts the plate on the coffee table and points at Peach.
"Wren ordered her to stay at home while he's out taking care of business."
"Ordered, Nyx. He ordered me, like I'm some fucking trad wife who'll do whatever he says," Peach rages, still jumping on the couch.
Ella's index finger moves to Alex. "Xi told her to…how did he word it, exactly?"
Alex pauses, her sweet features turning harsh to imitate her broody boyfriend.
"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to, Cupcake," she says in a low voice. "Just worry about not getting in trouble with me, yeah?"
She jumps off the sofa, striding to me before she goes on her toes to pretend she's as big as Xi. Grabbing my jaw with her hand, she shakes my head a little. "Got it, Cupcake?"
With an exaggerated roll of her eyes, she huffs and puffs as she grabs a cookie. "Do this, Cupcake. Don't do that, Cupcake. Be a good girl, Cupcake. Cupcake thinks you're an asshole."
I have to pinch my lips not to burst out laughing. Turning to Ella, I ask, "What about yours?"
She shakes her head. "Mine doesn't say anything. He keeps his secrets to himself, expecting me to be okay with it because I wouldn't leave, right?" She bites angrily into a cookie. "I'm not okay with it, by the way."
"You wouldn't leave?" I question as Peach gets off the couch to pour herself another margarita.
I take a sip of mine as Ella's mouth twists.
"Well, it's complicated."
"It's complicated means he wouldn't let her." Alex snorts. "Trust me, she tried."
"What?" I choke out.
"Oh, she doesn't mind," Alex adds innocently, refilling her glass too.
Peach is already sipping on her new one as she heads back to the couch. She resumes her jumping, now to "abcdfu" by GAYLE.
"I'm telling you. It's got to do with the Circle," she says, like she's been investigating this deeply. "It's always the fucking Circle when they go shady on us."
"But I'm not part of this," Alex whines desperately. "Why are they bringing Xi down this slippery slope?"
"Xi is useful, Alex," Ella jumps in. "Think! He's a jack of all trades."
"Exactly!" Peach points at Alex with her glass, accidentally spilling margarita all over her friend.
"What's the Circle?" I ask, completely clueless. I'm going to need more alcohol if I have to keep up with this conversation.
"Uh…" Ella hesitates.
"Oh, fuck," Peach adds, sitting down on the sofa, eyes sobering.
Alex licks her lips before wiping salt off her cheek. "Nothing?"
"Please, don't tell me the conspiracies about billionaires being part of secret societies is a real thing." I chuckle awkwardly.
"It's a fucked-up world we live in," Peach explains simply. "Should we leave it at that?"
I try to keep a straight face, but I’m pretty sure she just agreed with me. They clearly won’t get into it, and it’s probably for the best, so I smile and nod, ignoring my instinct to run away as I drink more alcohol.
The song changes to "Picture To Burn" by Taylor Swift, and I take the opportunity to put an end to the uncomfortable moment.
"What is this playlist?"
"Oh, it's a playlist we made!" Alex giggles.
"It's called we're angry girlies," Peach says.
"With two pink heart emojis," Alex insists seriously.
"And sparkles!" Ella adds.
The song is cut short by a notification. It's a swoosh kind of sound, like something passing quickly through the air. It's followed by two other phones making the same sound.
"No," Peach groans. "Please, don't let this evening get any worse."
"What's that?" I ask, biting into a cookie. "Oh my God, Ella. These are delicious."
"Fuck, Nyx," Alex says softly, her eyes on her phone. The whole mood is coming down, and it’s a palpable kind of shift. "I'm sorry."
"What? What is it?" I watch the other girls unlock their phones and their faces fall.
"Nyx," Peach snaps, her green eyes killing me in one look. "What did I tell you about Achilles? Do you have no survival skills whatsoever?"
My stomach sinks. "What's going on?"
"Okay, sit down," Ella says, pointing at the couch as she pours me another drink.
I take it with a shaking hand.
"We told you about Hermes. That anonymous account exposing everyone's secrets on the SFU app."
Shit. They told me about it during the party, but something so much worse happened that night that I completely forgot about it.
"We also warned you about Achilles," Peach adds with a lifted eyebrow.
"Peach," Ella says sternly. "Give her some slack, will you?"
Alex offers me her phone. "Hermes posted about you."
My mouth drops, and I can't contain my gasp. It's a picture of me and Achilles in the audience at the concert hall last Monday. And it's the exact moment he kissed me. It's clearly a screenshot from a security camera.
"We just… He gave me a priceless custom-made violin. Mine was damaged."
"Do you often kiss people as a thank you?" Peach asks.
"I didn't want to!" But I kind of did, not that I tell them that. "He did it. It was very brief. He took me by surprise. Oh my God, so, what, now everyone knows about that kiss?"
I look up from the phone at the three faces in front of me. All nodding.
"My boyfriend," I rasp.
"Only SFU students have access to this app," Ella explains.
"Don't be na?ve," Peach jumps back in. "Any student can show this to anyone outside of college."
"Oh no, no, no," I mutter as a dread-filled shiver ripples down my spine.
"Nyx," Alex says softly. Her eyes search mine. "Did anything else happen between you two?"
My silence eggs them on.
"Oh my God," Ella groans. "Did you sleep with him?"
More silence.
Peach huffs. "At this point, you're begging for a broken heart."
I drop my face into my free hand. "You don't understand. It's complicated."
I feel them calm down, even though I'm not looking at them, and compassion replaces their shock.
"You hate him but kind of desperately want him too?" Peach asks.
"You know he's terrible for you, but you can't help hoping he's going to keep coming after you?" Alex adds.
"You want to run away when you think about how he's trying to get you, but when he's near you, you can't help melting into his hands?" Ella concludes.
I blink up at them. "Uh…yeah, actually. That was pretty well described. I want him to leave me alone, but when he does, I want him more?"
They all nod.
"We've been there," Alex explains. "Although, I have to say, the fact that this is happening with Achilles makes it about ten times worse. I would strongly suggest getting out while you can."
Ella nods her agreement. "You'll be lucky if this is just him chasing after something he can't have, and he'll leave you alone soon."
I look down at the phone screen again, reading the caption.
Getting Duval senior's scholarship and Duval junior's dick. Go, North Shore girl!
Just don't tell her boyfriend she's gone from drug dealer to gold digger.
Nyx Mayer, your secrets are safe with me. Until they aren't.
#GoNorthShoreGirl #WehavemoregoldontheSouthBank #Heardshecosts580k
"I was never a drug dealer!" I bite out. "What the hell?"
"Hermes might sprinkle some lies for the drama in their captions," Ella explains with a sympathetic shrug. "But they always use a picture to support their truth."
I scroll down on the account, seeing that the post before this one was about me too. It was a picture of my orientation day. They caught me walking out of the building. I still had my bleached and black hair.
Rags to riches! Our new favorite.
SFU changed… I think they're giving bursaries now or something, because a little rat from the North Shore of Silver Falls got lost on our campus today.
Someone, please, for the love of God, get her to a hairdresser.
Let her know in the comments how…welcome she is here.
#SFUcharity #don'ttouchmyHermesbag #pleaseleavealready
I have no words to describe how cruel the comments are. They talk about how poor I must be, the things I must have done for money, and how unwelcome I am among the rich.
"Why would anyone do that?" I say through a tight throat. "It's horrible."
"I'm sorry, honey," Ella says. "People here lose sight of what matters. They've always had everything they wanted and lived in a bubble with the same people for so long that they're used to tearing each other apart."
"But we don't agree with any of this," Alex reassures me. "We hate it as much as you do, believe me. We're here for you."
Out of nowhere, my margarita is being refilled by Peach because she's not as good with reassuring words as her friends. She's more of an action kind of girl.
"Does the we're angry girlies playlist apply to not-boyfriends or the entire campus?"
"You can use it to be angry at anyone you want," Peach says proudly. "The whole world if you want to."
An hour later, the four of us are jumping on two different couches, margaritas spilling everywhere, the taste of salt, lime, and strong tequila numbing my taste buds.
The overwhelming feeling of happiness that only female friendships can bring is making me dizzier than the alcohol.
I'm drunk on life, my stomach full of delicious cookies, shouting the lyrics to "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood.
Our concert is cut mid-song by the appearance of four hot men in the living room. A row of mocking stares, self-satisfied grins, crossed arms, and shaking heads.
And of course, amused steel eyes find me, a smirk plastered on his beautiful face.
"We're back," Wren says.
"Party's over, Cupcake," Xi adds.
Chris is already offering a hand to Ella, helping her get down from the couch.
"I'm still mad." She pouts.
"Wren Hunter, do not approach me," Peach shouts as her boyfriend takes a step toward her.
"Come on, Trouble. Don't be annoyed."
"I'm not annoyed, I'm furious."
Xi stays silent, striding toward the couch as Alex shrieks and jumps off the back of it. "Don't you dare go caveman on me right now."
Without a word, he hoists her over his shoulder, head down as he wraps an arm around her thighs.
"I'm going to be sick," she groans.
"Maybe don't drink so much next time."
"Maybe don't be such an a—"
The spank is so hard, my eyes widen with shock.
"Watch your language."
Before I know it, Xi carries her out of the house, Chris and Ella leave while she gives him the silent treatment, and Peach's door slams upstairs before I hear Wren knocking, begging her to open it.
"And then there were two," Achilles purrs as I get off the couch and put my glass on the coffee table. "Looks like all your girlfriends are busy with their boyfriends. Should we find something to keep us busy too?"
I lick my lips, still tasting of salt and tequila. "Speaking of boyfriends," I say, avoiding his gaze as I look for my bag. "Chase is coming over tonight. I should go."
Pretending to be busy with my phone, I walk past him, but there's no way to avoid him when he grips my upper arm and stops me in my tracks.
"Don't make me compete with him for your company, Nyx. It gets ugly when I do."
I can't control my racing heart despite the deep breath I suck in.
"I'm not trying to make you compete. He's my boyfriend. You're not."
A slight grunt of disagreement rumbles in his chest, and he pulls me until I'm standing in front of him.
"I could change that any time I want. I've just been nice enough to give you some space while I was busy."
My lungs tighten, but there's nowhere I can go, stuck in his hold while he takes pleasure in torturing me.
"Will you ever stop bullying me, Achilles? I don't deserve this."
He pushes my fringe out of my eyes. "Probably not."
"Why are you doing this?" I rasp. "You've got everything you could possibly want in life. Any woman at this college would gladly be your girlfriend. Why are you so hellbent on making my life a living hell? I've done nothing to you."
He observes me languidly, as if he wants to take all the time in the world to look me over. Pausing at my lips, he brings his thumb to my mouth and rubs off some salt I missed.
"Good question. I'll show you why."
Then, he's dragging me out of the girls' house and next door to his. I came here for the thrill of potentially bumping into him. Now, I have, and I'm too scared to even think straight, sobered up by the fear of what he'll do once he gets me alone in his house.