24. Ava
CHAPTER 24
AVA
You know what’s worse than being invisible? Suddenly being noticed by everyone because you sucked off a King in front of half the student body.
Since the night of the party, the other students on campus are all too aware of my presence. They whisper. They sneer. Girls throw me dirty looks. Guys lick their lips and wink.
I can’t help but wonder if this is the kind of treatment my mother suffered, given her profession. I always swore to myself I’d never follow in her footsteps, and it’s a little too ironic that in my efforts to further my education and actively avoid that fate, I’ve fallen prey to the Kings of Corvus College and have therefore been forced to endure it.
The worst part is, the only time my peers go back to ignoring me is when I’m with one of the Kings, so now I’m finding myself glad for their escorts across campus and their annoying presence in my classes. They’re both the disease and the cure, and I hate them for it.
I haven’t bothered trying to fight back anymore. Instead, I’ve barely spoken to them all week, keeping to myself and praying this will all blow over. The co-eds just need a new scandal to gossip about, right? Something’s bound to happen to take the heat off me and shift it onto someone else.
That exact thought is running through my brain as I exit my English Lit class, clutching my books to my chest and keeping my head down. Unlike Ford and Wes, Raf never acknowledges my presence in the classes we share, nor does he wait up for me afterwards. His girlfriend does, though.
Bryce told me the blonde that hangs all over Raf is named Chelsea Carson, and she’s your typical snooty, overprivileged, mean girl. Ever since the party at the boathouse, she’s taken it upon herself to make my life even more hellish than it already is.
I see the flash of movement too late, unable to catch myself before I trip over the foot she sticks out. My books go flying and my chin bangs against the marble floor as I land, teeth clacking together painfully. She shrieks a laugh, hovering over me with a couple of her bitchy friends and kicking me while I’m down. Literally. As if it wasn’t enough to send me crashing to the floor, she kicks me in the damn ribs.
“She’s such a mess,” Chelsea declares mockingly, looking down at me like I’m nothing more than a bug to be squashed. She lifts her chin, folding her arms across her chest in a power stance.
As if it isn’t obvious who holds the power here.
I glare up at her, poking my tongue against the inside of my cheek where my teeth gnashed as I went down. The coppery tang of blood slides over my tongue, pooling in my mouth, and I do what any upstanding, refined lady would do in this situation.
I spit it at her shoes.
Chelsea jumps back with a yelp of indignation, then hurls a string of expletives at me that I can barely make out through the ringing in my head. I push myself up off the floor as she stalks away, flanked by her army of bimbos.
The familiar sting of tears prickles behind my eyes, but I don’t let them free. I refuse to let these people see me cry. Instead, I gather up my books and what’s left of my dignity, doing my best to hold my head high as I exit the building. I don’t even have a panic attack as I cross campus, feeling the weight of stares on me from all directions. I come embarrassingly close, though.
As I tread the path with quick footsteps, a fleeting thought crosses my mind that I wish one of the Kings was with me right now, so everyone would just look away and mind their own damn business. Followed by an immediate wave of self-loathing, because I shouldn’t want to be within a mile of any of those monsters. I’m all tangled up, beginning to drown in my own despair when I duck between a pair of buildings for refuge, slamming my back against the stone wall and panting to catch my breath.
I’m fine, I’ve just gotta make it back to my dorm. Then I can lock myself in there and pretend this whole campus isn’t out to get me.
I swing my gaze around as I steady my breathing, my eyes catching on the rusty old ladder to the roof. A flicker of hope blooms in my chest when I see that it’s been extended down.
Bryce.
Despite the fact that it isn’t ideal to climb a ladder while wearing a skirt and a heavy backpack, I head over, shove my remaining books into my bag, and climb up. I’m panting with exertion by the time I reach the top, but it’s worth it when I see Bryce’s familiar face.
“Girl, where have you been?” he asks, rushing over to help me up the last few rungs of the ladder. I stiffen when he pulls me into a hug, but quickly find myself relaxing into the embrace, winding my arms around him to return it.
It’s nice. Come to think of it, it may be the first positive physical contact I’ve had all week.
Bryce releases me and pulls back to give me a once-over, frowning. “Heard you’re on Chelsea’s hitlist after the stunt you pulled at the party.”
I snort a wry laugh, ribs smarting from the kick they took. “You could say that. It’s kind of ridiculous that I’m being slut shamed for something I didn’t even want to do.”
“That’s the patriarchy for ya,” he quips, reaching into his pocket and brandishing a joint and lighter. “Wanna get high?”
I nod a little too eagerly and he grins, leading me over to the wide ledge that runs along the center of the roof. I sling my backpack off my shoulder and drop it on the ledge before sinking down, Bryce lowering himself to sit next to me. He sparks up the joint, taking a puff then passing it over, studying me for a moment as he holds the smoke in his lungs. “Are you in trouble or something? This stuff with the Kings?”
“No, it’s fine,” I lie, raising the joint to my lips and dragging in a deep inhale. I sputter a cough as I let it go, passing the joint back to Bryce. “I’m handling it,” I mutter. Another lie.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he says as he plucks it from my fingers.
“I don’t.”
“Fair enough.”
We pass the joint back and forth a few more times in silence, until my head starts feeling floaty and Bryce crushes the smoldering remains of the roach beneath his heel. I slide my overstuffed backpack further away and pull my legs up onto the ledge, turning sideways to face Bryce and looping my arms around my knees.
“Well, we’ve already established that my week has sucked, so tell me how yours has been,” I say, tilting my head curiously. “Anything exciting happen?”
Bryce swipes a hand over his chin in contemplation, squinting at the sky. Then he gasps, turning back to me eagerly. “Oh, you know my ex-roommate that I told you about? The homophobic jock?”
I nod.
“I totally sucked his dick last night.”
“What?!” I gasp, jaw going slack.
Bryce smirks, wetting his lips with his tongue. “It’s always the closeted ones that put on a front of being raging homophobes, I swear.”
I dissolve into a fit of giggles, the weed working its magic to make me forget my troubles for the time being. “Why would you do that after he was so mean to you?” I ask once I manage to regain my composure.
He shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly. “He’s a total douchebag, but he has a nice cock.”
I snort a laugh. “Sounds familiar.”
“Ah, so she’s admitting the Kings have nice dicks,” Bryce teases, winking at me.
I kick out a leg toward him, my foot connecting with his thigh. “I’m not admitting shit.”
Bryce laughs, but the sound of it dies out too quickly, his eyes suddenly rounding in earnestness and his expression turning somber. “Seriously, Ava, if you need help…”
I shake my head adamantly. “No, I’ve got this. And besides, I won’t allow you to become collateral damage in whatever vendetta my stepbrother has against me. You’re my only friend here.” I wince, slapping a hand over my mouth. “Oh my gosh, I just realized how pathetic that sounded, forget I said anything.”
He grins like a psychopath. “No way, I’m never forgetting that. We’re officially besties,” Bryce declares, shuffling closer to me. “And I told you, I’m not scared of them.”
I feel the color drain from my face. “You should be,” I deadpan.
He just shrugs again. “Fear is a construct.”
“Don’t tell me this is the part of your high where you get all philosophical on me,” I groan, rolling my eyes.
“Yup, that’s exactly where we’ve arrived, so buckle up, buttercup.” Bryce wags his brows, then launches into a bizarre theory on human behavior that has me cackling. I honestly can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. We hang out for a little while until our high finally mellows out, then the two of us climb down from the roof and walk back to Sutton Hall together.
Before we go in, I reach out to snag Bryce by the arm, pulling him back. “Thanks for this,” I say quietly. “This is the first time in days where I’ve felt… normal .”
“Well, you’re not exactly normal, you’re stoned,” he teases, ruffling my hair.
I swat his hands away, smoothing my tresses with an annoyed huff. “Yeah, well close to normal, then.”
Bryce gazes at me thoughtfully for a moment, then nods. “Anytime, Ava,” he replies, stepping in closer. “And seriously, fuck the patriarchy. Let me know when you want to kick off this revolution, because I’m so ready.”
I’m not sure if it’s the joint we smoked or just the stress of this entire week, but I’m suddenly overcome with emotion. I throw my arms around Bryce, squeezing him in gratitude for being so kind to me when I need it most. He hugs me back just as tight, letting me linger in the safety of his arms for a few long moments.
It occurs to me that maybe Bryce needs a friend right now just as badly as I do. He seems to be an oddball amongst our peers, just like me. This campus is a jungle full of predators, and there’s safety in numbers.
The two of us enter Sutton Hall and begin ascending the stairs, Bryce stopping off on the second floor and giving me a little wave. “Take care of yourself, babe,” he says as he breezes away, leaving me to climb the remaining two floors solo.
I heave a sigh as I continue my ascent, mentally preparing myself for another night shut in my dorm room with my uptight roommate. Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll be off with her mystery boyfriend.
No dice.
As soon as I enter, I find her lounging on her bed, reading another one of her trashy romance novels. She flicks me an annoyed glance as I step into our room, then immediately re-focuses on her book and ignores my presence.
Ugh . It’s gonna be a long night in social purgatory.