23. Juliet
23
JULIET
I know I locked that fucking door. Yet, when I open my eyes, I find Gio’s arm looped around my waist and his soft breathy snores tickling the back of my neck. I don’t know how he managed to get in the room without waking me, but I’m reluctantly impressed by his stealth.
The rattle of a fist against the door jerks me the rest of the way out of sleep as the man at my back jackknifes into a sitting position at the sudden noise. “Time to get a move on,” Nolan calls through the wood. “We gotta be at the campus soon.”
Gio groans and slumps back against the bed, but I’m already awake and more than ready to get on with the day. Sliding from the sheets, I hurry to get dressed, aware of Gio’s gaze lingering on me as I finish grabbing up the last of my things and head for the door.
“Tell Nolan to make sure the coffee’s hot,” Gio calls as I leave the room.
I cast a look over my shoulder at that and immediately wish I hadn’t. Gio looks like a Greek god on display, his muscled legs poking out from under the covers and his bare chest rising and falling with his breaths. The light pouring from the window above the headboard deepens the divots in his ribbed abdomen with a play of light across his olive skin.
“See something you want, Prep Girl?” I don’t even realize that I’ve come to a stop just outside of the doorway until he speaks again. Fuck. Me. Whirling, I flip him the bird over my shoulder and stomp towards the galley kitchen around the corner.
Thankfully, Lex stands at the ready, coffee mug in hand as he pours from the steaming carafe. He and I stand in relative, blissful silence, sipping our drinks until Gio comes in wearing a pair of less worn jeans and a Silverwood Public Scorpions’ Football t-shirt. The three of us polish off a mug of coffee each before Nolan returns, Lex’s SUV keys in hand, and waves each of us out of the apartment.
The walk back through the club in the daytime is a bit different now that I’ve seen it in all of its glory. My eyes go to the now cleared dance floor as we bypass it to the side exit, and I can’t help but remember what it was like to be there—sandwiched between Gio and Lex as the music made me forget all of the bullshit that usually fills my head.
“We can always come back,” Lex’s voice is soft as he leans down and makes the offer.
Shaking my head, I jog towards where Nolan now waits, the side door propped open and morning sunlight pouring into the otherwise dark interior of the building. “Maybe,” I say as we exit into the parking lot, “if we end up making it into Eastpoint.”
Lex chuckles and lightly grazes my side with his fingers. For a moment, I think he’s going to wrap his arm around my waist, but instead, he plucks my duffle bag from my shoulder and slings it over his. “Don’t worry about that,” Lex replies. “I’m pretty confident that the four of us will be here before you know it.”
“What—”
“Keys!” Nolan calls out, interrupting whatever I might have said as Lex whips around and lifts a hand. The jangle of keys as they soar through the air reaches me a split second before Lex captures the glint of silver before it can sail past him. Then, he flips back around and hustles towards the only vehicle left in the lot—the SUV—and I’m left wondering what he meant.
Twenty minutes after we leave Hellfire , we’re pulling into a small student parking lot off the main administration building of Eastpoint University. My gaze catches on a familiar Audi R8 GT and I sink farther into the backseat.
Gio glances over at me as an annoyed growl makes its way up my throat. “Jules?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Of all places he could be and of all times, did it really have to be here and now?
The driver’s side door of the puke-green car that I’ve always hated opens and out pops a familiar head of dark hair. The upper half of his face is covered by reflective aviators, but I’d know that jawline anywhere. Then, as if my day can’t get more fucked, the passenger side door opens too and it gets that much worse.
I groan and scrub a hand down my face.
“Is that fucking Pillard?” Gio’s head whips away from me at Nolan’s comment. All three Scorpion Kings peer through the tinted windows as Brandon Pillard, my ex, and Avery Carpenter, my ex-best friend, meet at the front of his car and clasp hands before heading off to the big banner that reads “Welcome, future students.”
“It is.” Lex answers Nolan’s question with a cold tone, and I want to melt into the seat. Maybe I can hide out in the SUV and skip the tour.
Almost as soon as that thought surfaces, though, I know I won’t. I’m not going to let Bran or Avery scare me away. It’s been months since I’ve seen them. I can just ignore their presence and pray that they do the same.
Lex parks and the four of us get out. It’s not hard to notice that most of the other cars in the lot are worth nearly quadruple what the SUV is. The looks of amusement and all but disgust that land on us from everyone else making their way towards the banner make it obvious. My throat tightens and I reach into my backpack before we follow everyone else and grab a pair of sunglasses from inside before shoving them on my face.
Gio throws an arm over my shoulders. “Want to make them jealous?” he asks, grinning.
What I want is to disappear into the pavement or put my fist through both Avery and Bran’s faces. Unfortunately, neither of those are an option. “No thanks,” I say, shaking my head.
A pout replaces his grin. “Aw, come on, why not?” he pleads. “It’ll be fun. We can make out right in front of them.”
I shoot him a dark look before I realize he can’t see it through my sunglasses. “Yeah, that’s totally going to make them regret their actions,” I say, sarcasm dripping from my words.
“You don’t care if they regret their actions,” Nolan says, stepping up to my side and drawing my attention away from the human sized puppy dangling off me. Cinnamon colored eyes land on my face, and he arches an eyebrow. “You just want them to pay for what they did.”
Shrugging Gio off, I stomp towards the banner. “You’re such a damn know-it-all,” I scoff. Sometimes, though, like now, he’s not wrong, and damn if that doesn’t piss me off even more.
Eventually, the four of us make it to the end of the trail where a large collection of other potential Eastpoint students are gathered before a platform on a plush green lawn of the administration building. An older woman in khakis and a blue and white striped button-down stands at the front of the platform with a microphone in hand. After a sharp crackle of the microphone being turned on as the speakers on either side take in the sudden noise, everyone in the crowd quiets down and waits for her to speak.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she calls out. “My name is Ms. Bairns, and I will be guiding you on a tour of our illustrious University today. Beside me are…” She turns, introducing the two others on either side of her as Mr. Donner and Mrs. Gail, two instructors who’ve volunteered their time to guide groups of us on tour today.
I cast my eyes away from the crowd and towards the University buildings that surround us. Pillars and archways, stone steps leading into covered awnings and outdoor corridors between buildings, Eastpoint reminds me of the one time I visited Oxford with my father. It’d been a business meeting at the university with an investor that taught there part-time, and I’d been given free rein to look around.
Everything appears both old and new—old in the way that this place has obviously been here for quite a while and the architecture is inspired by European designers, and new in the way that I’ve never lived in a place like it before. Visited, sure. But if I get what I want—if I leave Silverwood behind and finally escape that town, this will probably be where I end up. This will be my new home.
When Ms. Bairns finishes her initial announcements, she divides everyone into groups and directs each of us to meet up at specific points. One group turns around and heads back towards the parking lot while another heads off with Mr. Donner. The Scorpion Kings and I are left standing before the platform, waiting for Ms. Bairns as our guide, and as we shuffle forward to the freed-up space left behind by those who’ve left, I stiffen at the new sight of Avery and Bran.
“Jules?” Bran whips off his aviators as he gapes at me. “Is that you?”
I leave my own sunglasses on as I shove my hands into the back pockets of my pants and rock back on my heels. “Nope,” I lie. “I’m just a figment of your imagination.”
“Oh my god, it is you!” Avery dives forward, coming up short as her nose wrinkles. “What did you do to your hair?”
Beside me, Lex stiffens and nearly snarls as Avery takes another chance to step closer, her eyes fixed on the electric blue locks that have stained my previously bottle blond hair. The muscles in my back contract and release as I try to keep my voice steady.
“I did what I wanted with it.”
“You—it’s blue.” Her upper lip curls away and she just blinks rapidly. “I can’t believe you dyed it blue.”
My eyes scan down to the Bergdorf Goodman jeans and the Dior blouse she’s got on beneath the black blazer that almost makes her look like her mother—minus the crow’s feet and cakey foundation. Bran steps up next to her, taking her arm, but his eyes aren’t on her at all. They aren’t on me either. Instead, he’s zeroed in on the three men surrounding me.
“What are you doing with them , Jules?” he demands, and my eyebrows nearly shoot up towards my hairline. Does he think he gets to ask me questions now?
“ They are none of your business,” I snap.
Bran’s gaze moves to my face. “We’re still your friends,” he argues, “and I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I know that you would never hang out with the likes of them. ” He practically spits the last word in their faces and I glance over to see both Gio and Nolan scowling at Bran. Not Lex, though. No, Lex isn’t scowling or even frowning. The crazy motherfucker is smiling.
“ Friends? ” My eyes widen. That one word, spoken in such a low, cold tone, sends chills down my spine. “You think you’re her friends?”
“ Lex .” His name is a warning on my tongue, and when he moves to take a step past me, I reach out and slap a hand to his chest. Lex reaches up and clasps it, holding it there, and although he doesn’t keep moving, he does continue talking.
“You fucked her best friend and then left her on her own for the last few months,” Lex states, that wild smile on his lips suggesting that he’s not at all perturbed by it. In fact, he’s positively gleeful as he recounts one of the worst nights of my life. “You abandoned her and now you think you can come up to her and demand answers?” He laughs and the harsh sound of it makes my pulse jump.
“I-I—we never meant…” Bran’s hand tightens on Avery’s arm. Not that she notices—she’s staring wide-eyed at Lex with an almost intoxicated expression on her face. As if she’s half aroused by him and half terrified.
“What?” Lex barks. “You aren’t going to tell me you never meant to hurt her?”
Gio snorts. “What’d you do, trip and accidentally stick your dick in that one right there?” he asks snidely. “Yeah, that’s believable.”
Avery bristles, and I’ve had enough. Before Avery can spout off what I’m sure will be enough to have Lex threatening her life, I pull my hand from Lex’s chest and step to the center of everyone gathered around. “Enough.” With a scowl, I face Bran, and ignoring Avery, I point a finger at him. “You don’t get to ask me questions, dipshit,” I growl. “Your best bet is to pretend that I don’t exist. Don’t look at me. Don’t talk to me. Don’t even breathe in my direction.”
“What about me?” Avery pushes herself away from Bran and reaches out, grasping my hand. I almost slug her in the face right there, but I’m aware that Ms. Bairns is finishing up talking to one of the other guides and she’ll be over here at any moment.
So, instead of introducing Avery to my perfected right hook, I shake off her grip and give her a cold stare. “You?” I tilt my head to the side. “I don’t even know who you are. As far as I’m concerned, you’re just my ex’s new fuck buddy.” Tears start to fill her eyes, but I’m not done. I lean closer and reach up, sliding my sunglasses up to rest on top of my head until she can see the real look in my eyes. I must nail some sort of expression because her face goes pale. With a cool smile, I offer her one last bit of wisdom. “And if you know what’s good for you, I suggest you don’t make me think of you as anything else.”
Gio whoops and I back away, letting my sunglasses fall back into place. Before either Bran or Avery can object, though, Ms. Bairns is there, clapping her hands as she welcomes us all over again.
“So happy to have you all here today!” she says with a bright look. “Are we ready for the tour?”
A warm hand finds mine and I don’t have to look to know that it’s not Lex nor is it Gio this time. Nolan’s chest rumbles with an amused huff as his fingers entwine with my own. Avery’s eyes shoot down to our clasp and then back up to my face as I turn away from her.
“We’re ready,” Nolan agrees.
So fucking ready.