Chapter 14
chapter fourteen
The sun filters through the trees as I sprint across campus, the roar of my heartbeat drowning out everything else. I burst into the lecture hall with all of ten seconds to spare. My chest heaves as I slide into my seat, feeling the cold metal against the backs of my legs. I've made it; no late marks for me today.
The professor walks in just two seconds later, and launches into the first day of class speech.
I pull out my planner, and the realization hits me like a ton of bricks: only three months left until graduation. Holy fuck. Emotions actually bite at the backs of my eyes. It’s the first day of a new semester. My last semester. I've worked my ass off. So many late nights studying. So much stress. So many projects. So much ass kissing of professors. And soon I'll be the first in my family to have a college degree.
A mix of pride and anxiety bubbles inside me, but I push it down, turning my attention back to the teacher.
Between classes, I hurry through the hallway, books clutched to my chest. As I round the corner, I see Alec approaching. And a smile starts overtaking my face. It stays put for two whole seconds before I remember reality.
The spotlight. The pressure. Besides us, only one other soul at this university knows we’re together.
And life is so much easier if it can just stay that way.
I compose my face and keep walking forward.
But as we pass, his fingers brush mine. An electric current rips up my spine, exploding in my lower belly as they go. It takes everything I have to keep the smile under control.
"Winters," he murmurs, his voice low and intoxicating.
"Vanderholt," I reply with feigned indifference, secretly loving the way my heart races.
We continue walking, maintaining the facade, but the connection lingers. It's both exhilarating and terrifying.
Three more months.
Three more months, and then we’ll be on our own, doing our own thing, finally released from this hell hole of social pressure and schoolyard antics. We can just be two adults choosing who we want to choose.
Just three more months.
After my second class, I make my way to the school advisor's office. As soon as I step inside, Mrs. Thompson greets me with a warm smile.
"Ah, Salem," she says, shuffling through some papers on her desk. "I kind of thought you’d be knocking down my door first thing this morning.”
“First day of a new semester,” I point out. “I’m just trying to keep my head on straight.”
She chuckles at that and pulls out a file. “There's a recruitment company that reached out about an internship with Green Media Press they think would be perfect for you."
"I…” I shake my head. “I can’t believe someone approached specifically about me.” This could be my ticket to a better life – the one I've been working so damn hard for.
"Absolutely." She hands me the application. "You should fill this out right away. Best not to keep this level of people waiting."
Greedily, I drag the papers toward me and grab a pen. I eagerly complete each section, feeling the weight of my future pressing down on me in the very best way.
But I freeze when I get to a question in the middle of the application.
Please describe your social media presence.
It’s followed by a statement explaining how employee’s online activities could affect the company.
Fuck. I glance at Mrs. Thompson, unsure of what to do.
"Um, I'll have to bring this back later when I can finish it," I tell her, trying to sound casual. “I just realized I only have ten minutes until my next class.”
"Of course," she replies, oblivious to my internal struggle. "I’ll see you tomorrow."
The rest of the day drags by, my mind constantly returning to the application and the consequences of my online presence. Do I even really have an online presence? Sure, I post on Insta once every few months, nothing controversial or big. I even have a FB profile, not that I use it. But does my new video account count? It’s not under my name. I haven’t even posted a single video.
Yet I am on Alec’s account, and our video now has over three million views, all racked up over the past three days since we posted it.
Fuck.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
At lunchtime, I head to the courtyard since the weather is nice and join my friends at our usual spot. They're deep in conversation, but my step falters when I spot Alec across the space, laughing and talking with his friends, the same rich pricks who make non-stop comments to the scholarship kids.
"Can you believe he still hangs out with those assholes?" I mutter under my breath.
"Who?" Jess asks, following my gaze. "Alec? Maybe you shouldn't judge him based on his friends."
"Right," I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Because he's such a fucking saint."
But as much as I want to deny it, Jess has a point. Once upon a time, I thought Alec was just like them – another entitled rich kid with no redeeming qualities. Now he means the world to me, and it's hard to reconcile that with the person I once believed him to be.
"Maybe people can change," Jess suggests, her voice gentle. "Or maybe they're just better at hiding who they really are."
"Maybe," I admit reluctantly. And for now, that will have to be enough.
Despite being January, the weather is nice. The sun pours down on the courtyard, casting a warm golden glow as I pick at my uneaten sandwich. The murmurs of students enjoying their lunch fill the air, punctuated by laughter and the occasional shriek of excitement. It's a picture-perfect day, and all I can think about is my class load.
Alec’s familiar voice draws my attention without drawing my eyes. He sounds annoyed.
“There’s only one semester left, Alec,” a female voice comes in, rising in volume slowly. “You know what’s going to happen after we graduate.”
“How do you still buy into this?” Alec says, and he at least seems like he’s trying to control his volume. Unlike Victoria. I realize now who it is. “Just cause the expectation is there doesn’t mean the reality is.”
Oh, I want to throw up.
I squeeze my eyes closed and force myself to breathe.
“Hey, Salem, you okay?” Jess asks.
I don’t get a chance to answer her though, because it instantly gets so much worse.
“Is this about that side piece you’ve been screwing?” she asks, her tone growing barbs. And everything in me goes cold.
“What are you talking about?”
Alec might sound nonchalant to anyone else. Like he doesn’t care, or like he really doesn’t know what Victoria is going on about. But I hear it. The little inflections that tell me he’s nervous.
“You think no one has seen her coming and going from your apartment?” Victoria says with an amused, disgusted scoff. “You do realize my apartment directly faces yours, right?”
“Careful, Victoria,” Alec warns.
She makes a noise of annoyance. “Holy shit. Do you… do you actually care about that charity case?”
My heart starts pounding harder. My palms feel cold. And I can’t help it when my eyes finally rise from the table. Victoria stands to Alec’s side, who is facing directly toward me. She looks furious. And frustrated.
“Victoria,” Alec says darkly. I watch as he clutches his fist around his fork, the butt of it digging into the table’s surface.
And this resigned little smirk crosses her lips. I see the snap. When she’s finished trying. When the hurt sets in. When the drive for vengeance strikes.
“Salem Winters,” she says as she turns, facing the courtyard and increasing her volume to make sure she’s heard. “Care to tell us about your late-night trips across campus? Or why the hell Alec fucking Vanderholt cared one iota who you danced with at the gala?”
Shit.
Shit.
I sit there frozen, in complete and utter disbelief that this is happening.
But I have to say something. I have to do something. "Fuck off, Victoria," I snap, my face burning hot with embarrassment and anger. But she doesn't back down, only smiles wider.
"Cat got your tongue? Don't worry, I'll let them know for you,” she grins with malice and revenge. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Salem Winters, scholarship student extraordinaire, who also happens to be fucking Alec Vanderholt when no one is looking."
A collective gasp echoes through the courtyard, revealing that everyone has in fact, been listening to her outburst. I feel like I'm going to be sick. This can't be happening, not now. I'm so close to graduation, to getting a job, to escaping this place and never looking back. The last thing I need is a scandal to ruin everything, to be humiliated and rejected by Alec when I've worked so hard to prove I'm not just some poor girl they can toy with.
"Victoria, you're full of shit," I manage to choke out, trying desperately to regain control of the situation.
"Am I?" Victoria taunts, her voice dripping with venom. "Why don't we ask Alec himself?"
My heart hammers against my ribcage as my eyes flick to meet Alec’s. His face is a mask of carefully controlled fury. He’s worked hard to protect our secret from getting out, all to protect me. But it was to protect him too. To not have to explain. To save him from the embarrassment of having some nobody scholarship girl as a girlfriend. To not have to admit to the world that he’s settled for someone so low down the ladder.
Us keeping us a secret benefited him too, greatly. It’s no wonder he agreed so readily when I’d said I wanted to keep this between us.
The air around me crackles with electricity, all eyes on Alec as he stands, rising to his full height, the weight of his decision heavy on his furrowed brow. And this is it. The moment he denies me. When he crushes my heart. When his cruel words return and we’re once again the enemies we began as.
The tension in the courtyard is palpable, everyone waiting, watching, expecting him to throw me under the bus and save himself.
Alec crosses the courtyard until he’s reached the center of it.
"Listen up," Alec's voice booms, cutting through the whispers and murmurs like a knife, "it's none of your fucking business what I do, or who I'm with. You lot are nothing but shallow savages looking for the tiniest, briefest moment of entertainment. So, enjoy your five minutes today.”
His words are ice cold, and those blue eyes of his have never looked colder.
“But since you're all so damn interested, let me be very, crystal clear. Fuck yes, I am with Salem."
A murmur rips through the crowd. But my heart explodes in my chest with a mixture of relief and disbelief.
"Trust me," he continues, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as his eyes find mine in the crowd. He takes a step toward me, and then another. "If you knew what it was like to be with her, you'd keep her all to yourself too."
Everything in me surges as Alec stops right in front of me. He pulls me to my feet, one hand at the small of my back, the other gently cupping my face. The heat in his eyes as he stares down at me leaves me with no doubt. Alec has zero problem claiming me. There’s a warning in his eyes, one that says now that the cat is out of the bag, this is about to get a whole lot hotter. And finally, Alec’s lips claim mine in the most searing, scorching kiss of my life. Lightning bolts race down my spine. Something electric races to my toes.
And with eager enthusiasm, Alec’s tongue teases at mine, begging for entrance. And so I grant it to him. My lips part, Alec’s opening wider as he utterly marks me as his. His hand at my waist tightens, bunching my skirt up at my hip.
The courtyard has gone silent except for the faint click from peoples phones, pointed in our direction. They capture our moment for the internet.
But I don’t care. When the moment came, when I was thrust into the spotlight because of who my boyfriend is, I don’t care that people know now.
For once, I allow myself to be swept away in the storm that is Alec Vanderholt.
I hear my name being said. I hear calls for explanation. Jess and Josh are going to be hurt that I didn’t tell them, that only Isabella knew this secret.
But it’s impossible to think when Alec’s lips are taking mine.
As we finally break apart, Alec's eyes shine with mischief, fully aware of the chaos he's just unleashed. "What are you doing?" I breathe, my cheeks flushed, trying to ignore the disapproving stares and whispered judgments. "This is going to make our lives so much harder."
"Fuck them, Salem,” he whispers, his thumb tracing circles on my cheek. "I'm tired of hiding. I’m done fighting the urge to kiss you whenever I want. I want the whole world to know how I feel about you." His words are a mix of rebellion and vulnerability, and they send a thrill through me.
"Really?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. The weight of his confession is both exhilarating and terrifying.
"Really," he confirms, that roguish smile playing at the corner of his lips.
The talking has started back up in the courtyard. I hear both of our names being called out, trying to get a personal explanation.
But this really is enough for one day. “Get me out of here?” I say with an excited, shaky voice.
Alec slips his hand into mine. His fingers grip around mine tightly. And he strides forward. He doesn’t look around for approval. He doesn’t search his friends faces for shocked displays of disbelief.
His head has never been held higher.
Lifting my free hand, I flip Victoria off as we make our exit. My heart races, a mix of adrenaline and fear coursing through me, but I refuse to let her win.
“Twelve days,” I muse as I shake my head. “Twelve damn days we managed to keep our relationship a secret.”
"Shall we make a bet?" Alec asks when we’ve cleared the courtyard. He looks down, his eyes locked on mine, his own full of mischief. "How long do you think it'll be before my father calls to threaten to disown me?"
"Ten minutes," I say, my voice laced with equal parts amusement and dread. It's only a matter of time before the news reaches him, and I know there will be consequences for both of us.
"Eh, he’s a very busy man. I’ll give it an hour," Alec chuckles. He slows then, pulling my hand to bring me to a stop now that we’ve reached a quiet sidewalk. We stand face to face, and gently, he brings his hand up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. "Either way, I'll deal with him. This," he gestures between us, "is worth it."
"How can I be worth the Vanderholt fortune?" I joke, but truly, I’m asking. Because his statement, the one about his father disowning him, scares me. To ostracize someone from their own family like that? I could never be the cause of that kind of division. And as much as Alec hates it, he is a legacy. The family’s name with the company isn’t anything to be discarded. “Alec, are you sure I’m worth it?” A part of me still fears that our exposure will jeopardize everything we've worked so hard for - our education, our careers, our future.
"More than you know," he replies, his eyes softening as he looks at me. "You're worth every ounce of trouble, Salem Winters."
In that moment, standing beside Alec, with the world watching and waiting for us to falter, I allow myself to believe him. Together, we'll face whatever comes next, refusing to let fear dictate our lives.