54. Ivory
Somehow, the Earth spun faster when she was wrapped in Adrian’s arms.
By the time she woke Sunday night, it had already gotten late, and after making sure she was fed and otherwise cared for, he brought her back to the dorms. Stars lit up the sky as their magical weekend came to a close.
At first, she’d been upset about wasting what time they had left, but when the grind of classes kicked in, that extra rest made a huge difference. That, and the memories replaying in her mind like a corrupted fairytale.
Unfortunately, between work and school, they didn’t get to see each other nearly as often as they had hoped. It would’ve all felt like a dream if not for their frequent messages and late-night calls. Which, more often than not, ended in her falling asleep, worn out from studying. Sometimes, she kept a video call open as she did homework just to look over and see his handsome face.
If only she could spend every weekend being thoroughly fucked and cuddled by her black knight. Life would be complete.
Maybe it could be. Maybe things could be simple between them, just like Adrian said. After all, the only obstacle in their way was other people.
Other people who still were the reason she looked over her shoulder when walking to and from class.
Adrian seemed sure Jace and Jun would be taken care of, but that in itself worried her more. He never explained what Raptor meant at the club, and she hadn’t found the right moment to ask. But the decision was already made, and for once, no one seemed to be on edge. Riley solidified plans for dinner on Friday, and she figured that’d be the best time to get answers. Until then, she had to keep herself together.
Even though apprehension about running into Jace still haunted her behind a veil of hopeful thoughts.
Ivory scanned the sidewalk and crossed through a crowd of students, weaving towards the library. The last piles of snow had melted, and flowers poked out of the fresh grass, but that didn’t stop her from feeling a rush of cold every time she passed a set of Beta Rho letters. She’d been careful to stick to the longer route and didn’t cut any corners, avoiding the last place Jace saw her.
Adrian would escort her if she asked, but he had classes of his own, plus shifts at the salon. She couldn’t monopolize his time, and if she did, she didn’t want it to be because of Jace. She tried to tell herself she was overreacting, that surely Jace only lashed out because he’d been provoked.
Surely, he wouldn’t try anything again.
Then her mind wandered to Serena and the forlorn look in her eyes the last time they talked. Jace’s temperament affected more than one person, and by the looks of it, he wasn’t getting any better.
Taking shelter inside the library, she located their study group’s usual table and settled in. Right now, she needed to focus on her chemistry test, not people and events outside her control. She took out her textbook and a pack of notecards, then set about making flashcards. Maybe Adrian could quiz her later.
Avril and a few of her friends arrived, chatting as they sat down. Ivory listened as they caught her up on the school’s latest sports matches and then launched into plans they’d made to go on a trip over spring break.
“Spring break?” Ivory cut in, pausing to look up and register what that meant. “Is it coming up?”
Avril nodded, excitement in her eyes. “Yeah, it’s in two weeks. I can’t wait to ditch this place and forget about school. You don’t have plans?”
“I usually just go back home.” Ivory shrugged. She’d completely lost track of the semester schedule. If spring break was in two weeks, then she’d have to start making travel arrangements. Her house was only an hour away, but she didn’t have a car and always had to ask one of her parents to pick her up.
Unless…she asked Adrian to take her. She’d already met his family, and they had plans together this weekend, so why not invite him to stay at her house over break?
Her parents hadn’t cared when she brought over boys before. Though she had a sinking feeling her mom wouldn’t be impressed by her daughter showing up on a motorcycle. Sooner or later, they would figure out Adrian didn’t fit into the prim and proper life her mom had mapped out. Then again, she hadn’t fit into it lately, either.
“Hey guys, guess who’s here?” a bright voice called from behind her shoulder. Ivory turned as Serena dropped her pink bag on the table and flashed a beaming smile. “Have room for one more?”
“Yeah, of course we do.” Avril made quick introductions for the rest of the group.
A rush of joy eclipsed Ivory’s thoughts, and she slotted her spring break plans away for later. Serena had decided to show up, after all. Ivory hadn’t been sure she’d accept the invite, but she did. It’d been too long since they were all together like this.
“I’m glad you could make it,” Ivory said, arranging her maze of notes off to the side to make room on the table. “Feels like old times.”
“Damn, you’re right. I miss last semester.” Serena sighed. “To be honest, I need a study group, bad. Frat boys know how to party, but I don’t get much work done at the house.”
“How’s that going? Didn’t you move in with them?” Avril asked. “I thought girls weren’t allowed.”
Serena flipped a strand of blonde hair away from her face. “They made an exception because I agreed to clean up after parties and other dumb shit.” She scoffed and dismissed her statement with a wave. “Anyway, I’m past all that. Back in the dorms and working on a place of my own next year.”
“What about Jace?” Ivory asked. It wasn’t a topic she’d planned to bring up, but if Serena had moved out, did that mean something had happened between the two of them?
Serena caught her eyes, and for a split second, her guard lowered to reveal a trace of vulnerability, but then she looked across the table at Avril and threw her head back with a laugh. “You haven’t heard? Girl, do I have the story for you.”
Everyone else looked over, including a few students nearby, but that didn’t deter Serena in the least. Garnering attention had probably been her plan from the start.
“Jay almost went to jail.”
“No way,” Avril breathed, neglecting her notebooks to plant an elbow on the table. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“No one got hurt, thank God.” Serena paused for effect. “But apparently, drinking as a passenger is illegal. Did you know that? I wasn’t even the one driving!”
“I’m pretty sure they covered it in the alcohol safety course during orientation,” Ivory chimed in. “But you aren't the legal drinking age, either.”
Serena rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I was trying to get caught. I’d barely gotten tipsy when Jewelle missed the stop sign, and I was in the backseat, so I thought I could play it cool, and the cops wouldn’t see the damn can. Jay didn’t notice because he was busy arguing on the phone with his brother about some secret family nonsense—” She cut off and flicked her eyes over to Ivory before launching on. “After that, the cops came and…”
Serena’s words got muffled as Ivory’s fingertips went numb, the pen falling from her grip. She looked down at her notes, the lines all blending together.
Jace must have been the one who set up Riley. When he found out Jun would face backlash for it, what would happen next?
Her stomach twisted in knots, and she could barely focus on the rest of the conversation.
“—Apparently, the Mercedes is Jun’s car, and we all had to go to the station,” Serena continued. “Then they found drugs in Jewelle’s purse, and she got arrested. Took up the whole damn night. The worst part is Jace blamed it on me, then said we were finished.” She crossed her arms and huffed, more irritated at her ruined night than breaking up with Jace.
“Wow. So what’s gonna happen?” Avril prompted.
Serena shrugged. “I have to go to a hearing about it. Guess I’ll find out then, but they said because I’m so young the judge will probably go easy.”
“That’s some scary shit,” Avril hummed.
Serena nodded. “Yep. Jewelle has it the worst, though. They searched her purse and found a stash of pills. I didn’t even know she carried half that shit on her.”
“The same drugs used on Caspian?” Ivory whispered, looking up at Serena.
Her eyes widened, shock crossing her face. “Oh, damn…you’re probably right. That means Jewelle lied to us about it all along.”
Ivory nodded. “Yeah.” They were a little late to catch on, but at least it was out in the open. Maybe Caspian could even press charges now.
“Well, fuck her,” Avril declared. “I’m glad you’re done with them. Sounds like the whole family’s twisted.”
A lump formed in Ivory’s throat. Avril was right—the Yus were bad news—but she had a feeling the drama wasn’t over yet. Jewelle may have ended up behind bars, but Jace and Jun were still on the streets, and they wouldn’t go down without a fight.