Chapter 22 #2
His eyes quickly shutter and his jaw twitches. From the corner of my eye, I see Avery turn to stare at us both. Great. Now I’m going to be attacked on my way to the toilet at midnight and probably rack up some medical bills I can’t afford to sort out.
“Spencer Hillsong. He had a couple of friends with him, too, but I didn’t recognize them.”
Harley gives me a curt nod, and then I nearly fall off my damn chair as he stoops down to pick up my bag and slips his own notes inside for me, taking the blank sheet back for himself. Avery is still watching us, and while she’s not outright glaring, I wouldn’t call it a friendly stare.
“Harley, you shouldn’t—”
He cuts her off with a sharp tone. “Shut it, Floss. Messing with her shit is one thing, beating her bloody is fucking disgusting. I’ll end that dickhead.”
I snort at him and hold out my hand to take my bag, but he ignores me, slinging it over his own shoulder.
Paying no attention to my sputtering protests, he gives me an assessing look before he gently takes my elbow to steer me out of the class.
I’m shocked enough to let him, and I can feel eyes following us down the hall.
Avery falls into step with him, but she doesn’t glance my way again.
We round the corner to get to our shared chemistry lab when we run right into Ash and Blaise.
I cringe and try to pull away from Harley, but his grip only tightens.
Blaise looks shocked to see me, but when he recovers, he’s back to refusing to look at me.
It’s like yesterday didn’t happen at all.
That works for me. I’m doing my best to forget he exists.
Ash is more curious about my appearance; his eyes take me in, inch by painstaking inch.
It’s possibly the worst time to start coughing up blood again.
It becomes clear to me that if Harley wasn’t holding my arm, I would collapse from the pain radiating around my chest, and my vision blurs threateningly again.
Why did I even try to make it through today?
I’m losing my edge at this school. At Mounts Bay, I always knew my limits.
I need to regroup before it gets me killed.
“I told you to stay away from Joey. All of this is his doing. Honestly, you have no one but yourself to blame for this,” says Ash as he grabs my other arm.
I grit my teeth, but I’m not sure if it’s because of his words or if I’m trying to take back control of my body. The edges of my vision start to black out again, only this time no amount of blinking helps shift it, and I can’t even choke out a retort.
“It wasn’t Joey, it was Hillsong, and he’s a fucking dead man walking,” snaps Harley.
I shut my eyes as we walk. There’s no point in fighting them, I barely have the energy to stay conscious. My mind is hazy. Not a great sign. I’m going to end up in the nurse's office.
“Do you really think he’s acting without Joey’s influence? Ash is right, she should have stayed away from him,” says Avery. She doesn’t sound happy at all.
It takes me a minute for my mind to catch up with our movements and to realize we’re still walking.
Our lab was only a few yards away, so it makes no sense.
Panic claws up my spine, and I jerk my arms to try and get free.
They’re dragging me somewhere secluded to finish the job.
Harley hates me, there’s no way he would care about some senior beating me!
I plant my feet and try to stop them from moving forward, but Harley and Ash are too strong for me.
“Calm the fuck down, Mounty. We’re going to take you back to your room so you can die somewhere more comfortable than the lab,” says Ash, and I can hear the laughter in his voice.
“Don’t be a dick, Ash. She’s probably suspicious that we’re helping her. Twice in a week… I’d be suspicious too,” says Blaise, and I jerk my head around to see that he’s trailing behind us. He still won’t meet my eyes.
“Why are we helping her, again?” drawls Avery, not even bothering to look up from her phone. Her arm is linked with Ash’s, and he’s directing her as much as he’s helping me.
We arrive at my room, and it takes me three attempts to fumble the key out from around my neck and into the door.
When I pause, Ash finally drops my arm and lets Avery tug him away from me.
She’s probably scared he’s developing a soft spot for me, but I could set her straight about that.
There’s no way the guy who snarls over the table in the library would ever feel anything but contempt for me.
I have to admit, this rescue is pretty confusing.
I’m struggling with my own feelings for all three of the guys, and their kind and gentle touches are just making this all the more difficult.
It is not normal for a girl to be crushing on three guys this hard at the same damn time.
I don’t want one of them, I want all three, even after everything they’ve done to me.
I need to clear my head. I need some space, and I need it now.
Harley won’t move. I attempt a pointed look at him, but he just raises his eyebrows at me in return.
When it’s clear neither of us are willing to back down, Blaise groans at us both and then pushes between us to grab the key and open the door.
When his arm brushes mine, I flinch away from him so hard that I hit the doorframe and grunt in pain.
My body is going to pay dearly for that move.
“Why the fuck does she flinch like that when you touch her?” Harley snaps, and Blaise backs up quickly, like his ass is on fire. I shuffle into the room and hear the sound of my bag dropping on the floor.
“How the fuck should I know? I’ve never laid a finger her!”
I flinch again. I know that if I ever do touch him, if he touched me back, I’d be ruined for life.
It doesn’t matter how angry I am at him, how badly he’s humiliated me, or how much he loathes me.
He could destroy me, and I would ask for more.
I turn and grab the door, mostly to keep myself upright.
I’m so pathetic. Thank God the Jackal can’t see me right now.
“I don’t want him running off to your little shared fuck and telling her I’m stalking him or acting inappropriately. The last thing I need is that bitch starting a vendetta against me. I’d say thanks for the help up here, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to make me pay for it later.”
I enjoy the twin looks of shock on their faces as I slam the door on them.