Angel of Vengeance
VIKTOR
I’M WALKING THROUGH THE STUDENT UNION WITH COTY AND MATS AFTER FINISHING A WORKOUT, and now we’re debating the best post-workout fuel.
Water, I say.
You have to drink something enhanced with electrolytes. Mats grabs my water bottle and sprinkles in a packet of his latest fancy discovery. I shake it up and take a sip. It tastes awful, but maybe that means it’s healthy.
You’re both nuts. Coffee is the only way to go. Coty steers us to the student cafe. The barista there already has his drink ready.
Hey, Antoine. Here you go. She hands him a to-go cup, and he taps his phone to pay.
Merci, Harriet. You’re a lifesaver. He salutes her with the cup, and we continue through the lobby.
Mats points to the cup. How did you time that so perfectly?
Harriet prepares my drink as soon as she sees me coming. He takes a big sip. Ah, I can feel the energy coursing through my body.
How much coffee do you drink each day? I ask.
As if I’d tell you, Zee. You’d start nagging me to cut down.
I don’t bother anyone to change anything unless their play is going downhill. And there’s nothing wrong with Coty’s play. He’s consistently our top defender.
He cups his hand over his ear. Oh, was that a compliment that I didn’t hear?
Mats laughs, and I join in. It’s easier to be happy these days, despite all the issues around my brother and grandmother. Maybe I’m learning to compartmentalize.
Vik. I need to talk to you.
I turn to see Angelica Ford, and the smile fades from my face. She’s someone I’d rather avoid. She lied big when we dated, and I don’t trust her at all. But it’s too rude to turn her away in the middle of campus like this.
I’ll catch up with you guys, I tell Mats and Coty.
She smiles up at me. Angelica is a beautiful woman, but that beauty is truly only skin-deep.
What is it? I ask.
Is it true that you have an actual girlfriend now? she asks.
Oh, is that what this about? Because I said I didn’t do relationships, I’m going to get called up on some kind of lie detector now?
Is that all you wanted to ask? Because I’ve got to get to class. I turn away, and she grabs my arm.
No. I already know all about you and Evie. But I have a feeling that you don’t know the truth about your girlfriend.
As if I’d believe anything you said. I pull my arm out of her grasp and walk down the concourse.
But Angelica follows me and continues to talk loudly. Is Evie your dream girl, Vik? Because you have me to thank for that.
I stop. Whatever gossip she has, it’s better if half the student body doesn’t get to hear it. I turn to face her.
What are you talking about?
Didn’t she tell you? We created Evie. Me, Destiny, Jordan, and Mia.
We called ourselves the Revenge Squad, and we picked Evie because she’s exactly the kind of woman you’re attracted to.
Then we told her all about you—what your interests are, what your personality is like, and even what you enjoy in bed.
I laugh. That’s batshit crazy. Why would she do that? Why would you?
Evie did it to get into Alpha Z. And we did it to get revenge on you—on behalf of all the women whose hearts you’ve broken.
Angelica’s smile broadens. The original plan was that she’d dump you and break your heart for once.
But of course, Evie is too na?ve, and she fell for you.
I could have predicted that. So she refused to break up with you.
Then Angelica leans close to me and delivers her biggest lines with all the drama she loves.
How does the great Viktor Zelenko feel knowing that his dream girlfriend is a complete sham?
Every time she said exactly the right thing or fucked you in some special way, it’s like all of us were in the room.
We put our knowledge together to make you actually fall in love.
But here’s the truth: your perfect woman doesn’t exist. You deserve to be alone after all the shit you’ve pulled.
She gives me a last triumphant smile, flips her dark hair back, and then turns and marches away.
I walk to class. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Angelica is a liar so there’s no way that I believe anything that she says.
Yes, as my day goes on, I can’t shake the feeling that some part of it might be true. All the times I’ve been amazed at how perfectly matched Evie and I are.
I consider the other women Angelica mentioned.
Destiny was really angry when we broke up, and she swore she’d make me sorry.
Our breakup was awkward and embarrassing; she caught me unawares, and I reacted angrily.
Of course, she didn’t know that I’d had a similar and scarring experience when I was back in junior hockey.
I was sleeping when a friend of my billet mother got into bed with me.
She assumed that as a young stud, I’d welcome any kind of sexual attention, but that wasn’t true at all.
I fell out of bed trying to get away from her, bruised my shoulder badly, and ended up missing a game.
When I told my coach what happened, he took me out of that home immediately, and I lived with his family for the rest of the season.
The billet family protested that it wasn’t their fault, but the mother and her friends used to make suggestive remarks about me, a sixteen-year-old who was supposed to be under their protection.
She fostered an atmosphere of sexual predation.
So, Destiny isn’t the best person to ask. Maybe Jordan? She’s not the brightest, but she might go along with a lie cooked up by Angelica. Mia is the nicest of the bunch, and I’d actually be shocked if she did something like this. She feels like my best bet for the truth.
Since surprise is going to be key here, I make my way back to the Union to see if I can bump into Mia. Everyone passes through here, especially during the winter.
I sit on the bench in front of the big mural and wait. And wait.
Then miraculously, Jordan walks by. I flag her down.
Oh, hi, Vik. How are you? she asks breezily.
Good, thanks. I dive right in. So, is this Revenge Squad thing real?
Her smile changes into an expression of shock. Oh shit. She promised she wouldn’t say anything. Are you mad at me now?
It feels like the blood in my body is turning into something cold and reptilian. I can see everything happening, but none of it can touch me.
Of course I’m not mad, I reassure her. Who promised?
She makes a face. Evie, of course. But now that she’s quit Alpha Z, she probably doesn’t care about any of us now.
Oh, I didn’t hear about it from Evie. I’m not quite sure why I’m bothering to defend her now. It was Angelica.
Jordan nods. I mean, sure I got involved because I was still mad at you.
Remember how you broke up with me just before we were supposed to go on that cool spa date?
I was really looking forward to that. But you know, I got over it.
And honestly, I did think that it was surreal or whatever that word is that you and Evie ended up falling for each other.
I think you mean ironic, says whatever part of my brain that still wants to correct people, even while my heart is breaking.