Once the warm-ups are finished, my hands are trembling and my stomach is a roiling pit. I can’t half-ass it now. I’m stuck under Miss Umber’s eye and Avery is watching my every move. I sit on my hands so she can’t see how badly I’m shaking. The moment Miss Umber starts to write out notes during her explanation of the correct breathing methods we should be using, depending on application, Blaise leans over Avery so far he’s practically in her lap.
“Since when can you fucking sing?”
I take out my notebook and ignore him. I never take notes in choir, but it’s a good excuse to ignore him. He’s not an easy guy to get away from. “Mounty, how did you get a higher mark than me? Are you fucking the teacher?”
I snort and keep writing. I don’t spare him a glance as I reply. “If anyone is fucking Miss Umber, it’s you. Why would I take choir if I can’t sing? I told you I liked Vanth for your voice. Did you not think I was telling the truth? It was one singer admiring the talent of another, that’s it. Get over it.”
Avery pushes Blaise back into his own seat and off her lap. I’m a little wary that she seems to be helping me, but I know there’ll be an ulterior motive. Blaise is mumbling under his breath and Avery slips her hand into his, and that’s when I know I’m in trouble. That I’m about to be tormented by them again. Avery Beaumont is always the calm before the storm. While her brother and his friends get angry and loud about it, Avery is silent as she efficiently makes her moves to destroy me.
I shake my head at her and go back to my notes.
When the class finishes, I leave without looking at Blaise again. Classes are done for the day, and when I round the corner to walk back into the main building, I hear the footsteps right behind me.
They’re both following me.
It’s taco night and I’ve had to miss the last two taco nights because of Beaumont bullshit, so I head straight to the dining hall for an early dinner. I give them both a warning look when they sit across from me at the long table. Neither of them have bothered to grab anything to eat, so we sit in silence as I start to eat my tacos. They're good, but I can't enjoy them with my hostile audience watching my every move.
I break the silence.
“What are you planning on doing to me just because I got a better mark than your little friend?”
Blaise’s eyes narrow at me, and then he hesitantly glances at Avery. She’s staring at me, down her nose like Ash does, and it sends my blood boiling. I’ve grown accustomed to being the poor little foster kid. Even at Mounts Bay I had people looking down at me for my drug addict mom, but no one makes me feel more shit about it than the Beaumonts do.
“Did you take the photos of Rory and Harlow together?” she says, completely monotone, like she’s not discussing her cheating boyfriend.
I nod and drink my juice. I’m distracted enough by the conversation that I don’t think twice about it. Blaise is staring at her, his eyes slits of rage, and his cheeks have deep red patches. I’ve assumed this far that they’re all so close they don’t keep secrets, but now I see I was wrong. He runs a hand over the back of his neck and blows out a frustrated breath. I wonder how long it will take before Ash is publicly beating the life out of Rory. Or will it be Harley this time?
“Why didn’t you send them out to everyone? You’re convinced I sent out your nudes. Wouldn’t that be the best revenge for you?”
It’s a trap, but I know no matter what, she’ll hate me. Why not tell the truth? “I believed Ash when he said you didn’t have anything to do with that. It doesn’t matter, though. Even if you did, I wouldn’t have sent them out. I don’t do that shit. If I want revenge, I go straight to the source and do it properly, I’m not good at this social hierarchy stuff. I’m at this school to make a better life for myself. Whatever you guys do to me, it’s nothing compared to what’s waiting for me at Mounts Bay.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
I blow out an exasperated breath. Why does this girl rile me up so badly? I’m giving her answers, and she still wants more. I should tell her to go fuck herself. I should tell her to choke, to jump off a cliff, to go and hide among the beautiful boys she hangs around and leave me the hell alone. I don’t.
“Rory is a fucking scumbag. I’m not one of these brainwashed bimbos who thinks it’s funny when other girls are treated like shit by guys. I think he’s a dick, and I think you deserve to knowwherehe’s sticking his dick. Plus, I didn’t see a condom in use so, you know. He’s probably caught something truly heinous from that bitch, and you should get tested to make sure he hasn’t passed it on to you.”
As I lift my juice to my lips, I see a flash of regret pass over her face. I've never seen that sort of human emotion out of her before, and it makes me feel another pang of sympathy for her. We were both born into cages. Mine was poverty, drugs, the threat of gangs and violence. Hers is a gilded cage, but the bars work just the same. She's trapped by her blood and her name. I wonder, not for the first time, what her parents are like. Are they as beautiful as their children? Are they loyal and caring like the twins, or did Joey come by his cruelty honestly? I should really take a closer look into them, maybe get Matteo to dig around for me.
“For the record, none of this is because of what you did to Harley. It’s not an eye for an eye anymore. If you stay here, Joey will kill you. He likes to break things. You're not shattering the way he likes; you're proving to be too strong. He doesn't let strong things survive.” She's warning me. What has she put in place, what will I have to survive this time? I swallow.
“It's okay. I'll survive it. Whatever it is you’ve done, and then I'll survive your brother too. I have no choice but to survive.”
She nods sharply and bumps Blaise to get him moving. He's not happy. He's watched our entire exchange with that frown on his face, and I do something entirely out of left field.
I smile at him.
Just a tiny, sad lifting of the corners of my lips, but he stares at me with heartbreak in those stunning green eyes of his.
He's in on whatever she's done, and he's torn about it. He had probably convinced himself to help because I was a stalker fan in their eyes, and then I'd gotten that higher mark.
The last thing I remember thinking is that he wears heartbreak so fucking well.
And then my mind knows nothing.
Chapter 18
The blackout is so overwhelming that I have no memory of what happened that night.
