He says it sarcastically, and I flush. There it is, the resentment for what I did to protect him. I should feel angry at him for blaming me, but mostly I just feel guilty and miserable. Okay, I’m a little angry that he didn’t care about being ‘mine’ when I confronted him about Ash getting me thrown out of school. Fuck, I need some time to clear my head. I need a plan for next year.
I swallow and whisper back, “That just means no one outside these walls can touch you. You don’t owe me anything.”
He scoffs at me. “Thank god, because I sure as hell can’t afford the diamonds your favors cost.”
His leg is pressed against mine, so I feel it when his phone buzzes. He ignores it until it stops. Then it buzzes again. And again. And again.
He curses under his breath and discreetly slides the phone out of his pocket. I look away because I have no interest in snooping. Okay, I do, but I’m also afraid it’ll be a girl texting him and I don’t need any more pain from this guy right now. He nudges me gently and turns the screen so I can read it.
Courtyard after the assembly. Bring the Mounty.
It’s from Ash.
I suck in a breath. This is it; he’s going to make his move and get me kicked out. He’s probably already done it, but Mr. Trevelen wouldn’t pause an assembly just to kick me out. I’m going to walk out there and face the humiliation of my expulsion.
I screw my eyes shut and try to fight the panic that’s squeezing my chest so hard, I think my heart might explode. I start to count in French, and I miss every word Mr. Trevelen says in his speech. I clap robotically when everyone around me does, and then when Harley stands, he looks down at me with cold eyes.
I have no choice but to follow him out to face Ash.
Chapter 29
Ash is furious.
He’s standing with Blaise in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by groups of students who are all eyeing him nervously. Harley frowns when he sees him and then moves quickly to stand with him, so I’m faced with all three of them at once. I stare at Ash, refusing to even glance at the other two, and he looks at me like I’m worse than nothing.
“How the fuck did a little Mounty manage to hack my accounts and clear all of the video files? I’ll have your fucking head for this. There’s no way you can talk your way out of this with the principal,” he snarls at me.
I have no clue what he is talking about. He’s right, it is outside of my abilities, and I didn’t do it. I squint up at him, and I must look like the dense Mounty they all think I am before it hits me.
Avery.
She wouldn’t even need to hack in. She had all of his account details and passwords. It was the only way his data could have been wiped so thoroughly. It was a steep price she was paying for my help, and if Ash found out, he would be crushed by her betrayal.
Icouldjust tell him. I could tell him every intimate detail of his sister’s assault, just how close she had come to being raped. But when I open my mouth nothing comes out.
After two years in the foster care system I have seen so many kids who had been molested, and it was truly horrifying. How far away from my humanity would I fall if I use this against Avery? They may all be monsters, and I know I am too, but I don’t want to be. Someday I will be a fully fledged adult out in the world, and I refuse to let this school turn me the way it has every other student.
“Get fucked, Beaumont.”
Silence. The entire room holds its breath.
Ash opens his mouth to rip me to shreds, but then it snaps shut. His face shutters closed, the anger dissolving. His eyes dart to my left and narrow, but not in the same vicious way he'd been directing it at me.
Blaise crosses his arms over his broad chest, and Harley straightens. I realize Avery must have arrived, because no one else gets the boys’ attention so completely. She steps up beside me, and her fingers wrap around my wrist gently, using her body as a shield so no one else can see. Her hand is cold and clammy, but her voice is firm.
“Lips didn't clear your accounts. I did.”
Gasps ring out across the courtyard. I look around and see we have the attention of the entire class. The gaggle of girls that usually follow Avery around are darting quick glances between the twins, unwilling to get on Ash's bad side, and I want to snap at them. Gutless. I know in my heart she’s right, none of them would have rushed in to help her. They would have let Rory rape her and then gossiped about it later.
“Avery, what—” Ash starts forward, his eyes haunted, and I glance over to see the white bandages over his sister’s face. They look professionally applied, nothing like the amateur job I did with my scraps. Ash doesn't care about the accounts at all now that he's faced with his injured twin. It would be totally sweet, if he hadn't just been on the edge of ending my school career and my opportunity at a decent life.
“You would know if you had answered your phone, but you didn't, so now you can deal with the consequences. Lips is mine.”
Blaise’s eyes dart between us, and my face begins to flush. Someday I will be able to handle his eyes on me, but clearly today is not that day.
“What the actual fuck?!” Harley sputters out, and I try not to laugh at the sound. I had never heard any of them sound unsure, and yet all three of the boys were gaping at us both.
“Okay, I get it. I should have answered. You don't need to take on trash just to get back at me, Floss,” Ash says gently, aiming to placate her. His hands are outstretched toward her, like he wants to pull her in to him and hold her in the safety of his arms. My angry shield cracks a little at the sight.
