I close my laptop, grab my bag, and rush toward the aisle.
"Saige," Elias says sharply. I pause, barely looking at him over my shoulder. "Don't."
"Oh, my god, is that your sister?!" Sasha laughs. "Ew! What's she doing here?"
Fuck this.
I turn back around, tears stinging my eyes as I make my way down the aisle toward the front of the classroom. Laughter follows me, but he won't make a scene now that class has started, and whatever punishment I might get is worth it to avoid sitting through this bullshit.
I can barely focus for the entirety of the lecture, hardly taking notes, and I'm sure I'll have to pay for that somehow, too. I want to die when class ends; I stay in my seat until everyone else has cleared out, ensuring Elias is gone before making my way toward the door.
But he's still in the hallway—waiting for me. And Sasha is with him.
I don't think they let you punch people and get away with it at university. But then again, I did murder someone, didn't I?
Maybe I can get her out on Elias's balcony.
"I have to go," Elias tells her once our eyes meet. "See you tonight."
Shit. I speed-walk toward the exit and out of the building.
"Saige!" he calls after me. "Get your ass back here."
He catches up with me, grabbing me by my arm. "Don't touch me!" I shout, shaking him off.
To my surprise, he actually lets go, although it's unlikely because I have any kind of agency. It's probably because of the public setting. "What the fuck is your problem?"
My mouth gapes. "Are you serious? Do you really not know, or are you just playing dumb jock? I really can't tell."
"Don't fucking mouth off to me."
I turn, storming off in the other direction. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to change my schedule. I'm not going to sit in class with both of you. I'm not going to the party tonight, either."
"Yes, you are. Or I'll—"
"I don't care!" I tell him. "I don't fucking care, Elias. I'm not going to a party with a bunch of girls who bullied me in high school at your fucking behest. She broke my fingers, and youlaughed. You made her sleep with my boyfriend, Elias. I'm not going to do it."
"I thought he wasn't your boyfriend."
I sigh, defeated. "It doesn't really matter, does it?"
I still have that little black dress hanging on the back of my door to remind me not to let it happen again.
"Don't worry—I can still send you notes. I'll even come over and clean up like you asked. I just can't do this."
"Wait a second."
He stops me again, this time grabbing me by my hair and pulling me to his side. "Stay," he growls in my ear.
In his other hand, his phone is ringing with Sasha's name scrolling across the screen.
"Hey!" she says when she answers. "Did you miss me already?"
"No," he says. "You're actually uninvited to the party. Don't come to our house."
"What?" She laughs a little. "What are you talking about?"
