“Eh, I don’t believe that. If it were you, I would fucking kill you.”
“Sophia,” I speak in a gentler tone, and it catches her by surprise. She shivers a little, and I inch closer to her. “Please, talk to me.”
Sophia swallows thickly and, for the first time, turns to look at me fully. She’s so fucking close, I could kiss her. Her scent overwhelms my senses, and I’m yearning to pull her into my arms, and never let go of her. Her eyes are as bright as the sea, looking at me with that usually stern expression of hers.
Her soft, plump lips are rosy, slightly parted. She’s looking right into my eyes, and a beat of silence passes. Her hands fist on her lap, knuckles turning white, but her expression remains unchanged — stoic, emotionless, and blank.
“You sound so cute when you beg, but the answer’s no. You lost any right to speak to me at all, and the next time you do that, I’ll do much, much worse than the cut on your cheek.”
My hand goes up to touch the spot where she cut with the ring when she slapped me, and my heart skips a beat. I’m praying it leaves a scar, because I want Sophia’s mark on me. Hell, I’d let her cut my entire arm if she wanted to.
“Then do it, Princess,” I mutter, her eyes narrowing in response. “Go ahead and do your worst. I’ll be waiting.”
FORTY-TWO
Lila, Grace, Avalon, and I are standing in the corner of the university, all alone. Lila’s sitting on the floor, playing with a Rubik’s cube, trying to beat her personal score in solving it. Grace, as per usual, is sipping on her juice box, a bored look on her face as she glances around, and then there’s Avalon, texting with Colton, I’m assuming, with a small smile on her face.
I’m trying my best to hide my face from the world. How the hell did anyone get a hold of my nudes? It was a boudoir photoshoot, and the pictures were taken ages ago. They were meant for my eyes only, done at a time when my self-esteem was as low as possible. I thought I kept them tucked away for good.
“Guys,” Grace says, her voice lower than usual. “Look,” she motions with her head subtly to the left.
All three of us turn around, and frown tugs on the corners of my lips. It’s Astrid, just leaving her class. Though there’s still 15 minutes left before it ends, so it’s rather suspicious that she’s leaving it so soon.
“Let’s go,” Lila says as she rises to her feet, and Grace follows behind her. Avalon and I exchange a curious glance, but don’t say anything. Instead, we walk behind the two, the sound of our shoes against the floors echoing the old walls around us.
Astrid takes a sharp left turn, and she either didn’t notice us just yet, or she’s pretending not to. I’m not sure which one is dumber — being that oblivious to her surroundings, or having four people follow her, and still acting like she could overpower us.
She enters an empty, old, and small classroom while pulling her phone out and putting it to her ear. That’s when Grace strikes. She shoves Astrid into the classroom, and snatches the phone out of her hands while it’s unlocked. She tosses the phone back to Lila, and Lila takes a couple of steps back so Astrid wouldn’t be able to get to the device.
“Great, you’re all alone,” Grace grins. Avalon’s the last one to enter the classroom, closing the door behind her and pulling the blinds down. She takes a chair, pushes it against the door, and sits down, acting as a watch-guard. She’s not the one to confront people easily, and this is always the stance she takes.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Astrid hisses, trying to reach for Lila, to take the phone out of her hands. “Give it back!”
Grace steps between the two of them, a menacing smile on her face. “No. You see, we have questions, and you, my dear, have answers. And we’re not leaving until you tell us everything we want to know.”
“What the hell do you people want from me?”
Astrid’s jaw is clenched tightly, and she steps back. Panic washes over her as Lila moves to the back of the classroom, her finger swiping and scrolling through her phone, and it tells me everything I need to know.
“I want to know who’s behind Sinners and Saints,” I say, stepping forward. Her eyes fall on me, and then, she straightens up. I take another step toward her, using the slight height difference to my advantage.
“I don’t know,” she says.
“Lying is useless,” Grace scoffs. “We went through your dorm, and we saw the little notes.”
Astrid’s eyes widen, half in shock, half in anger. “You broke into my dorm?!”
“We didn’t break in, we used a key,” I drawl out. “But don’t avoid it. We know you’ve been meeting with the people from Sinners and Saints. I want names, and I want to know where.”
“There’s nothing I can tell you!” Astrid defends, crossing her arms in front of her chest. There’s a certain look in her eyes, almost like pettiness, and I want to rub the smugness off her face.
“That’s a lie,” Lila says, then looks up from Astrid’s phone. “Because there’s a lot of evidence here, too. Do you want me to do all the talking for you?”
“Give it back,” Astrid grits out, her pupils blowing out in anger. Her body starts shaking, and if the bitch continues like this, I really might hit her again, and knock another tooth out.
“She won’t give it back until you tell us what we need to know.”
“Fine,” Astrid spits. “I don’t know who’s behind Sinners and Saints, because during all the meetings we have masks on.”
