“Relax. You’re overthinking—”
Yanking free, I stumble. Some of the drink sloshes onto the ground. His face twists, frustration boiling over into something ugly. Before I can fully make sense of what’s happening, Jackson lunges, shoving me against the house, his breath hot and sour against my cheek.
“I said relax. We’re just talking. Getting to know each other better.”
I grunt, twisting and turning under his weight, my shoulder scraping against the cold siding of the house.
“You tried to drug me,” I blurt out, voice shaky but loud enough to punch through the haze of weed and alcohol between us.
Jackson stiffens; his joint and cup hit the ground with dull thuds as his hands shoot up to silence me.
“Shut the fuck up.” His voice drops into a growl that only I can hear but sharp enough to split me open. One hand clampsaround my mouth, the other tightens on my arm, and suddenly the party noise fades behind the ringing in my ears.
“Do you know who I am?” he hisses, face so close I smell the whiskey clinging to his breath. “No one’s gonna believe you. I run this school, and I take what I want.”
My blood runs cold under the bruising force of his grip. I thrash harder, my heart thundering, panic roaring inside me. And all I can think is I’ve been here before. Trapped. Cornered. Abused.
But not this time.
This time, I scream.
“Get off me.”
His fingers grip my neck, squeezing just enough to make my pulse hammer. The music is too loud, so no one seems to hear me. Those fight instincts rear their ugly head and without another thought, I bare my teeth, snap forward, and sink them into his arm. His grip loosens for a fraction of a second. It’s all I need.
I knee him between his thighs. Jackson huddles over, grabbing himself, pain staining his face, and that’s when I do it: I draw back, and drive my boot into his kneecap with all the strength I can muster. A sickening crack pierces the air between us; then he crumples to the ground with a sharp yell.
“AHHH! You fucking bitch!”
It’s either him or me—and it damn surewon’tbe me. I don’t stick around, taking off before the words fully leave his sadistic lips. And as I sprint to safety, I hear voices behind me.
“Sam!” It’s Christina’s voice. “Oh my God! Jackson, what happened?”
I won’t stop. Not until I’m far, far away from here.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SAM
The silence in this hallway doesn’t feel normal. There are no footsteps, no murmurs behind closed doors, no staff. It’s just me and whatever this summons means.
I shouldn’t be here. Not on a Saturday. Not alone.
But here I am, staring down a heavy oak door with my heart in my throat, and every nerve in my body screaming for me torun.Coming to SKU was supposed to be a blessing, but right now, it feels more like a curse.
I told myself to forget it, but fate’s a cruel bastard with a very long memory. Last night still clings to my skin, and I can’t shake the feeling that my being called to the chancellor’s office has everything to do with that.
It was just one party. One mistake I felt coming before I even made up my mind to go. The entire ride to that lake house, my stomach turned flips—much like it is now—yet I still went. And now everything I’ve scraped together, everything I’ve worked for—the scholarship, the long hours studying, every threadbare hope—is fraying.
It’s all going down the drain, and I fear there might not be anything I can do about it. Desmond was counting on me to get us out of this mess we were born into. To rewrite the story noone ever gave us a chance to change. And I might’ve just burned our only way out to the ground.
I didn’t plan for this to happen. It was just supposed to be a harmless little house party. I wasn’t supposed to have to fight for my life.
But I did.
I told myself that I could bury this, forget the whole thing. But I couldn’t. After I left the party, running until my legs nearly gave out, I used Christina’s account to call a Ryde and snuck in while Gracie was asleep. And as I sat on the bathroom floor with the shower running, all I could do was replay it in my mind.
His hand wrapping around my neck, his voice that was all teeth and arrogance, and me suddenly biting down on his flesh, shoving him off me, and hearing the sickening snap.
