She turns and grins at me. “You were being a brat.”
“I was…but I won’t be one anymore.”
“Good,” Zuri says. “Some jackass wrote that I’m a slut on one of the flyers. It doesn’t have my name anywhere them either. They would have had to scan the QR code to see who was organizing it. Clearly, they care a lot about harassing women. Then earlier, this one guy on campus said slut under his breath at me, and I just assumed he was being an asshole.”
My heart races, and my stomach twists into knots. Worry creases my brow, but I can’t pretend there’s not a flush of anger filling me, too. “Um, what the hell? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
I glance her way to see Zuri cocking a brow at me. “Because I didn’t think about it, and I don’t have to tell you every little thing that happens.”
Shit. She’s right. I’m being…well, I’m being like T, Cil, and Rory. I’m doing exactly what I get pissed about them doing to me. “I’m sorry. I know how annoying it is to be treated like you need to be taken care of, but that’s really messed up. I don’t like it.”
“It’s okay.” She reaches over and places her hand on my thigh. “I love that you care. I’ve just been taking care of myself for a long time, and I don’t need anyone trying to take over. We can be in this together, but things that are about me are my call.”
Which is exactly what I would want if this situation were reversed. It’s exactly why I wanted to be involved when I had my own situation with a toxic, disgusting man. “Yeah, yeah, okay. Same for me.”
“I’ll remember that.” Zuri squeezes my leg.
I pull into my parking spot, the best on campus, because the dean knows better than not to give us the best of everything. It’s a perk of being who we are. It’s a bit of a distance from Zuri’s dorm, though.
We get out of the car. It’s a slightly warmer March evening, which is nice. Zuri takes my hand again. There’s no denying how much I love the feel of her soft hand in mine, her warm skin against mine, and all I want to do is nuzzle in closer to her.
I stop cold, though, the air around us dropping what feels like a hundred degrees when I see the big red letters across another of her flyers.ZURI IS A WHORE.
“What the fuck?” I pull away from her, heart in my throat as I rush over to the board and rip the flyer down. None of the other papers have any nasty messages on them.
“Let’s go look at the others,” Zuri says, a pissed-off edge to her voice.
I’m right there with her.
We hurry around campus, and each of her flyers has something nasty written about her—calling her names and saying she hates men. With each one, my heart sinks deeper—my anger rising and filling me up.
Whoever the fuck this is doesn’t know who they’re messing with, because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my girl.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Zuri
One flyer Icould let slide, but whoever this is has crossed a line.
And it just makes me want to stand up for women even more.
“I don’t like this,” Ash says. “It feels personal.”
“Itispersonal. I’m a woman, and whoever this is wants to shut women up, probably so they can keep slipping drugs into women’s drinks and taking advantage of them. If they think they’re shutting me up or making me cancel this rally, they can go fuck themselves.” All this does is make me want to have the rally even more.
“Come on. Let’s get back to your dorm,” Aislin says, her eyes darting around like she expects someone to jump out of the bushes and attack us.
“Hey. Are you okay? I know you had your own issues freshman year. If this—”
“No, it’s not that. Something just feels weird, and I’ve learned to always trust my gut. And I want to keep you safe.”
It’s wild how I can be independent, how I want to always be able to stand on my own two feet, but hearing her say things like that makes my heart melt, too. Because I know she cares. I know she’ll be there for me, and it’s been so long since I’ve had that.
My parents were great. I have bits and pieces of memories of them that I’ve locked away and held on to, but I haven’t let myself have anyone since them…not until Ash. “Thank you,” I say. “For caring.”
“I’ll always care. Once one of us falls for someone, you’re basically stuck with us for life.” She smiles.
“I like that. I want to be stuck with you.”
