by Mae Doyle
“I said good morning. You feeling rude today?” His tone was light but I shivered under his gaze.
“I just don’t see a reason to talk to someone who doesn’t really want me at the school.” I was glad that my hands were in my lap and he couldn’t see that I’m digging my fingernails into my thighs. It took all of my self-control to stay in my seat and not get up to walk out. When I glanced away from Jackie, I saw that both Kaleb and Brett were staring at me.
He looked at me, a measured look, and was about to open his mouth when Amelia sat down next to me. “You’re still here, huh, slut? Thought for sure that you would leave once you found out that you weren’t wanted. I mean, really, how much more of a hint do you need than all of your stuff disappearing?”
Jackie glanced at her, then back at me. I could feel my face paling as I listened to her, and I was surprised when he suddenly stood up and reached down to pull my hand from my lap. “Come here, Rosita.” He started to drag me down the aisle, only stopping when Mr. Staton spoke to him. “It’s rogue business, sir,” he told him, then took me into the hall, shutting the door firmly behind him.
I heard the click of the intercom, and I reached for the handle of the door, but Jackie grabbed my hand, now squeezing both of them in his. “Rosita, listen. I know that things seem dark and terrible right now, but you can’t give up. We need you to stay strong and to trust us. You can’t leave, and you can’t let them beat you, okay?”
I sucked in a breath and looked up into his eyes. “How can you say that when you’re with them? When Amelia said that Brett worked with the council to get rid of me?”
“That was a mistake.” He lifted my hand up to his mouth and brushed his lips across my knuckles. An immediate burst of fire shot through my body and settled in my core. “Brett fucked up, bad, and we’ve all suffered for it, but we’re done, Rosita. We’re done.” He dropped my hand and slipped his leather bracelet off of his wrist, turning it over in his hands before handing it to me.
I took it, the leather still warm in my hands. “You do this and you’re in trouble. I remember what Maggie and Harper said would happen if they didn’t wear their bracelets. You can’t do that.” I held the bracelet out to him but when he wouldn’t take it, I pressed it into his chest. “Take it back, Jackie.”
“I can’t do that, Rosita. Mr. Taylor won’t do anything to me. Or Brett. Or Kaleb. I promise.” He was standing close to me – too close for me to be able to make smart decisions about what I was going to do. I could practically feel the heat coming off of his body.
I took a step forward, placing my hand flat on his chest, the bracelet trapped between us. His muscles were hard under my fingers and I dug into his chest, making him gasp a little.
“Rosita – ” he warned, but I leaned forward, standing up on my tiptoes to reach him. His hand slid behind my neck and he pulled me closer, meeting me halfway. His lips on mine were heaven but the longing and throbbing in me didn’t decrease. If anything, I could feel my core shaking as he kissed me.
I opened my mouth, letting his tongue slide over mine as he tasted me. He was smooth and delicious, making every part of me want him. Reaching up, I ran my hand through his hair, enjoying the way he moaned into my mouth.
I needed this from him. Even though, the night before, I hadn’t been sure if I could trust him, I needed to feel like someone cared about me. Right now, that person was Jackie, and the way he kissed me let me know that he had some compassion and feeling for me.
After a moment, he pulled back, his cheeks flushed and his eyes bright. “Damn, Rosita. Sure feels like you believe me now.”
I ducked my head and sucked on my lower lip. Nobody could kiss like that and lie, right? There wasn’t any way that he could be telling me lies and then kiss me in a way that made my whole body sing for him. In that moment, I knew what I had to do.
I had to make a decision.
Locking eyes with him, I nodded. “I believe you. Will you keep me safe?”
I hated to ask but I had to know. If he and the other rogues couldn’t – or wouldn’t – keep me safe, then it didn’t matter how they felt about me and how I felt about them. What would matter was that the harpies and the council will keep coming.
“We will.” He grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine and giving me a gentle squeeze. “But I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you’ll fight, Rosita. You’re worth it, and the rogues are ready to fight to save you, but you have to be willing to fight. To risk it all. You have to decide if this is worth it.”
He didn’t just mean me being at Taylor Prep, and I knew that. I was willing to fight for my place at the school, and I’d already proven that. He was asking for more, and I knew that once I answered him, I would have to be willing to say the same thing to Brett and Kaleb.
Was I willing to fight for them?
Chapter 19
They were worth it. I knew it even as I stood in the hall with Jackie earlier this week, even though I hadn’t been able to verbalize it to him. All three of them, even Brett, who I still thought had mixed feelings about me, were worth the risk, and as soon as I talked to Jackie, I felt like I was ready to stand up for them.
To try to build something with them. To not only survive the rest of my time at Taylor Prep, but even to enjoy it, if something like that was possible.
The guys all took turns walking me to class. Kaleb told me that they didn’t want to risk the chance of me being cornered by a harpy, but there were still a few places that they couldn’t protect me, like the locker room and the voice room.
Monday, after Kaleb walked me from math to PE, I thought that Amelia’s eyes were going to bug out of her head. He turned me to him, resting his hand lightly on my shoulder to talk to me before letting me go into the gym.
“You be careful, okay, Rose? We’re all rooting for you and now that we have you…” he paused, letting his gaze slide over my face. I shivered under his watchful eye, feeling the familiar throbbing that I was getting so used to when I was around them. “We just don’t want to let you go. Jackie told me that you were willing to fight, and I hope that’s true, because we’re going to put it all out on the line for you.”
“I am.” Reaching up, I cupped his cheek in my hand, enjoying the warmth from his skin, but I’d managed to stop myself from kissing him.
That was Monday.
Today was Friday and it had been the longest week ever at Taylor Prep. It was hard for me to deny that I felt like I was walking on air whenever I was around the rogues, but the harpies were all too happy to bring me back down to earthy. They hated me even more than they had before, and that meant that all of their energy was now focused on one thing – taking me down.
Kaleb made sure that I wasn’t the last person to the gym so I wouldn’t make Mrs. Dorn mad, but that also meant that I had to change in the locker room with the other girls. He tipped my chin up to me, his fingers light on my skin.
“Rose? You be safe, okay?” Before I could answer, he leaned down and crushed my mouth with his. The fire that was always smoldering in my chest leaped to life as I kissed him back, drowning in the smell of his coconut shampoo. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his chest. So close, in fact, that I could feel his heart beating.
“I have to go.” No part of me wanted to pull back from that kiss, but I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t ever be able to leave him. He grinned and kissed me again, landing one on the tip of my nose.
“I know. That was just for luck. Brett will meet you here after class to walk you to lunch, okay?”
Yeah, I knew. I knew the schedule that they had set out for making sure that I didn’t walk between classes on my own. Even though I loved that they were so determined to do everything to keep me safe, I couldn’t help but wish that I could walk around campus by myself.
As I was mulling that over, I walked into the locker room and was met with the icy stares of my entire class.
“We were just taking a vote, Rose.
Are you a slut or a virgin?” Amelia crossed the room to me as everyone else behind her giggled.
My lips burned with the pressure and passion of Kaleb’s kiss and I stood still, unsure of what to say to her.
“I asked you a question, Rose. Don’t be a rude bitch.” She now stood in front of me, already changed out for gym, tapping her foot while she waited. The last time that Amelia and I had faced off against each other, she’d beaten the shit out of me with a staff. She may have looked unassuming and innocent, but I knew that there wasn’t any way I could beat her in a fight.
The words that came out of my mouth next may have felt good, but they were really stupid. “You jealous, Amelia? Wish that you actually had guys like you? Must burn you to know that I have three of the hottest guys at school who all care about me.”
Too far. I went too far, and I knew it immediately, but there wasn’t anything I could do to take it back and, honestly, the look on her face was worth it.
The smirk that lifted the corners of her lips immediately vanished and she frowned, a slight crease between her eyebrows. “You fucking bitch. One of those hottest guys is my cousin.”
Oh, I knew that. I was well aware that I was probably playing with fire every single time I got close to Jackie, but that didn’t mean that I was willing to give it up. He was nothing like his evil cousin, and the way he made me feel? So safe and loved? Yeah, that feeling was worth the hateful looks she was throwing my way right now.
“I know. I guess that I’ll see you at holidays from now on, huh?” My barbs stung here where I wanted them to, and she looked shock, even going so far as to take a step back from me. Good. I’d won.
Grinning to myself, I turned my back on her to open my locker, but that was where I made my mistake. Before I’d even reached for my locker to open it, she grabbed the back of my head and slammed me forward. My forehead bounced off of the metal and instantly a huge gash appeared on my forehead, bleeding so hard that the blood was in my eyes.
“Too bad that you’re not going to get to compete in the vocal competition, Rose. You think that you’re so great? There’s no way I’m going to let you go do something that you may actually enjoy.”
I couldn’t see anything. All I could feel was the wet stickiness of blood on my skin and the way my head instantly started to ache.
I also couldn’t scream, because as soon as I opened my mouth, something was twisted and shoved into it. I didn’t know if it was a sock or a towel, but I didn’t care. All I knew is that I needed to get it out of my mouth as quickly as possible.
Reaching up, I grabbed it to pull it out, but someone grabbed my arms, pining them behind my back. Amelia – it had to be her – swept my legs, pushing me down to the floor so that I was on my stomach, my face bleeding, the tile floor cool on my skin.
Bucking, I tried to scream, but there was a knee in my back. Amelia’s voice cut through my screaming and I stopped to listen.
“I told you, Rose. We all told you. You don’t belong here. You should have left when you had the chance.”
Someone said something to her, and while I couldn’t make out their question, her response was clear.
“Of course I’m not going to kill her,” she snapped. “You know how that would look.”
Then what was she going to do?
I didn’t have long to wait. Almost as soon as she had told the person she wasn’t going to kill me, I heard a buzzing sound. My ears were straining to try to tell what it was, but as soon as something was pressed into the back of my head, I knew.
“No!” I screamed around the gag in my mouth, bucking and trying to pull my arms back from the person holding them. The knee in my back pressed down harder as I squirmed and fought. “No, don’t!”
Laughter filled my ears as the buzzing continued. After a moment, I gave up. Blood was still pouring from my forehead and I was beginning to feel cool air on my scalp as the hair fell away.
They were taking it all.
When they finished, the person let go of my arms and the knee disappeared from my back. I paused a moment before pushing myself up from the floor and pulling the gag out of my mouth. Wiping blood away from my face, I saw a halo of my long dark curls all around me on the floor. They’d taken it all.
I didn’t want to look up and see the girls who did this to me. They were giggling and talking to each other, but I ignored them, reaching up to run my hand over my head. The shave wasn’t smooth. Amelia had left some patches of longer hair in between almost scalping me in places.
It looked terrible, I knew it.
I looked terrible.
Stumbling to my feet, I leaned against the locker for support, finally turning to look into the locker room at all of the girls. Amelia stood in front, clippers lazily hanging from her hand, a triumphant grin on her face. The harpies flanked her, but what hurt the most was seeing Maggie and Harper standing behind her, terrified expressions on their faces.
Sure, I’d be terrified too if I saw what evil a person could commit.
“Rose, I can’t say that it’s an improvement, but maybe it will help my cousin realize that you’re nothing more than a dirty slut. You look like shit, really.” Amelia laughed, her voice echoing around the locker room.
“I have to get to the nurse.” My words were slurred and I took a step towards the door, willing my legs to hold me up even as they shook. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was curl up on the floor and sleep, but I knew that I needed help.
I had to get help for my cut or it was just going to keep bleeding. Already I was more lightheaded than a moment ago. I mean, I knew that head wounds were notorious for being bad bleeders, but this was ridiculous.
“Well, you know the way.” Amelia walked over to the door, making sure to step over my hair and the blood on the floor. She swung it open and held it for me.
My vision narrowed as I looked at the door. Even though I knew that it was only a few feet away, the distance seemed to stretch and narrow the more I looked at it. There wasn’t any way that I was going to make it all the way across the quad on my own, and Amelia had to know it.
“I need help.” Asking this den of vipers for help was terrifying, but I didn’t know what else to do. My knees gave out and I slid to the floor, my back against the lockers. There was a darkness at the edge of my vision that was threatening to obscure everything I saw.
Blinking my eyes hard, I tried to fight it back, but it kept coming.
Closing my eyes sounded amazing right now.
Even though I knew that I should open them, my lids were getting heavier and heavier.
Raising my hand, I tried to reach up and feel my head again, but I didn’t have the energy. Instead, my hand dropped back down into my lap.
I had to get to the nurse.
◆◆◆
The next thing I knew, I was stretched out – not on the floor – but in a soft bed. My eyes fluttered open but I shut them again quickly because the room was so bright. I didn’t think that this was my room, but at first, I couldn’t remember where else I would be.
Then I reached my hand up to touch my aching head and my fingertips brushed a bandage.
The gym.
Amelia.
Groaning, I tried to sit up, but my swimming head knocked me back down. I only managed to raise my head a few inches off of the pillow before it sank back in, but that was enough movement for someone to see and call my name.
“Rose. Oh, hell, Rose, are you okay?” It was Brett. I knew his voice and his expensive smell from anywhere even though I couldn’t open my eyes and look at him. He laced his fingers into mine and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
I wanted to squeeze him back, really, I did, but I couldn’t get my fingers to work correctly. They felt soft and floppy, like I didn’t have any control over them.
“Rose, honey, stick with me.” His voice was calling me, but the bed just felt so good. I wanted to open my eyes and see him, really I did, but I just couldn’t.
Chapter 20
“Rosita, you’re awake.” It was Jackie this time, and I felt the bed move as he sat down on the edge. “Brett said that you couldn’t really wake up yesterday. You with me right now?”
I could have gone back to sleep without a problem, but I forced myself to open my eyes and look at Jackie. He was leaning over me, concern written all over his face.
“Oh, Rosita,” he murmured, lightly tracing his fingers along my cheek. I didn’t have any hair for him to tuck behind my ear, and the thought made tears spring to my eyes. “No, no, don’t cry. You’re safe now, I promise.” He leaned forward, dropping a kiss on my forehead.
“How is she?” The door to my room shut and Kaleb’s voice swept around me. I struggled to push myself up, and Jackie wrapped his arm around my shoulders, helping lift me so that I could prop myself up. Kaleb’s eyes swept over me and he frowned, his face paling a little. “Rose, hey, it’s good to see you.”
Was it, though? I turned back to Jackie. “I want a mirror.” My lips felt dry and cracked when I spoke, but I could tell that he heard what I said by the way he glanced back at Kaleb. “Jackie, I want one. Let me see.”
He sighed and got up, walking across the room. When he came back carrying a mirror, I practically jerked it from his hands. Kaleb stood on one side of my bed and Jackie on the other while I turned the mirror over to look at myself.
It had to be a joke. The person staring back from the mirror wasn’t me. She had bandages on her head and bruised eyes. Her eyes looked hollow and haunted, and, worst of all, she was bald.
Or mostly bald. I raised my hand, shocked to see my reflection do the same, and gently touched the top of my head. Amelia had been thorough, but there were some longer spots she’d missed in her hurry. Sucking in a hiss of air, I dropped the mirror back on my lap and looked up at the boys.