Ryder (Scandal U Book 1)

by R. Linda

  ***

  Ryder had been reluctant to drop me off at my dorm, insisting I wait for Jack or Indie to go with me, just in case Chace made another appearance.

  It was bad enough that I had to avoid Christina at all costs, but I would refuse to have Chace scare me away as well.

  Besides, it was Saturday, and the chances of anyone being on campus was slim to none. Most normal uni students made plans for their weekends. I, on the other hand, needed to study.

  I kissed Ryder goodbye and assured him I would be fine. I was just going back to my dorm to grab some books, then I was going to hide away in the library and work on my paper that was due on Friday.

  As I approached my door, I repeated the words to myself. “Get in. Get out.”

  As quickly as possible. It was awful that dread settled in the pit of my stomach each time I approached the room I should be able to call mine, but I couldn’t help it.

  I’d get out of here one day, and everything would fall into place.

  “Get in. Get out,” I whispered under my breath as I pushed open my door.

  Piece of cake.

  Or not.

  I walked in, and my room was a disaster. Papers were scattered on the floor. Sheets were strewn everywhere, and Christina sat on her bed twirling a pair of scissors in her hands with a satisfied smile on her face.

  “Welcome home,” she said. Her voice was flat, lifeless, but anger blazed in her eyes. They were so dark, they were almost completely black.

  As I looked around more, I realised it was only my side of the room that was trashed. That my sheets on the floor weren’t just thrown about everywhere. They were shredded.

  “You cut up my sheets?” I asked stupidly. Obviously, she had cut them up. That was why she was smiling gleefully.

  And my papers. My books. My notes. They were a jumbled mess.

  I fell to my knees and wanted to cry. I had everything organised, in separate files for separate classes, and now I had no idea what was what. It would take me hours and hours to sort through this mess.

  “Why?” I whispered.

  “It seemed fitting.”

  My eyebrows pulled together, and I frowned. I wouldn’t cry, as much as I wanted to. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset. Instead, I swallowed the lump in my throat and narrowed my gaze on her.

  Christina sat up taller, her back stiff and her head held high.

  “What did I do to you?”

  “Cut my heart into pieces. So I cut up your sheets.”

  I almost wanted to laugh at the statement, and the fact she thought they were on the same level. I didn’t care about my sheets. I never slept in here, anyway. I was irritated that my notes were a mess, and I’d lose the day I had planned on studying trying to sort through everything, but I didn’t care about my sheets.

  “Your heart? What are you talking about?” I started scooping up all the papers and books and attempted to put them into a neat pile to sort out later.

  “You’re going to sit here and act dumb? Where were you last night?”

  “Dumb? Christina, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I wonder if Ryder knows. Bless his stupid blind little heart, he probably hasn’t got a clue, does he?”

  “About what?” I didn’t have the faintest idea about what was going through her head. She’d well and truly lost her mind.

  “Your little rendezvous with Chace.” Her voice turned cold as she sneered in my direction, stabbing the point of the scissors into her pillow.

  My heart stopped, and my eyes never left those scissors, suddenly afraid of what she might do.

  “My what?”

  “For god’s sake, Bailey, for once in your life, just admit to what you really are.”

  I swallowed again, my throat dry and mouth feeling like it was full of cotton wool.

  “A needy little slut who wants everyone to fall in love with her.”

  My eyebrows raised. She wasn’t serious.

  “I saw Chace when he left here yesterday. At first, I was happy, thinking that he’d come for me. To get back with me. The bounce in his step, the satisfied smile on his face. And I knew it wasn’t because of me. Do you know how I knew?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Do you?” Christina’s fingers tightened on the scissors again.

  “No.”

  “Because a minute after he strutted away looking prouder than a peacock, I saw you come out of the room, flustered and in a rush. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

  “Christina,” I held out both hands in front myself defensively and as a way to placate her. I almost wanted to say “I come in peace,” but thought better of it. She was still clutching those scissors like a lifeline. “Nothing happened. Chace just wanted to talk.”

  Christina scoffed and threw her head back in laughter. “Chace doesn’t talk.”

  “I swear to you. That was it. But I didn’t want to talk to him, so I kicked him out.”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  Yes. “No, of course not.”

  “You came out, and you were a mess.”

  “Because he scared me. He was aggressive, pushy, wouldn’t take no for an answer. Once he left, I wanted to get as far away from this room as I could. I—”

  The door opened then, and Indie walked with a smile on her face. “Hey, B. What’s up?” She ignored Christina entirely, and her mouth fell open when she took in the mess.

  “Great, the cavalry’s here,” Christina hissed before standing, grabbing her purse, and storming out.

  “I always miss the good stuff. What was that about?” Indie crouched beside and helped me clear the mess.

  “She saw Chace leave here yesterday, and me a minute later.”

  “Well, that explains the scissors in the pillow, then.” Indie shook her head. “He’s really done a number on her, huh?”

  “Yep. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take, In.”

  Indie rubbed a hand up and down my back in comfort.

  “Come on. Let’s get this stuff out of here, and I’ll help you sort through it all,” she said.

  “Thanks. Hey, what are you doing here, anyway?”

  “You really need to ask that?” She bumped me with her elbow.

  “Ryder called you, didn’t he?”

  “Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”

  I couldn’t say I wasn’t annoyed that he called her, because I was. But I was also grateful because Indie walking in when she did might have just saved me from becoming like Christina’s pillow.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ryder

  Bailey was probably going to kill me for calling Indie, but I wasn’t willing to take the chance that Chace could show up at her dorm again. I’d learned not to underestimate him.

  Work dragged on, and I found myself watching the clock more than what I was doing. I was detail duty today, meaning I had to clean the cars that came in. It was an additional service we offered at the shop, and the customers seemed to like it. Book your car in for repairs, receive a free detail too. Business was booming.

  I had just finished shining the tyres of a truck that would have been better served in a junkyard than here getting get a platinum package detail when Tony called me over.

  “Got another for you,” he said handing me a set of keys with a shiny silver BMW keyring attached to them. Now, this was a car that deserved the platinum package. “Guy’s in the waiting room when you’re done.”

  “He’s waiting?” I asked. No one waited for their car. Most usually came back a few hours later to pick it up.

  “Yeah, arrogant little prick said he wanted to wait and watch to make sure you didn’t destroy his paint job,” Tony said, pointing toward the waiting room. My gaze lifted and followed the direction Tony was indicating.

  I growled.

  “Easy, tiger. He’s a smug little bastard, but he’s one of our best customers.”

  Not for long.


  I charged into the waiting room, gripped his shoulder, and spun him around to face me. With my fingers clutching the collar of his shirt, I pushed Chace up against the wall.

  “It’s good to see you too, buddy.” He smiled lazily.

  I leaned in close. “You stay the hell away from Bailey, understand?”

  “Or what? What are you going to do about it, Jones?”

  “How many times do you think your nose can break before you can no longer smell anything?” I slammed him against the wall again.

  Chace scoffed and puffed out his chest. “This isn’t high school anymore. You won’t do anything.”

  “Give me one reason, and I’ll show you exactly what I’ll do.”

  It was petty and a low blow, but I lifted my knee and rammed it into his nuts. Chace hissed out a breath and hunched over just as Tony came rushing in and pulled me away.

  “Jesus Christ, kid. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  I held up my hands in defence and backed away slowly. “Nothing. Just a friendly little chat between old friends.”

  Chace coughed and groaned, still curled into himself.

  “One reason, Chace, and your balls will be the last thing you have to worry about.” I threw his keys at him. “Wash your own damn car,” I said and walked into Tony’s office where I knew he’d tear me a new one.

  “What the hell was that?” He stormed in after me and slammed the door. “You can’t go around kneeing customers in the groin. He could sue us.”

  “Customer.” I corrected him as he paced the floor.

  “What?” Tony stopped and stared at me.

  “I kneed one customer, not customers. I’m not savage. I don’t just beat the hell out of people for the fun of it.”

  “The what was that?”

  “He deserved it.”

  Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Sucking in a deep breath, he looked at me again. “Why?”

  “It’s personal.”

  “You gotta give me more than that, or…” He trailed off and shrugged. His meaning was clear. I had to give him more or he’d fire me.

  “Don’t fire me. I swear it won’t happen again. As long as he stays away from me and Bailey, we’re good.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me? This is about a girl?” he shouted and paced the room again.

  “She’s not a girl.”

  “Bailey’s a dude?” Tony stopped and gave me a quizzical look.

  I groaned. “No. Bailey’s a chick. My girlfriend. She’s not just any girl. Okay? She’s important. She’s everything. And he’s been screwing with her for years. He can’t help himself.”

  “Okay, okay. I get it. Protect your own and all that shit. But this is your first and only warning. If something like that,” he swung his arm out in Chace’s direction, “happens again, your ass is fired. Understood?”

  “Understood.” I nodded.

  “Good. Now, get the hell back out there and do your damn job.” He tossed me Chace’s keys and turned his back on me, muttering curse words under his breath.

  “You really want me to look after his car? I mean, there’s week-old Chinese food in the break room that could magically find its way into his seat cushions.”

  “Dammit, Ryder. You’re this close,” he hissed.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I turned and walked out, chuckling to myself and wondering what I could do to Chace’s car that wouldn’t get me arrested for attempted murder. Obviously, cutting the brake lines was out.

  I could give him an oil changed but forget to put clean oil back in. Sand in the fuel tank. Drain the coolant so his car overheated. Hammer a nail into all four of his tyres. The options were endless.

  But was it worth risking my job over? Probably not. Not when Bailey needed to get off campus and as far away from Chace and Christina as possible.

  I’d play by Tony’s rules for now and leave Chace’s car alone. But if he stepped out of line one more time, all bets were off.

  ***

  I’d returned to my room after I finished work to find Bailey and Indie sitting on my bed with a pile of papers scattered around them.

  “Making yourselves at home?” I asked, pinching my bottom lip between my fingers as I watched them flicking through sheet after sheet.

  Bailey jumped off the bed and rushed over to me, pressing her lips to mine before apologising.

  “Don’t apologise. What’s going on?” I nodded to the chaos on my bed.

  “You mean you haven’t heard?” Indie raised her eyebrows in mock surprise.

  “Would I be asking if I had?”

  “Well, it seems our Bailey, here, is having an affair with Chace.”

  I rolled my eyes and flicked my hand at the bed. “Let me guess. This is Christina’s form of revenge.”

  “Bingo.”

  “What happened?” I placed my hands on Bailey’s arm and bent my knees, lowering myself to her level so I could look in her eyes since she refused to look up at me.

  “Christina happened.”

  “Oh, tell him about the scissors!” Indie exclaimed.

  “Scissors?”

  “She shredded my bed linen, and when I walked into the room, she was twirling scissors in her hands like a maniac. And I guess I said the wrong thing because she stabbed them into her pillow.”

  “Like a freaking psycho,” Indie added for emphasis.

  “You okay?” I asked, trying to keep my cool. I’d already wrecked Chace once today.

  “Yeah, just annoyed that I have to sort through all this again.”

  “How about I go get some dinner and come back and help you?”

  Bailey smiled up at me and nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Great, I’m starving,” Indie said.

  “Who said I was feeding you?” I pressed a kiss to Bailey’s forehead and walked toward the door.

  “You better bring me food, Jones, or there will be hell to pay when you get back.”

  I laughed. “What are you going to do, Indie?”

  “I’m getting hangry. There’s no telling what kind of crazy I’ll rain down on your ass.”

  “Oh, whose ass are we raining down on?” Jack appeared out of nowhere at the door.

  “Ryder’s.” Indie grinned.

  Jack opened his mouth to speak, but I covered it with my hand. “Not a word about my ass, okay?”

  His eyes widened, but there must have been something in the way I spoke or my eyes that told him I was serious, because the moment I dropped my hand, he stepped away and said, “Look at this mess. When I gave you my key, I didn’t think you intended to sacrifice a tree in my room.”

  “Shut up and help. Ryder’s going to feed us,” Bailey said before adding, “all.”

  I tapped my hand on the doorframe. “I’ll be back.”

  And left.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Bailey

  Job hunting sucked.

  Was there anything more tedious than scrolling through the classifieds looking for someone to take a chance on a poor uni student with little to no experience?

  I didn’t really think reshelving books at the Romanovs bookstore really counted as hands-on experience. Wasn’t like I made a lot of sales or interacted with many people. Mostly just Indie and Ryder. And, well, those interactions with Ryder were definitely hands-on, just not the type a prospective employer would be looking for.

  I was pouring over the pages of the newspaper, scrolling the online ads, looking for anything I thought I could remotely do. Ryder and I had been talking about getting our own place for weeks now. But we were getting nowhere.

  Ryder was determined to get us out of here as quickly as possible, particularly after the Christina incident with the scissors. He’d lost it.

  Rent was high.

  Jobs were scarce.

  The money I had saved before coming here was enough for me to get by when I lived on campus and took advantage of their cafeteria. But if we moved off campus, dining privile
ges would be lost, and that meant not only would we have to pay for rent, but we’d have to buy our own food, pay our own bills. And that added up fast. My money wouldn’t last long.

  Ryder had taken extra shifts at the shop, after hours, helping with their bookkeeping, and that was great, but between classes and working, we hardly saw each other, and he wasn’t able to focus on his studies as much as before. I didn’t want him falling behind just so I had a place to live that didn’t require me to wear full body armour every time I walked through the door.

  I was beginning to think we may need roommates to share the expenses with when we finally found a place. It was going to be the only way we could afford it and still go to school.

  My phone buzzed on the table in front of me. Picking it up, I glanced around the library and gave everyone who was glaring at me an apologetic smile.

  I could have had the ringtone turned on, but I didn’t, so it wasn’t that loud.

  Assuming it was Ryder, I pulled open the text messages, only to drop the phone on the table with a loud clatter.

  “Shhh,” someone hissed.

  “Sorry,” I whispered.

  I reached out tentatively and picked up the phone.

  Douche face: Can we talk

  I laughed at Ryder’s name for him and shot a quick text back. I probably should have ignored, it considering Ryder’s response to Chace being in my room a few weeks ago, but I didn’t want him to continue harassing me.

  Bailey: No.

  Douche face: Pls

  Bailey: Leave me alone, Chace. There is nothing to talk about.

  Obviously, a simple no was too hard for him to understand.

  I dropped my phone into my bag and returned to my task of hunting for a job. I shouldn’t even be doing that. I needed to study. I should be studying, but I really needed to find a job and get the hell away from this campus.

  “You can’t ignore me forever, B,” Chace’s voice sounded from behind me.

  I froze. My breath caught in my throat, and my stomach dropped.