by J Bree
My leg is shaking as we enter the school building and by the second flight of stairs Avery declares that she’s going to gift the school an elevator. Blaise is snoring and his feet are dragging along behind us as I fumble to get our door open. Avery is looking sweaty and disheveled. When I grin at her she pokes her tongue out at me.
Blaise is dropped unceremoniously onto the couch and Avery flings a thin blanket over him.
“Fucking rich kids,” I say and Avery laughs all the way to the bathroom.
Chapter Five
When I was living in the group foster home there was a girl there who had been forcibly removed from her home by child services because her stepbrother had been molesting her. She was older than me, seventeen and on her way to aging out of the system, and her stepbrother was the same age. He’d convinced her, as a fourteen year old, that they were married like their parents were and that she belonged to him. She was forced to cater to his every whim and he would get violent with her if she disobeyed him.
One night we were woken up by the sound of him trying to kick in the door. It was locked, bolted, and had a safety bar across it so it didn’t budge but we had to sit and listen to the enraged asshole kick it and shove it with his body while we waited for the police to arrive.
Three hours after we passed out from the party, I wake to the sound of a different but equally enraged asshole attempting to kick our door in.
I shoot out of bed and grip my knife. Avery slaps her hand out to turn her bedside lamp on and reaches for her phone. The biggest shock is Blaise’s reaction.
For a guy who couldn’t even stay conscious long enough to carry his own body weight back to our room he’s pretty quick to leap to our defense. He’s up and charging for the door before I realize he’s awake and Avery yells out to stop him but he ignores her completely.
He rips open the door to find Joey, raving and deadly, with his leg raised to kick out again and Blaise jumps on him, taking him to the ground. Joey’s movement becomes even more frenzied and he bucks wildly to try to flip Blaise off but the rocker is a better fighter, even drunk off his ass.
Blaise smashes his fists into Joey’s face, over and over, and I scramble to watch. If Joey brought some of his flunkies I’ll need to step in and help. I hear Avery snarl orders down her phone so backup must be on its way.
Joey’s arms finally fall down to his sides and Blaise shuffles until his legs pin them to his body. Doors have started opening down the hallway and there are girls poking their heads out to see what’s going on. I cross my arms and glare at them until the doors all shut again. No one wants to deal with Joey when he’s high and destructive. I know I don’t.
Blaise stops hitting Joey and his chest heaves, his lungs probably screaming for air.
“Mounty, I’m gonna fucking puke.” He croaks and I scramble to find him a bucket. I shove a large bowl under his chin just in time to save Joey’s face from the whiskey bile. Blaise retches into it again and I take pity on him. I find a washcloth and wet it to scrub over his sweaty face. He looks pretty pathetic by the time Ash and Harley arrive.
“What the fuck, Morrison?” snaps Harley while I’m tentatively rubbing Blaise’s back. Avery is emptying the bowl down the toilet and gagging at the vile smell.
“This is what death must feel like.” Blaise moans and I scoff at him. Oh joy. Here comes the signature Morrison dramatics.
Ash glares at us both as he grabs Blaise under the arms and pulls him off of Joey’s unconscious form. Avery appears in the doorframe, her robe tucked tight around her body, and uses a clean washcloth to wipe Blaise’s face with the efficiency of a seasoned mother. “If Blaise wasn’t here Joey would have gotten in. Lips would have had to stab the asshole.”
I mutter under my breath at her, “I fucking would’ve, too.”
Harley’s glare hasn’t eased off at all. He gives Avery a quick hug and then he grabs Joey’s legs to start dragging him down the hall. He holds them with the same enthusiasm you’d grab a pile of shit with bare hands. I watch with satisfaction as Joey’s head slams into every bump and chair leg on the way. I swear Harley is picking the most damaging path. I like his style.
“I’ll stay here with you.” Ash mumbles into Avery’s hair as he hugs her tight. Blaise is still slumped on the ground, taking deep breaths that make me think he’s gearing up for round two of emptying his gut.
“There’s no need. Go help Harls and we’ll make sure Blaise doesn’t have liver poisoning.”
Blaise moans, “I do. I definitely feel poisoned. Someone put me out of my fucking misery.”
I roll my eyes at him and help him up, stumbling and lurching back into our room. I give him a gentle push towards the couch but he stumbles towards the beds instead. I glance away quickly when he starts to strip right down to his boxers. Thank fuck he wasn’t commando. I may have died.
Our beautiful, ornate bay window is already showing signs of the sunrise, destroying any chances of me getting back to sleep. I turn the coffee machine on and start fussing with cups. I need an IV line of caffeine at this point. Today is going to suck.
“I’m too fucked for this shit,” Blaise moans and crawls into Avery’s bed. He pulls a pathetic looking face and she scoffs at him as she locks the door behind Ash. I pour out our drinks while Avery scrubs the bowl and her hands until I’m afraid she’s going to scour away her skin to the bone.
I hand her a cup and then we both sit on the couches, listening to Blaise snore as he sleeps away his hangover. My mind wanders for a minute while I process the night we’ve had.
“What did you mean about him waking up an expectant father?”
Avery’s eyes narrow, flashing dangerously, and she blows into her coffee while she seethes. “Last year she told Blaise and Ash that she was on the pill and that they didn’t have to use condoms anymore. Didn’t say it to Harley though. That makes it pretty obvious she’s lying and wants a rich baby daddy.”
I grimace. That’s something I’ve heard heaps of Mounty girls do to get out of care homes and away from abusive families. “They didn’t, did they?”
“Lord no! Those three don’t trust any girls they’ve ever fucked. Besides, they all talk to each other and when they figured out she’d left Harley out they knew what she was after. So obvious considering he was her favorite. If she wanted to have more intimate sex she would want it with him more than the other two.”
Right. So his declaration of stopping their…arrangement last year had nothing to do with me. My stomach sinks and I get angry at myself over it. I clear my throat and try to pull myself out of the little pity party that’s threatening to start in my head. “Was Harley into her as well?”
Avery laughs and shakes her head. “Annabelle was easy. She was so eager to have the guys’ attention that she didn’t care that they weren’t after a relationship. If they wanted to chase someone they’d go out, if they just wanted to fuck they’d go see her.”
I screw my nose up at her and drink my coffee. I shouldn’t be enjoying hearing this but, fuck me, I am. Annabelle was always so smug about being with them and I know most of the girls assumed they were offering her some sort of commitment.
The bitch wouldn’t want to call me a stalker again.
I make it through my morning classes but only because I’m used to withstanding and overcoming pure, unadulterated torture.
Avery looks polished and perfect, and I look like someone backed over my dead body with a semi and then resuscitated me to force me to class. I tell her that at lunch and she smirks into her grilled salmon like a bitch. She’s lucky I’ve decided to love her.
Ash joins us and sneers at me the entire time. I ignore his shitty attitude, which only makes it worse. Avery tells him about her classes, her plans for Lance, the pose she’s perfecting in her ballet class, and he treats her like she’s the center of his universe. It’s sweet. She gives me an apologetic look and I brush her off. I know how much she hates the distance he’s put between them because of me.
I drop Avery off to her literature class on the way to my own. I turn into the hall and find myself shoved into an empty storage room. I’m about to start swinging when Ash snaps, “Calm down, I just want a word with you.”
For fuck’s sake.
I turn on my heel to glare at him. “We just ate together, you didn’t have to hurt me to speak to me.”
He darts his gaze down to where I’m rubbing at my shoulder and he winces, slightly. “I didn’t think I’d pushed that hard.”
He hadn’t. It was an old injury. I’m a walking mess of scar tissue, crookedly healed bones, and nerve damage. I just do my best not to let anyone know that. “Whatever. What did you want to speak to me about?”
He straightens, his shoulders rolling back which made his chest double in width, and the look in his eye is the same one he’s given me every day when he sees me with Avery. He loathes me and he’ll cut me out of her life the second I prove my disloyalty.
“Stay the fuck away from Blaise and Harley. I don’t need you poisoning them with the same shit you’ve fed Avery. You’re a Mounty slut with an agenda and I’m not falling for your little act.”
Wow. I don’t know why I’m so shocked but my mind is stuck on the words Mounty slut. “I’m not trying anything with them. I’m actually actively avoiding them both. And don’t you ever call me a slut again, I think the ongoing bet proves I’m not.”
He scoffs at me and crosses his arms. “That’s why you sit with Harley in every class? And Blaise was in your room last night? You really are working overtime to get them. Just because you’re picky about the dick you want doesn’t make you any better than any other Mounty.”
I squint up at him and wonder if he’s had some sort of break from reality. Maybe Joey’s hit him too hard too many times and his brain has finally decided to tap out.
“Seating in all of our classes is assigned. He’s Arbour, I’m Anderson, we can’t change that unless he decides to go back to being an O’Cronin and I think we both know that isn’t happening. As for Blaise, I helped your sister carry him back last night. Then I helped him out while he spewed. Should I have handed him over to Annabelle instead? Are you okay with your friends being raped while they sleep by gold digging tramps? Or is it okay for her to fuck you all, even if you’re not conscious and consenting, because her family has money?”
Ash’s eyes have become scathing but he doesn’t answer me. I wait a minute before I scoff at him and storm out of the storage room right as Harley strides past. He frowns at me and then when Ash steps out after me he scowls. He opens his mouth to snarl at me and I cut him off. “You need to keep him the fuck away from me until he decides to get his head out of his ass.”
Ash scoffs, marching down the hall away from us both, and calls out over his shoulder, “Stay the fuck away from my friends, Mounty.”
I seethe during the rest of my classes. Harley doesn’t speak to me and he only looks at me when he thinks I won’t notice. My skin itches and crawls with irritation and I’m going to have to throat punch someone to calm the fuck down.
Mounty slut.
How fucking dare that womanizing, man-whore call me that.
I’m a fucking virgin! I’ve only kissed two guys and only one of them by choice. Fuck him!
When classes end Harley follows me to the stairs that lead to the dorms, completely silent like he knows I’m one word away from homicide. Avery is waiting at the bottom with Ash and when he sees me with Harley he turns on me.
“What the fuck do you not understand about staying away from him?”
I step up to poke his chest with my finger. “I don’t answer to you, asshole. You ever speak to me like this again and I’ll bury you.”
Avery puts a gentle hand on Ash’s chest as Harley tugs me back by the arm. I wrench my arm out of his grip and glare at him. He ignores me.
“Ash, you need to calm down and think about this.” Avery murmurs and when he looks at her he’s gutted, betrayed.
“She just said she’d bury me and you’re taking her side? Nice, Floss. Proves my point.”
Avery flings her arms around his neck and hugs him. “She wouldn’t actually do anything to hurt you. She saved me last year. If she hadn’t helped me Rory would’ve raped and beaten me. He might’ve killed me, Ash. Please just trust me and trust that I know what I’m doing being her friend.”
His arms slowly rise to hold her and I look away from them both to Harley. He’s watching them with something close to envy but it’s not a bad emotion. Like he loves them both so much and wishes he was their twin, too. When he looks down at me he whispers, “We need a plan for Rory. I’m done sharing the halls with him.”
“Agreed.”
Avery wipes at her dry eyes like she’s worried the other students might see some sort of emotion from her and then we leave the guys there.
When we get back to our room we find Annabelle outside the door screaming at a very tired looking Blaise who is propped up on the doorframe, eyes bloodshot and bleary. When she finally stops to take a breath he snaps at her, vitriol and fire in his tone.
“Can you just fuck off? You had everything you wanted and then you fucked it all up. That’s it.”
A sob bursts out of her. “Please, Blaise! It’s not what you think!”
“What else would it be?” He shouts back. The hallway is teeming with girls and there’s more than a few phones recording. I wait for Avery to start collecting them and get onto damage control but she’s smiling her evil little smile instead.
“I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought that’s what you guys would want. I was going to talk to Harley about it as well! You only think that I was being dishonest because of Avery, she’s become so jealous since she’s become friends with the Mounty. The stalker has turned you all against me!”
Fucking lying bitch. Avery arches an eyebrow at me and we both push past the lover’s quarrel to get into our own room. I think about shoving Blaise through the door and slamming it on him but then he answers Annabelle.
“The Mounty you hate so much has never betrayed my trust like that. She’s kept promises when she should have told me to fuck off because I was an absolute dick to her. I even offered to pay her for tutoring me last year and she told me to shove my money up my ass. So, who’s the manipulative slut here? If you want a baby daddy to fund the life you want, go find one dumb enough to believe your lies.”
Okay, I’ve reached my threshold of being called a slut today. I’ve hit the limit and I’m going to start stabbing people. Avery’s super senses must pick up on this and she joins Blaise to get Annabelle to leave. I lock myself in the bathroom to try and scrub the anger out of my skin.
By the time I get out, Avery is packing her ballet bag and Blaise is grumbling as he prepares to walk her down to her class.
“Better?” she says and I plaster a fake smile on.
“I won’t ever bury your brother but if he calls me a slut ever again I will castrate him. Like I said, it’s in my skill set and I can actually do it. If you ever want to be an aunty someday you should probably warn him.”
Avery bursts out laughing while Blaise looks at me with horror, one hand subconsciously covering his groin. I’m so proud of myself as I wink at him and when my phone pings in my pocket I don’t even think as I grab it.
Have you forgotten about me, little Starbright?
My blood turns to ice. It’s a good way of stopping my attraction from becoming obvious. Avery watches my face carefully and when I slump onto my bed to figure out how the fuck to answer Matteo without causing more trouble she ushers Blaise out of the room.
Never. I could never forget you.
Chapter Six
I’m woken by a quiet knock at the door.
I glance at my phone and see it’s two in the morning. Not happy. Avery is still asleep, breathing slow and even, and it takes me a second to realize what has woken me up. As I slide out of my bed, the knock repeats, louder and more insistent. I check the peephole to find
Ash standing there. I glance back to Avery but she still hasn’t woken up. It’s been two weeks since our confrontation and I’ve managed to avoid him completely. I don’t want to see him now.
With a sigh, I open the door.
It’s only after it’s open that I realize I’ve never seen so much as a bare ankle on Ash before. He’s always wearing a full uniform, pressed to perfection and spotless, which only leaves his hands and above his neck uncovered.
And now he’s standing in front of me in boxers and a loose tank top, the armholes so big I can see his nipples peeking out.
Sweet lord. Jesus have mercy.
Fuck me, my soul has left my body.
They’re some damn good nipples.
“Yes?” I manage to squeak out. I force my gaze to stay firmly above his shoulders, which isn’t much better on my poor libido. His hair is rumpled and adorable, he’d give Blaise’s sex hair a run for its money. He raises an eyebrow at me, his cold eyes. The look calms the chaos of my hormones a bit. I remember that he’s an utter dick and I glare back at him.
“I’m not here for you,” he snaps and pushes past me. I let him go and then swing the door shut behind him. After I’ve gotten all of the extra bolts in place I head back to my own bed. Ash climbs onto Avery’s bed and wakes her. She looks cranky for a second and then she softens. Ash glares over his shoulder at me until I get the point and slip my headphones on. I roll away from them so he can talk to her in peace.
I pray I don’t snore and then I slip back to sleep.
When my alarm wakes me again at six, I find Ash asleep on one of the couches. My breath catches in my throat looking at him with his head pillowed on his bicep. There’s a blanket tangled up in his legs and he’s frowning even in his sleep. Avery is sitting up in her bed and tapping away on her phone. She glances up at me and grimaces.