by J Bree
I grab a spoon and share a look with Avery. She’s got her phone out and she’s got someone on the line but Annabelle can’t see it from where she’s standing. “What my family does is very much my business and I’m not having an illegitimate child born to some gold digging, teenage girl who wants to spread her legs and spend someone else’s money.”
Annabelle sighs and rubs her arms. She doesn’t look like the pretty, confident girl I’d first seen with Blaise. She’s tired, angry, and desperate.
“Whatever. Let me have Blaise. His parents like me because I don’t encourage his stupid music and he’s not your family. Get the Mounty bitch to stop tutoring him and I’ll leave Harley and Ash alone.”
Avery tuts at her. “I thought you loved Harley? Didn’t you tell him that?”
“I do but my family are going under, as you well know, and I don’t want to end up on the streets. If he had access to his inheritance then I’d be fighting for him. I can’t wait around while he figures out how to get the money back.”
I shove a huge spoonful of ice cream into my mouth so I don’t cuss the bitch out. There are a thousand good reasons to pick a guy. I can think of plenty of reasons why I would pick Blaise, Harley, or Ash, even while they hated me. But picking one over the other because of money is disgusting. Saying Harley isn’t a worthy choice makes me sick.
Avery sets down her soup and glides past Annabelle to open the door for her, a clear dismissal. When Annabelle doesn’t move Avery gives her a predatory smile.
“I don’t make promises to anyone but my family. Get out of my room and just remember who you’re speaking to.”
When the door is locked behind Annabelle and Avery is back sitting with her soup I arch an eyebrow at her.
“Ash, Harley and Blaise are all my family. You’re my family. That’s it. I’ll be damned if that bitch touches any of them again.”
Chapter Seven
I spend all day on Saturday trying to get in front with my classwork. Avery spends the day with Ash and Harley in Haven and she surprises me with a gorgeous pair of boots. They’re black leather, soft as a baby’s butt, with chains and studs. The top of the boot has a tiny sheath that I can keep my knife in. I’m speechless and amazed. She laughs at me and brushes off my thanks. I refuse to look up how much they cost and I tell her to stop spending money on me which only makes her laugh.
We eat the sushi she’s brought home and then I get back to work while she jumps into the shower to start her nighttime routine. She takes forever.
The knock at the door startles me out of my studying. I sigh, frustrated at the distraction, and fling open the door to find Blaise propped up on the doorframe with a lazy smirk. I grit my teeth and attempt a smile.
“Avery is in the shower. You're welcome to hang out on the couch until she's out.”
The smirk grows wider and way too cocky for my liking. “I'm here for you, Mounty.”
I let my eyes take him in, every detail from head to toe. He’s wearing a pair of dark gray, fitted jeans with a band tee. I know the band, Malice Unfolding, but I’m surprised he does too. His smirk grows wider but then I give him one back and say, “No thanks.”
He is so shocked at my dismissal that he barely manages to stop me from shutting the door in his face. “Mounty, for fucks sake. Hear me out. Please.” Urgh. It's the please that gets me. I’m also curious to see if this is about Annabelle’s appearance here the night before.
I let him push the door open again and give him an expectant look.
“Right.” Blaise stops and clears his throat. I already know I’m going to hate whatever comes out of his mouth next. It’s either going to be insulting or endearing and I don’t want to deal with either of those things. “I’ve made another deal with my dad. If I graduate senior year with a 3.0 GPA or higher he’s going to let me take a gap year without pitching a fit. I want to fit in a world tour and a new album. I also want to use that time to convince my parents that college isn’t for me.”
I sigh and motion him into the room. Avery is still in the shower and the coffee machine starts beeping to say the sweet, sweet nectar of the gods is ready to be consumed in bucket-like quantities to get me through an all-nighter. I head towards the machine. “You didn’t need to come here, I already tutor you. We can go through all of your syllabi and get a plan together on how we’re going to make it work.”
I pour myself a cup and then, after hesitating for a second, I pour one for Blaise too. I know exactly how he takes his coffee but there’s no torture method on the planet that would get me to admit that so I slide the sugar and creamer to him.
“Lance is taking up too much of your time. Ash would back off and let you work with me in peace but the little Mounty fuck wouldn’t.”
I cut him a look. Fuck knows why I’m defending Lance, probably the venom in Blaise’s voice as he spits out Mounty. I’m waiting for him to say something about the pickup at the docks and the dirty money I had with me.
He grimaces under my stare and then speaks carefully, “I don’t want Lance to know how much trouble I have with my classes. He’s an arrogant asshole and I’d rather not have to beat the shit out of him if he runs his mouth. If Avery finds out it’ll be the next Mounty hunt.”
Is Blaise fucking Morrison, lead singer and guitarist of Vanth Falling, rock god and literal idol of my heart, embarrassed? Fuck me, that’s worse than an insult or sweetness. I’m doomed to pander to his every fucking whim.
I scrub a hand over my face and try to look stern, to hide just how whipped I am for this guy who still thinks I’m trash.
Look, I’m not saying I’m going to fall at his feet. I have self respect and I’m perfectly aware of just how much he loathes me.
But the fleeting pink tinge to his cheeks and the way he’s chewing on his lip is enough to make me jump through some academic hoops with him. Sue me. Plus, he’s not actually dumb. He’s really smart but he doesn’t process information the same way as the other students do so the teachers just assume he’s slacking off. Now I’ve figured him out, I’ve cut his study time in half which is why he insists on it being me that helps him. Fuck.
I hold up three fingers and watch as his eyes light up, goddammit. “Three rules.”
He nods. “One: you’ll come to every study session on time and with the agreed work done before. If I’m going to put in the time and effort you will too. I don’t care if it’s wrong and we have to redo it, you have to give everything a go.”
“Agreed. Next?”
“Rule two: you’ll show me respect while we study. We can do it here, Avery has ballet and dance most nights so we can pick a few nights a week and we’ll be left to it but I’m not having you get pissy and tearing into me for no reason. Save that for the dining hall or parties or some shit.”
He has the decency to look sheepish, but not quite enough to apologize. “Yep. Next?”
“Rule three is simple: don’t tell Ash.”
This gets me a frown and a stern eye. “Why? He wouldn’t give a shit.”
I scoff at him and move to rinse out my now empty cup. “He lost his mind over you sleeping here after the party. He cornered me and told me to stay the fuck away from you and Harley. He’s practically pissed on your leg to assert his ownership of you.”
Blaise’s frown deepens and he chews on those damn lips of his again. “Alright. But I’m going to have a chat to him about you.” I’m shaking my head before he even finishes the sentence.
“I don’t need your help. He’ll figure it out on his own.”
I sound way more confident than I am but, hey, I’m faking it until I make it.
Harley laughs at me when I hand him my completed half of our history assignment. I glare back at him but it only makes him laugh harder.
When he finally settles down he hands me his completed half and I groan at him. “Can you just tell me which half you’re doing for the rest of them? I have a lot more on my plate this year helping Avery and tutoring.”
Harle
y just grins and shakes his head. He is absolutely breathtaking. Literally, I can’t breathe if I look at him for longer than a second. But I’m seriously tempted to scratch his eyes out right then.
He reads this on my face and his grin grows wider. Asshole. “I forgot to tell you. I’ve dealt with our Rory issue. Take him off Ave’s planner.”
I straighten, surprised. “What did you do?”
Avery and I had been torn on the best way to get rid of him. I wanted something permanent, like death or severe mutilation. I daydream sometimes about carving the word rapist into his face so every woman he encounters from then onwards would know the type of guy he really is. Avery enjoys public humiliation better. She’s been digging around in his emails, texts, social media, anything she can to find something to destroy him with. Nothing so far.
Harley waves the teacher over to hand him our completed assignment. He’s damn near preening as the entire class glares at us both. “Have you ever been to a football game at Hannaford? The hotdogs are pretty good.”
My eyes narrow. “Not yet. Is there one coming up? I do like hotdogs.”
I love the smug look on his face, it’s laced with a dark, malicious glee that I know all too well. “Friday night. Everyone leaves for the fall break when it finishes. Bring Ave’s and we’ll make a night of it.”
I nod and smile back at him, happy and relieved it’s been taken care of. Harley’s grin slips a little and he glances away from me. I try really hard to not be offended that he doesn’t like the look of my smiling face. I know I’m not ugly. I’m still on the scrawny side but the food at Hannaford and Avery’s constant supply of coffee and ice cream means I’m filling in and I have some cleavage. Not a lot but enough to no longer look like a twelve year old boy. My ass is also nicely rounded, which was a bit of a surprise to me. I’ve honestly never eaten enough to have any sort of an ass and my mom had always been the sort of skinny only drug addicts can be. Avery tells me it’s a good look in my booty shorts that I love so much so I know I’m not hideous.
I focus on my classwork, and not my wounded ego, and he doesn’t try to speak to me again. When the class finishes I head straight to the library for my tutoring sessions so I can take a minute to pick my brain up off the floor and remember why I don’t ever get involved with guys.
Why am I not a lesbian?
By the time Ash arrives I’m mostly settled. He gives me a curt nod and hands over a pile of assignments for me to look through. Lance arrives as I hand it all back. He smiles at me like I’m his long lost lover and I’m pissed off that I’ll have to try and manage this crush he seems to have. The whispers from the other students don’t seem to be affecting him at all. The fight with Blaise hasn’t even been enough to get him to drop out of my tutoring sessions. He’s got a much thicker skin than I expected and that only pisses me off more.
Half an hour in, it becomes clear Blaise isn’t coming to the session. I know the reason why but the frown on Ash’s face tells me Blaise didn’t warn him he’d dropped out.
“Scared the crappy singer off?” Lance laughs and I don’t even try to pretend to find it funny. He keeps looking at me through his eyelashes and I’m cringing away from him.
“You’ll need to come up with better insults than that. The guy sings like a fucking audible orgasm.”
That throws him off. Lance blanches and gapes at me. “Audible…orgasm?”
Ash squints at me like he’s waiting for the insult to come out and I ignore him. “Yep. I’ve been listening to his music for years and I love every fucking second of it so pick something else to insult him about. Like his shitty attitude or his man-whoring ways.”
Ash snorts and then slaps a hand over his mouth like he’s just been caught cavorting with the enemy. I roll my eyes at him and get back to work. Lance sulks pathetically. I swear the guys at this school are all moody, temperamental shits.
When the hour is up Lance leaves with barely a goodbye. I pack up my stuff but Ash just stares at me. I wait him out.
“No longer embarrassed about your obsession?” Ash sneers at me, but it really looks like he’s forcing it. Like he doesn’t want me to know he is interested in the answer but I’m now a fucking expert in Beaumont Bullshitting. I see right through him.
“Nope. Avery is obsessed with Ed Sheeran and she’s choreographed her entire ballet performance piece this year to one of his songs. Does that mean she wants to fuck the ginger? No. Last year I got flustered around Blaise because I was completely unaware that he went here and I’d be facing someone I’d spent years listening to. I admire his vocal talent. Does not mean I want to fuck him or stalk him or… any of the other things you’ve accused me of. So, get over it.”
Ash folds his arms and leans back in his seat. “Hypothetically, if Morrison wanted to fuck you-“
I cut him off. “I’m not fucking any guy from Hannaford, hypothetically or otherwise. No one. Not a single one. No one will win the damn bet.”
I mean every word.
He doesn’t have to know it’s not exactly by choice.
I get back to the dorms and pass Avery in the hall. She’s dressed for her contemporary dance class and her bag is slung over her shoulder. She quirks an eyebrow at me and pulls me into a hug. I startle but then she whispers, “There’s a rockstar waiting in our rooms for his tutor.”
Crap. I’d forgotten to tell Avery.
I pull back and scrunch my nose up at her. She just laughs and heads to dance class with a wave. I have eight steps left to get myself together and then I’m opening the door to find Blaise sprawled out on the floor with pizza boxes. Where the hell he found the pizza is beyond me but the smell is practically orgasmic to my empty stomach.
“You’re late, Mounty.” He teases and I lock the door behind me. I roll my eyes at him because I’m three minutes late and he’s being an ass about it even though he’s never made it on time before.
“Just let me get changed and then we can start.”
He nods and shoves another slice into his mouth. I flick the coffee machine on as I head into the bathroom and quickly pull on some yoga pants and a sweater. I look like a toddler wearing her dad’s clothes but it also feels a little like armor. I know I look like crap so it’s totally ok if Blaise thinks I do too. I wonder if I could convince the teachers to let me wear it to class as well?
I sit down and hand Blaise a cup. He pushes a box closer to me and when I open it I find a chicken, bacon, and mushroom pizza. My favorite. My eyes narrow at him.
“Did you ask Avery to get us dinner?” I ask as I gulp down some coffee. I’m exhausted and by the looks of the piles of assignments Blaise isn’t planning on having a slack evening.
“Nah, I drove into Haven to get it. She told me what you’d eat though. You didn’t tell her I was studying here?” he scratches his chest and I can’t help but admire the tattoos peeking out from the collar of his henley shirt.
“I forgot. I’m busier this year and there’s more to do now that I’m keeping Avery safe.”
Blaise stares at me for a second then he chews his bottom lip. “Is she safe?”
Fuck I hope so. “As safe as I can get her. Look, I’ve had a rough day. I appreciate you grabbing us dinner, I wouldn’t have eaten otherwise. Can we get into this so I can try to get a few hours of sleep?”
He nods and we fall into a quiet studying session, the hour passing quickly. Avery texts to say Ash is walking her back from dance and I start to pack Blaise up to avoid a fight.
When we both stand Blaise holds out an iPod. It’s an old one, nothing special, and it’s scuffed and scratched. I take it hesitantly.
“What's this?”
“A playlist. If we're going to be friends then I'm taking advantage of your good taste in music. Give it a listen and let me know what you like. I’ll grab it next week so wipe it and make me a list.”
My heart flutters and I silently tell it to calm the fuck down. He wants to swap music with me? That’s an irresistible move and I’m sure he kn
ows it too. What the hell is he playing at?
“How do you know I have good taste?”
Blaise grins at me and then sucks on his bottom lip, rolling it between his teeth. I force myself not to watch the action because I may drool.
“Well, you like Vanth. I'm assuming your taste must be decent.”
Then he leaves. I stare at the cushions he was sitting on, stunned, and then with a smile I put the headphones on and listen to the little piece of his soul he’s gifted me.
Chapter Eight
I wake up on Friday filled with nervous, excitable energy.
Avery laughs at me as I jitter my way around the kitchen and bathroom and she tries to cut off my caffeine supply. A solid deathly glare fixes that.
“We’ll meet at the library after class to sort out your biology notes. We can leave there together to go to the football game.” I say as I wash out my cup. Avery is fussing with her hair in the bathroom with the door open so she can snark at me. She’s less than ecstatic about Harley asking us to go to the football game, she hates every single thing about the sport. Only the lure of watching Rory’s downfall manages to convince her.
Harley notices my energy but doesn’t comment until our last class for the day. He gives me a little grin, evil twinkling in his stunning blue eyes, and says, “See you there, Mounty.”
I take a second to remember that oxygen is something I need and then I head off to meet Avery. She beats me there and is sitting at my tutoring desk, already working on the notes.
I sit and try not to fidget.
“What’s your truth for the day?” I say. I’d woken up determined to tell Avery who I really was and how we’re going to use that to sort Joey out. Now that Rory was off the list and Annabelle was, apparently, on limited time we had to focus on the real danger in the school. The only problem is I’m shitting myself about telling her. I’m actually happy for the first time in my life. I have a best friend, I have two other sort-of friends, and I’m hopeful Ash will come around. Avery already knows I have some involvement in the Twelve and the shady, criminal world that comes with it but knowing I am a member? Knowing what I do for money? That might be a deal breaker. I should have told her sooner.