by Ruby Vincent
“Truth or dare?”
“Tru—”
“Don’t think about lying.” The sound of that sickly honeyed voice made me swing my head to Ryder. “The penalty for that is even worse.”
I looked him right in the eye as I said, “Truth.”
“How did you convince the headmaster to let you transfer in late?”
I blinked. That I wasn’t expecting, but I guess it’s the question hanging over everyone’s mind. What made the new girl so special?
“I wasn’t late,” I said honestly, finally revealing the info I hadn’t shared with even Sofia. “I applied on time and was accepted.”
A wrinkle appeared between her brow. “Then why did you start late?”
I kept my tone even. “It’s only one question per truth, right?”
Isabella nudged Natalie who shot me a smile. “Truth or dare, Val?” Natalie asked.
“Truth.”
“Why did you start school late?”
My nails dug deeper into my palm. The room was completely silent as they waited for my answer. “Family stuff.”
“Uh-uh.” She waved a finger at me. I could see she was enjoying this. “Specifics or drink up.”
My stomach heaved at the thought. I pushed the bottle further away. “I... have a baby brother,” I forced out. “My mom needed help looking after him while she searched for a better job. The headmaster was understanding.”
She cocked her head. “Hmm, how unlike him.”
I didn’t reply.
The game kept going, and when the next question, and the next, and the next was directed at me, I got the real point of the game loud and clear.
A girl sitting next to Airi was up next. “New girl, truth or dare?”
“Truth.” There was no way I was saying dare.
“How many?”
“How many what?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know. How many people have you slept with?”
I clenched my teeth. “Zero.”
“What?” She frowned at me. “Hey, you can’t lie.”
“I’m not lying. I’ve never had sex.”
I heard a few murmurs of disbelief. People shared looks with each other as though the idea of me being a virgin was so out there.
Airi grinned at me. “Valentina, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“What other sexual flavors have you indulged in?” She licked her lips. “Blowjobs? Handjobs? Anal? Sexting? Name ’em, my sweet-smelling friend.”
This girl’s flavor was nutty. I’d like that if she wasn’t joining in on this interrogation.
I smiled back. “None. None. None. And... oh yeah, none. Sorry, guys, but my sex life is nonexistent. Might want to pick a new line of questioning.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that because they happily took up the challenge. Except for Paisley, Ciara, and Sofia, everyone chose me and threw me the craziest and most personal questions they could think of. I got everything from when I got my first period, to my taste in porn, and one guy even asked me if I’ve ever killed a man. By the time they got to Jaxson, I was sick of having that bottle sitting in front of me.
Jaxson took one look at me and snorted. “Don’t look so scared, baby. I ain’t here for this truth shit and it’s getting real boring. Yo, listen up. Lay off my girl Val and play the game for real. If I don’t start seeing some skin, the Knights are out.”
He expressed it in typical Jaxson fashion, but at that moment, I could have kissed him. Maybe he wasn’t such an ass after all.
“Speaking of which.” Jaxson turned on Claire. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Claire answered without hesitation.
“Strip. I’m talking full nude.”
I was wrong about the ass thing.
“Gladly.”
Shouts and cheers went up as Claire got to her feet. It wasn’t until she ripped her bra off that I averted my eyes. When the cheers got deafening, I figured the panties were gone too.
A sudden chorus of groans made me pick my eyes off the floor. Claire winked as she buttoned up her pants. “Sorry, but you didn’t say I had to stay naked for the whole game. I told you it’s all about the specificity.”
“I’ll remember that for next time,” Jaxson replied.
I’d have shaken my head at him, but I wasn’t worried about Jaxson Van Zandt anymore. Now, it was Ryder’s turn. I knew it was coming no matter what Jaxson said.
“Moon.”
“Truth.” The word was out of my mouth before Ryder finished saying my name. I waited tensely. Ryder wasn’t like the rest. He knew me. He knew my family. He knew all the awful things he had done to make me cry and beg him to stop. He knew the questions to ask.
“Val, is it true...”
My body was tighter than a bowstring.
“...that you like to sneak around and watch people fuck?”
I jerked like he’d slapped me. “What?! No!”
His smile was wicked. “Liar.”
“I’m not lying!” I cried, cheeks flaming. “What is wrong with you?!”
“With me? I wasn’t the one peeping on you in the stairwell.” He pointed at the bottle. “Now, drink.”
“I’m not drinking, Ryder. I wasn’t peeping on anyone!”
The circle was watching our exchange in rapt fascination, their eyes ping-ponging between us.
“No? Then how long did you stand there looking, listening, wishing it was you?” He scoffed. “It’s kind of sad really. You’re not getting it from anyone else so you get off watching other people.” He spat the final word like he believed it with every fiber of his being. “Pathetic.”
I lurched to my feet.
“Alright! This has been fun!” Sofia grabbed me around the waist, holding me back. “But we’ve got homework. See you around.”
She practically dragged me to the door.
Ryder followed our retreat. His eyes were dark, fathomless pools. “Don’t think this gets you out of your penalty. I’ll be coming to collect.”
I freed an arm and flipped him off. “Why don’t you collect this, you piece of—!”
Sofia yanked open the door and tossed me out, slamming it shut on my rant. “Are you insane?!” she shrieked. “You can’t talk to him like that! Do you have any idea what he can do to you?!”
I barely heard her.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Collapsing against the wall, I clutched my chest as that familiar ache flared inside of me. Scraping, tearing, ripping apart my soul in an anger that was all-consuming. It was going to swallow me again. It was—
“Val, it’s okay.” A gentle voice broke through my mist. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.” Arms encircled me and brought me to my feet. “Come on. I know what will make you feel better.”
I let her take me. I wasn’t in a position to put up a fight.
We stepped out of the hallway, but Sofia didn’t turn us toward the staircase. Instead, we slipped out into the night. A rush of fresh, chilling air to my face cooled the tears that threatened to fall.
“There’s a spot I like to go,” Sofia began. “Coach Panzer set it up and used it for when she was hooking up with Professor Rossman. But she’s been telling the girls that men are dogs lately so I think that’s on the rocks. The lock is busted so we should be able to get in.”
Our feet were soundless as we crossed the quad, but the night wasn’t. Cicadas chirped and sang to the moon. Hundreds of small voices coming together to make themselves heard.
We approached the sports complex, but veered off just before the doors of the gym. Skirting the building, Sofia brought me around to a door I had never paid attention to before. It opened without a problem.
“It’s up there.”
She kept an arm around me as we climbed the staircase and topped the landing. In front of us was a rusty door with the letters E and A painted on the face.
Sofia released me to open it. Slowly, I approached.
“Oh, wait. One sec.” Sofia darted
through the door and disappeared. I trailed after her and stepped onto the roof just as the lights flicked on.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“It’s cool, isn’t it. Panzer did a good job.”
I couldn’t disagree. The roof of the gym had been transformed from an oversized bucket for rainwater and dead leaves, to a cozy hideaway. Fairy lights had been strung along the small ledge of the roof. It perfectly lit up the couches and potted plants that had been set around a tiny coffee table in the middle of the space.
Sofia ran over to the sofa. “As long as you ignore the fact that Rossman and Panzer got naked on this, it’s a nice spot to chill out.”
A chuckle escaped my lips. I sat next to her and pulled my legs onto the cushion. “Won’t we get in trouble for being here?”
“Yes, but that’s why we won’t get caught.”
“But the dorm cameras...”
“Gus only cares about keeping people out of our rooms, not keeping us in them. He won’t report us, but Panzer would flip her lid if she found us up here so be careful.”
I rested my chin on my knees. “Okay.”
We fell silent. It stretched between us, begging to be broken, but I made no move to.
“I’m sorry about in there,” she finally spoke up. “I didn’t know they were going to grill you like that.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is. We should have left sooner.” I felt a hand slip into mine. “They asked you all that stuff about your town and your family...”
I shook my head. “I’m not ashamed of Mom, Adam, or where I come from.”
“But your dad...”
I balled my fists. Having to share that I didn’t know who my dad was to half of my class sucked. The guy ran out on Olivia before I was born and she wouldn’t even speak his name.
I hated having to tell them that, but Ryder was right there and he knew the whole story. If I hadn’t spilled, he would have.
“I don’t care about my dad,” I rasped. “Things have been tough, but when it mattered, Mom is always there for me.”
“I wish I could say the same thing.” I turned to look at her. “I never see my dad. They’ve been trying to take Honey Hair global so he spends all his time overseas. I haven’t seen him in eight months, and you want to know how many times he’s called me since?”
I didn’t need to ask. Her tone told me it wasn’t nearly enough. “What about your mom?” I whispered.
“Madam Madeline is even worse,” she spat through curled lips. “She lives only twenty minutes away and before that she was right down the hall. The reason she didn’t spend time with me was just because she didn’t want to.”
I squeezed her hand tighter.
“It’s okay though. I have Carmen. She’s been my nanny since I was two weeks old, and although she stopped working for us when I came to Evergreen, she still calls me every week.”
“I’m glad you have her.”
We fell silent again.
The next time Sofia broke it, it was to say what I had been expecting. “So that was intense in there with you and Ryder. Was it always like that between you?”
“No,” I said honestly. “I mean, we were never exactly friends, but he wasn’t always such a beast. He was the rich son of Benjamin Shea and I was the daughter of the secretary. I only ran into him when Mom brought me to his house, but when she did, he was nice enough.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know for sure,” I said into the night air. I stared unseeingly over the edge of the roof, not turning to face Sofia. “But I guess it was his dad.”
“His dad going missing?”
I shook my head. “His dad showing up in every tabloid and blog with a different woman on his arm. The guy was a bastard plain and simple. He cheated on Ryder’s mom and didn’t care who knew.”
“Yeah, I... saw some of that.”
“In the worst of it, Ryder’s mom, Caroline, took to locking herself in her room and never coming out. I’d be there, and butlers and maids would go in and out of her room, but she never did. I think it got to him. Messed him up.”
“So he took it out on you?”
I didn’t reply.
“What did he do?” she pressed.
“What didn’t he do? He picked on me. Spread lies about me to his friends. Threw me in a pool and almost drowned me. Once he threatened to put his mom’s jewelry in Olivia’s purse and have her arrested. He said I’d be put in foster care and he’d never have to see me again.”
“Holy shit,” she gasped. “What the hell is wrong with him?”
“I was so scared he’d really do it that I pawed through her things when she came home. I did that every day for a month.”
“I’m so sorry, Val.” She let out a sigh as she fell back onto the cushions. “No wonder you can’t stand to be around him. I should have let you beat his face in.”
“No, you were right to get me out of there.” I mimicked her and leaned back. The sky was bathed in stars and the beauty of the sight was filling me up. It was easy to feel calm and at peace when you looked at the glittering skies. Space was a harsh, cold, unforgiving vacuum, but those brilliant balls of light survived. If they could pierce the unending gloom surrounding their life, maybe I could too.
“Squaring off with Ryder wouldn’t have changed anything,” I said. “He’ll be just as horrible tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. I’m the one who has to change and put it all behind me. That’s the only way he won’t have power over me anymore.”
“We’ll get better at avoiding him. I’m talking bird calls and hand signals if we see him coming.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “And code names.”
“And escape routes. If he comes in a room we’re in, we’ll be hopping out the nearest window.”
I snorted a laugh. “What are we going to do about stairwell hookups?”
“Easy. We hang a rope ladder outside of your window and you’ll never take the stairs again.”
I was howling now. I tipped over into her lap as we devolved into giggles.
“You’ve got it all figured out,” I said as I looked up at her. “I can’t think of a better plan.”
She hummed. “I don’t think it’s going to help you with Maverick, Ezra, or Jaxson.”
“Oh no,” I groaned.
“Oh no is right! You and Jaxson were burning up the rug, girl. It. Was. Hot.”
I clapped my hand over my mouth. I couldn’t let her peep my grin. “Sof, please. We were just dancing.”
“Liar.” Her fingers went skittering over my stomach and I squealed. “He was going to kiss you, and you were going to let him. Admit it.”
“Not under pain of death. Jaxson is just so... Jaxson.” I grabbed my stomach to keep the emerging bubbles at bay. They were little traitors. “He’s funny, and cute, and can dance—”
“I’m not hearing a downside.”
“—but he also likes to get girls to strip and is feeling his title as a Knight way too much. Not to mention Ryder.”
“All very true, but still... you were going to kiss him!” Her shout was followed by another tickle attack that almost sent me to the floor. “And don’t think I didn’t see you getting snuggly in a corner with Ezra, or laughing with Maverick.”
“It w-wasn’t what it l-looked like,” I cried breathlessly.
“If only Isabella hadn’t stopped the music and started the inquisition. I have a feeling Jaxson would have changed a few of your sex answers tonight.”
I gaped at her wiggling brows. “Sofia! I hate you so much right now.”
“More lies,” she teased. “You’re lucky we’re not still playing or I’d make you drink.”
“Why are we picking on me? Don’t you think I noticed you grinding up on Jeremiah? What’s going on with that?”
“Oh my gosh, I haven’t told you yet. So last summer he and I...”
I let Sofia’s words wash over me. The night had started badly, but co
uldn’t have ended better than this. I could take whatever Ryder had to throw at me. I had great friends and went to the top school in the country. Nothing would stop me from having the best four years of my life.
Chapter Six
“Class, your attention.”
I lifted my head from my math homework in time to see the students from the AV club wheel in the television. Joe Young High delivered their announcements over a staticky intercom that made every person speaking sound like they had the flu. But of course, Evergreen had to do it better.
I grinned to myself. Four weeks here and I’m still comparing everything to my old school.
Professor Markham clicked the television on and the screen lit up with the morning announcers: Catrina Bell and Ezra Lennox.
Ezra smiled broadly at the camera. “Good morning, fellow classmates, and welcome to another day at Evergreen Academy.” I bit back a laugh. I would never get used to seeing Ezra all sweet, smiling, and polite. People who were all of those things didn’t assign you twenty practice problems for getting an A minus.
I grimaced at the worksheets on my desk. I really should drop this guy as a tutor, but knowing him... he’d come after me.
My mind drifted back to the day before. Sitting among the tomes—Ezra’s arm draped on the back of my chair and his breath in my ear, whispering so we wouldn’t disturb the people sharing our table.
My cheeks heated up like a Florida summer. Okay, maybe there was more than one reason I hadn’t gotten a new tutor.
“...this weekend. I know we’re all looking forward to it,” Ezra said sunnily, “but first, our headmaster with a message.”
Ezra and his co-host disappeared from the screen and were replaced by a man I had only met in person once: Headmaster Evergreen.
I scrunched down in my seat—as though the weight of his gaze was reaching through the screen and pressing on me.
“Good morning, freshman class.”
Headmaster Evergreen was a thin man. No matter what suit I saw him in morning after morning; it always looked like he was swimming in it. But despite that, every other part of him fell into the stereotype. His white beard was neatly trimmed, thick glasses perched on the edge of his nose, and there was a slight thinning on the top.