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Hunter rose to his feet. “I’ll get you some water,” he said. He went over to my desk, grabbed a mug and went into the bathroom to fill it. When he returned, he laid a hand across my forehead. “Hm. You don’t feel hot, so that’s a good sign. Do you feel sick atall?”
I gulped down the water. “No. I’ll beokay.”
“If you do start to feel bad, I’m taking you to the hospital. Noarguments.”
I smiled faintly. “I know.Thanks.”
I couldn’t meet his eyes as I spoke. I felt so fucking stupid and ashamed. I’d demonized him so much over the last few days; refused to even give him a five minute chance to speak tome.
Despite that, he’d shown up for me again and again. I had no idea what would’ve happened to me tonight if he hadn’t followed me to Harker Island, and the mere thought made meshudder.
All this time, I thought he was the bad guy. ButIwas the bad one. I didn’t deserve for him to be so kind and understanding after the awful way I’d treatedhim.
He seemed to know what I was thinking, because he lifted my chin with a finger and smiled at me. “Are we cool?” he asked, cocking aneyebrow.
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know. Aren’t you mad at me for being so shitty to you for the last fewdays?”
“No way. I told you before; I get it. I would’ve jumped to the exact same conclusion if I was you,” hereplied.
“I know, but I still feel horrible. You should bemad.”
“I’m only gonna be mad if you keep me in suspense for a second longer,” he said with a grin. “What were you saying before you got that head-spin?”
“Oh. Shit. Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “It’s actually related to the party I went to tonight. But I have to tell you the backstoryfirst.”
“Shoot.”
“Okay, so, not long after I started at school here, I was invited to a meeting with the MedusaSociety.”
“Uh-huh.”
“They were all really nice. They made it seem like the society was some sort of empowerment club for lower-income female students. A bunch of rich people sponsor them—a group of guys called the Network. All members get gifts, money, and free rides through college after graduating from RFA. In return, they have to keep their grades up and sign a contract stating that they’ll work for a Network-related company after college graduation. So it seems like a win-win. The girls benefit from someone else’s money—money they wouldn’t otherwise have access to—and they also get a future career out of it. At the same time, the Network guys make their companies look good by sponsoring and hiring so many young women who might’ve never had those opportunities if it wasn’t for them, because of their disadvantagedbackgrounds.”
“Huh, okay. I had no idea about any ofthat.”
“That’s because they’re very secretive,” I said. “But anyway, they asked me to join. They thought I’d be a good candidate, because I don’t have the same money and connections most of the other students at RFAhave.”
“Right.”
“They also told me their club has a sort of unspoken deal with you and your friends. Everyone else, too. They can’t be blacklisted orbullied.”
Hunter nodded. “That’s true. But I didn’t start that tradition. It’s always been that way at this school, even before I startedhere.”
“Do you knowwhy?”
“Yeah. The Medusa club has a lot of pull with the RFA staff for some reason, and it’s always been made clear to everyone by Sanders that they have to be immune to any of the usual high school politics. Anyone caught being nasty to them risks instant expulsion. Even the kids who can normally get away with anything because they’re from the most powerful families in town,” he said. “It’s never really bothered me. The Medusa girls have always seemed nice and cool, and they’ve never caused any drama orproblems.”
My lips tightened. “I bet they have so much pull with the school because of the Network. They’re a bunch of rich, powerfulguys.”
“Makessense.”
“Anyway, they told me they could help me stop the bullying,” I said, twisting my hands in my lap. “Because if I joined them, no one would be allowed to harass me anymore. They also said they have access to a lot of resources via the Network people. So if I wanted to get revenge on anyone who bullied me, they could help meout.”
“I bet that was tempting,” Hunter said, browsrising.
“It was. But I turned themdown.”
“Why?”
