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Intrigued, I cocked my head, and she lifted her eyes.
“For the pictures and all that. The media coverage?” She raised and dropped her hands. “I can imagine that sucked, but I didn’t do it maliciously or anything. I saw a story, and I captured it.”
She really was cold this one, ruthless.
A little fucking opportunist.
She was lucky I didn’t care about it, over it. The school had decided to make an example out of me that year, which was the only reason I’d lost football my junior year. I’d been a minor, and since that asswipe with the bottle had technically struck first, he couldn’t press charges.Hehad actually faced charges for assaulting me, and my family had made sure of that. They’d made the whole thing go away, and the football stuff could have been the same had my parents not backed the school up on the decision. They’d wanted me to learn a lesson, and though yeah, that shit fucking sucked, I was beyond it.
I had much bigger plans for Red, my look passive about her proposal. “You want to forgive and forget?” I questioned, leaning even more into her personal space. “A peaceful truce.”
“If we could, yeah.” A raspiness touched her voice, one deeper and edgier than her already rich tone.Am I affecting you, Red?Her eyebrows narrowed. “We’re adults. We can act like it. Not to mention, this was three years ago. Now, I’m not saying you should just forget it, but—”
“No, you’re right,” I stated, surprise flicking her brow up. I nodded. “Completely right. It all should be water under the bridge, and I’m not even playing football anymore anyway.”
“You’re not?”
“No, I’m not.” I passed that off, as Kurt and Dad made their way toward us. “Like I said, water under the bridge.”
I couldn’t see how that statement played on her face, as Dad and Kurt cut the conversation off when they entered our space. Kurt introduced Fawn to Dad as one of his internship applicants, and Fawn was definitely visibly different as she shook my father’s hand. She was well aware now of my family’s position to this place and Kurt Ackerman, but the earlier intimidation on her face dissipated. She relaxed before my father and me, and that sick thrill hit again. She was letting her guard down, her sins forgiven, forgotten.
Round one, I guess, went to me.
CHAPTERTHREE
Fawn
My roommate Heath wanted to go to a party tonight, and I think the only reason I agreed was because I was trying to put that confrontation with Ares “Wolf” Mallick out of my mind.
I mean, what were the odds?
Out of all the schools in the state, we ended up at the same one, and maybe my thoughts about previous luck were overzealous. There was absolutely nothing lucky about running into that guy, and the fact he seemed to have some clout when it came to this school wasn’t great. I mean, he did say his dad donated money, so there might be some influence there.
At least, we buried the hatchet.
He seemed quick to want to do so, and maybe he was more mature than I might have assumed he was. I might have pegged him as a typical jock, but maybe since he wasn’t playing football anymore, he really didn’t care about what I’d done to him.
Like stated, big of him.
Still, seeing him had been… unnerving. I’d just gotten done meeting with Kurt, and I wasn’t too keen on the fact the two seemed to have connections through Mallick’s dad. These were thoughts my brain definitely mulled over as Heath got me and a few of the other photojournalism kids drinks. We all ended up at a frat party, my first since attending college since I typically spent my evenings shooting or doing actual homework.
Again, my brain needed a break.
Heath apparently had no problem at all getting us all beers but handed me the club soda I’d asked for. I didn’t drink and sipped on my soda while I scrolled through my phone. I’d gotten a text from my mom today asking how my interview had gone. I hadn’t answered, but of course hearing from her sent me down the rabbit hole of seeing what she and my stepdad were up to. They liked to travel a lot, and it appeared they were back from their trip to Paris.
My thumb tapped past them grinning in front of historic landmarks like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, and another text pinged.
Mom:Hey, did you get my text? Hope things went well. Anton and I are back from Paris. I found some cute little chocolates for you at a small cafe there. They’re at the house when you come back for break. *smile emoji*
My mother really shouldn’t count on it, and clicking out of the text, I stole a drink from my glass. A light chuckle sounded beside me, and I looked up to find Heath waving his beer toward my phone.
“She’s the only person I know who ignores her mother more than I do,” he announced to our group, nudging me. My roommate thought he was funny, and the only reason we were roommates was because there’d been a mix-up with housing. Guys and girls typically didn’t live together, but we gave it a shot and actually didn’t hate each other. He was a hard worker too, and since we both got along okay, neither one of us ever alerted housing.
Maybe I should with him telling all my business to everyone. I shook my head. “My mom’s a chatter.”
She wasn’t, not really. But saying so was way easier than telling him and the rest of our group that I just didn’t want to talk to my mother. I had my reasons, and that was none of their business.
I got up off the couch, passing off I had to go to the bathroom. I found it quick since there was a million and a half in this place. From what I understood, this wasthefrat on campus. The best parties were thrown here, and the richest and most affluent resided here.
