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I find myself laughing, too. My streak of bad luck has to be laughed at, otherwise I might cry.
“It sort of is.” Her expression shifts abruptly to one of sympathy. “But for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”
“Mmhmm,” I hum. My way of saying, ‘I don’t accept, but I’m not mad at you anymore.’
“I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”
“And how do you plan to do that? Lend me one of your boyfriends for a night to ease the pain of this humiliating moment?”
“No,” she quips. “But I will buy you lunch. Meet me in the student center after class and we’ll go out.”
“Fine.”
“I gotta go. Professor Dickens is a real dick to anyone who’s late. Student center. Don’t forget.” She heads down the hall while I allow myself a moment of tranquility before I head to my next class. “Oh, and, Ry,” she hollers over her shoulder, “Ridge says hi.”
My neck draws back. “He what? Wait. Scar,” I yell back…but she’s gone.
Ridge says hi?But Ridge doesn’t talk. At least, not to me. So why did he talk to Scar? And why the hell would the first word he have relayed to me be ‘hi’?
Ridge is an enigma and the less I know about him, the more I want to know it all.
CHAPTER9
MADDOX
“Who’s the brunette?Hannah, is it?” Ridge asks as he passes behind me. His legs swing around as he drops down, straddling the bench of the picnic table in the courtyard—his paper bag lunch landing with a thud. “She’s pretty cute. Might give you the time of day.”
“Already has. And I’m not watching her. I’m watching him.” I nod toward Cade who’s got his head down while Melody and Hannah parade around him. “You really fucked him up.”
Ridge pulls out a can of Coke and a homemade sandwich. “Should’ve beat his ass harder. Would have, if you hadn’t interrupted me.”
Shifting gears, I opt for a conversation that’s a bit lighter. I know he’s still pissed about that. “You know they have food here you can buy.”
He bites into his sandwich, eating half of it at once. “And you know I’m only here because I’m a poor-ass fucker who can’t afford college elsewhere.” He holds up his sandwich before stuffing the rest in his mouth. “Hence the homemade meal.”
“Gross, dude. Chew with your mouth closed.”
All The Blue Bloods have the opportunity to attend BCU free of charge. It’s encouraged, since it’s where the second phase of our initiation takes place, bringing us one step closer to being Elders. Ridge is protected by The Society, but none of us reap the financial benefits until we pass the initiation. His parents never made it this far, and Ridge wasn’t raised with the luxuries some of us have. Since his dad bailed, and his mom passed away, neither of them being Elders, he has to earn the money and power that’s available to us on his own.
The money doesn’t matter to him. He's only here for the power. Well, that was the case—until Riley showed up.
It’s always been our goal to rule The Blue Bloods one day, so he can make certain Elders—that will one day sit beneath us—pay for their sins. They’ve never personally brought harm to me, but Ridge and Lev have endured hellish lives because of one—or more—ofthem.Each day brings us one step closer to where we want to be.
Lev joins us, his hands empty. He rarely eats at school, and if he does, it’s a candy bar or a bag of chips. “What up, fuckers?” he asks, slapping his hands to the table on the bench across from us.
“Our boy Ridge here beat your cousin's ass last night. Did he tell ya that?”
Oh yeah. Cade and Lev are first cousins. Their dads are brothers, and Cade’s parents actually raised Lev for a couple years after his parents passed away. That was, before she kicked him out and sent him to the care of an abusive prick because she couldn’t deal with his mood swings. Now their whole family makes a spectacle of Lev and uses his behavior as a way of telling Cade what not to be like.
In short, none of us like Cade.
Lev looks past my shoulder at Cade, who still manages to hold the attention of the ladies with a wrapped nose. “Well, he’s still walking, so apparently Ridge did a terrible fucking job.”
I’m warranted a sour-ass look from Ridge, while he crunches his can with one hand. Thankfully, his attention is pulled when he spots Riley with her friend, Scar. They’re walking away from campus toward the parking lot.
Ridge bolts without a word, heading in their direction. As he approaches them, his steps slow, until he’s just casually creeping behind them.
“Who are they?” Lev asks, oblivious to the whole situation. And, once again, color me lucky, because my phone pings with a text, vibrating against the table. Lev leans forward, forgetting the question he just asked. “Your old man's texting. What’s he want?”
