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With a hard swallow, I force myself to say, “Fine. Lead the way.”
His smile erupts into a full-blown grin. Without another word, he turns and heads toward the same stairs we went up the day before. I follow a good distance behind him. Nothing good can come out of meeting up with the others. What are they planning for me?
We’re silent the entire trip. At least I’m pretty sure it’s a silent trek. The rapid beating of my heart sounds loud in my ears, but that could just be my imagination running wild. By the time Jason’s brought me to the same aisle that he’d led me to before, I’m so lightheaded I think I might faint.
Grant is in the exact same position as before, except instead of his hands in his pockets, he’s checking his phone. An amused smile clings to his mouth, even as he looks up from whatever has tickled him. Trip, however, stands between us and Grant, one hand in his pocket, the other busy bouncing a tennis ball up and down on the carpeted floor. He looks up as I come to stand a few feet away from him.
“Ah, Briella, thanks for joining us. Our project really could use a fourth person, and you’re just the individual we need,” Grant taunts, shoving his phone into his front pocket.
I say nothing as I try my hardest to glare at him. The tears threatening to cloud my sight make the glaring harder than it should be, but I think I get the point across.
“Cut the shit, Grant.”
“Huh, I take it from your tone that you’ve had a tough day. I wonder why that could be?” He reaches up to grab his chin and tilts his head to one side as he ponders his question. “Could it be, perhaps, everyone on campus knows what you’ve done?”
“No one knows thatI’vedone anything.” I point to him. “But they’ll see thatyouwere the ones who did it after reviewing the cameras.”
Trip snickers as he shoves the tennis ball into his back pocket. “Do you think we’re dumb enough to do this ourselves? They won’t catch us, or the person who did this, I promise.”
He pins me with a look that causes me to inadvertently recoil. The darkness in his eyes is terrifying. I swear there is an evil lurking behind them and it’s staring back at me. I swallow hard and look away.
“You did this to yourself, Briella,” Grant says conversationally. “You could have started playing our game right from the go ahead and none of this would have happened. But you thought you’d call our bluff. Now here we are, with your crime posted all around the campus, and you’re no better off than you were when you left us Friday.”
My frustration comes out as a growl which only causes the three of them to laugh. “You can’t prove that I wrote any of that.”
“Want to bet on that?” Grant asks, delight brightening his features.
No, I absolutely donotwant to bet on that. While I don’t voice that out loud, he must be able to read the reluctance on my face because he nods.
“I didn’t think so.”
“So now what?” I demand.
“I told you, we want you to play our game.”
I glare at him. “And if I say no?”
“Then we leak the email address we obtained the blackmailing information from,” Trip says with a shrug. “How long do you think it will take before the police show up at your door once we do that? Thirty minutes? Forty, if they’re feeling lazy?”
“Probably an hour just to let her stew,” Jason adds. Trip’s smile widens.
I slap my hand over my mouth to cover up the sound of my terrified whimper. This isn’t fair. This can’t be happening. Jackie wasn’t innocent in any of this! It’s not like I went after a good person. Andno onegot hurt! Why is this biting me in the ass now?
“I really think you should consider the situation you’re in right now, Briella,” Jason says, stepping up close behind me. His hands land on my shoulders. “Are you really ready to say goodbye to your job?”
“Freedom?” Trip adds.
“Life?” Grant mutters, walking over to me.
No. No, I’m not. The answer comes so swiftly that it takes me by surprise. I’ve done horrible things in my life, but those crimes weren’t completely unjustifiable. I hit a man with my car who was going to kill me and my best friend. I blackmailed a woman who was sleeping with a minor. Am I a good person? No, I guess not. But am I a bad one?No. I’m not throwing away everything I have right now because these three have it out for me.
Grant stops in front of me and stares down into my face. “You’re a wonder, Briella Wilson, and you’ve been the center of our attention longer than you know. Just thinking about all the things that we want to do to you… it makes my blood sing.” He lifts his hand up and takes my chin into his grasp. “Be our plaything. Let us show you the time of your life.”
His thumb slides across my bottom lip.
To my absolute horror, a shiver of unwanted excitement causes my frame to shake. It doesn’t go unnoticed. A knowing smile pulls across Grant’s face as his grip tightens ever so slightly.
“Tomorrow night, after my scrimmage, you’ll come over to our place and we’ll go over the rules and our expectations for our doll,” he continues as if I’d confirmed my role in their stupid little setup. “If you’re good, we’ll make sure you have fun too.”
