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“Okay, okay.” He stands up and puts his mask back on. “I’m just here to warn you that I’m going after Elijah, and you don’t need to be a part of it. I know it was him that night.”
“If you fucking lay a finger on him, I will charge you with rape and assault. You hear me, Derek?!” I scream as he cowers down. “Elijah will be labeled a hero and we’ll have your face posted on every sign on campus, every street in St. Paul, every post on social media until you are forced underground into the sewers where you belong,” I hiss, walking toward him until we are face-to-face, or more accurately, mask-to-face. He turns around and runs out of the house.
I grind my teeth, going to the kitchen for another drink. Who the fuck does he think he is? I’m tired of being scared of him. I feel proud of myself as I crack open a beer and down it. I join Stephanie and Olive on the dance floor. The loud music and inebriation have me in a haze. I need a hot guy to grind on.
The front door opens, and hockey players walk in, but I can’t distinguish anyone in particular. I’ll have to tell Elijah what happened earlier. Wait. What happened earlier? Where are the hot guys at?
A dude in a hockey jersey approaches me and I wrap my arms around him. I look up at his smiling face. He’s pretty cute, and tall too. Elijah’s tall. Where’s Elijah again? We dance to the music; he cups my ass in his hands. I don’t hate it.
Suddenly another person’s hand is on his jersey and he’s being ripped away from me.
“Get out,” a voice says. I blink away some of the blurriness in my vision to see a sexy fireman. Fuck, wait, that’s Elijah.
“Elijah, stop it,” I say, my words blending together, and I pound on his arm, or at least I think it’s his arm.
Elijah turns to look at me, his eyes dark and his hair gelled back. I can see his muscles popping beneath his tight shirt. “He’s barely legal,” he says, looking down at me. “He’s a freshman. Stop being such a fucking slut.”
Slut? I feel my heart drop to my stomach. He thinks I’m a slut. After I told him how much I hate that. I ball my hands into fists at my sides. What is wrong with men?
The hockey player looks at Elijah and says, “I didn’t know she was yours.”
I’m not anybody’s.
I stumble and the hockey player catches me before I fall, his hands tight, almost bruising on my arms. Elijah pulls his hand away, tucking me behind him like some little kid. “My girl, my fucking house, you understand?” he says.
Hold on now…
“He’s just pissed he lost to a freshman,” the hockey player leans down to say to me. Yuck, he really is a freshman.
Elijah swings at him with no hesitation, knocking him back with a single punch.Oh my god.
“Come on, Taylor,” Elijah says, tugging my hand in his direction.
“You punched him,” I say, in awe. I feel like my feet are cemented to the ground. He just punched someone.
“You’re embarrassing yourself,” he says, leaning down into me, but loud enough for other people to hear. “Letting any man touch you. Guess those photos I leaked are true.”
At those words, rage fills me, and I feel myself getting ready to crumble. He catches me and throws me over his shoulder before I can hit the floor. I kick and punch him as he walks through the crowd of staring people. How could he?
He carries me up the stairs and throws me on my bed. Tears linger in my eyes. I can’t stop bawling. “Why, Elijah,” I cry, but he doesn’t answer.
26
TAYLOR CROMWELL
Iroll out of bed to see Elijah sleeping in a curled ball on my floor. He seems peaceful, his head resting on one of my spare pillows and a thin blanket covering just his torso. My head is pounding from last night. I realize after a couple of dizzying moments that I’m still wearing my honeybee costume. The little stinger is crumpled from a night of sleeping on it.
Stepping over Elijah, I go to my attached bathroom to take a shower. As the hot water pours over me, everything comes into focus from last night. Derek. My threats. The punch. How does Elijah manage to make everything good go so horribly wrong?
I’m sick and tired of men walking all over me. Elijah included. He thinks he can dictate who I dance with, when I go to bed, who I talk with. If he wants to ruin my reputation and throw it in my face, I’ll do it right back. He doesn’t even know I saved him from possible arrest. Maybe I should have let Derek do what he was going to do.But I’m notthatnasty. I need Elijah to fall on his own sword, the way he pushed me onto mine so many countless times before.
After my shower, I put on a fresh set of clothes and my glasses, wiping away the excess makeup running down my face before drying my hair. If I’m quick enough, I’ll be able to make my second and third class. Last week’s lectures were hard enough, the last thing I need is to miss them entirely.
I make sure to kick Elijah on my way out, disguising it as a trip. He groans as I leave and pass by slumped over bodies scattered across the house. I don’t have time to deal with them. That’ll be an Elijah problem.
Before driving off, I grab a bagel and cream cheese to eat on the drive over. I barely make my second class on time. The professor hands us our midterm study guide and goes over what’ll be on the test before Thanksgiving. Then, we have labs until winter break.
I go to the library to sign up for next semester’s courses, which include environmental geology, physics, and environmental law. I’ve considered becoming an environmental lawyer, but I’m not sure I’m cut out for law school. All I know is that I love animals, and generally hate people.
