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With a shuddering breath, I pull myself together and slowly stand.
I don’t know what made the boys hate me all of a sudden. At this point, I’m not sure if I care. They don’t deserve my friendship if they’re going to call me a manipulative, lying bitch and then push me into a fucking fountain.
“You’ll be fine,” I mutter to myself as the last people who were watching me disperse. “You can make new friends, and you still have Haven.”
I do my best to wring the water out of my clothes and bag before I make my way back to my dorm. For the first time, I think I fully understand why my parents have always been so protective of me. The real world sucks.
But I’m stronger than they ever gave me credit for—stronger than I know. And no one—be it teenage boy or a grown-ass man—is going to make me give up when I’ve barely had a chance to start my new life.
Chapter Three
Kellan
Sophomore year
“There she is.”
Cal and I both follow Wes’s gaze to the library entrance. Athelia is just now leaving, even though it’s a quarter past eleven.
We stay hidden in the shadows as she walks past us. She has earbuds in, her brown hair tucked behind her ears. Her head is ducked down like she’s doing her best to become invisible.
Silly, silly girl. She can never hide from us.
Once she’s past the main buildings and on her way back to her dorm, we start to follow. It’s not until we’re sure no one is around that we make our move.
“Hey, Athelia!” I call. The three of us jog to catch up with her.
She must be listening to her music loudly because she doesn’t hear us. I grab her arm, and Cal claps a hand over her mouth just as she screams. When she sees it’s us, she rolls her eyes. She knows we won’t hurt her—at least not too much.
“Please just leave me alone,” she groans when Cal removes his hand.
“I heard you got a C minus on your paper for Johnson’s class,” I say. “What happened there? I thought you loved writing.”
Athelia narrows her eyes. “No one knows about that.”
“Huh. Well, I guess someone let it slip.”
Realization strikes her, and she scoffs. “It was you three, wasn’t it? Of course it was.”
We laughs. “You think it was anyone other than us? No one gives enough of a shit about you to pay you that much attention.”
Her face hardens, and her hands clench into fists. “Don’t fuck with my grades again.”
“We’ll do whatever we want to you,” Wes says as he circles around her. “Whenever we want to.”
Athelia shoves me, but I barely even budge. “You’re going to ruin my career, guys. Mylife.Knock it off already.”
“Awww, you’ll be fine. I’m sure you can figure out a way to make up for it.” I close in on Athelia, forcing her to back up into Wes. “A pretty girl like you, I’m sure all you have to do is ask nicely, and Johnson will give you a second chance.”
“That’s not how this works,” she seethes.
“Oh, but isn’t it? I hear Johnson is into younger women. Just offer to suck his dick in exchange for a better grade.”
Athelia pales, and I’m not sure because the lighting is shitty at night, but I think she’s actually turninggreen.
“Stop,” she whispers. “Don’t—don’t say things like that.”
“Hits a little too close to home?” Wes asks with mock pity. He shoves her into Cal.
