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“Wait. The reason you wanted to go to the performance so badly is because you knew that Sara was going to crash and burn in front of everyone and you wouldn’t tell us the truth? I can’t believe we missed it!”
Maggie’s jaw was hanging open. She and Harper were curled up on my bed. I had my head on Harper’s shoulder and Maggie had been leaning on me until she sat up to stare at me.
“I seriously can’t believe that we missed that. Tell us everything. Again.”
Laughing, I sat up and described the look on Sara’s face when she realized that she was simply dancing too fast. “She lost it and ran off the stage,” I told them, between giggles. “She’s really pissed, you guys, so it may be good that you guys weren’t there for it. I don’t want you two to get pulled down into the drama if we can avoid it.”
“What did the rogues say?” Harper was laughing just as hard as Maggie, but she had a serious look on her face. “Were they mad?”
I tapped a finger on my knee before answering. “Honestly, they weren’t totally pleased at first, but they get it now. I think that they’re worried that I’m going to get hurt or that this will all come back to bite me in the ass later, but I can’t care about that right now, you know? I just…I need to show them that they aren’t allowed to hurt people like this.”
“Don’t you think that Amelia will strike back? I mean, she and Sara are really close, and if she thinks that you’re trying to hurt her or her other friends…” Amelia trailed off and Harper nodded.
“I think that you need to be more careful, Rose,” Harper agreed. “I think that they could try to come for you now that you’ve shown them that you’re not going to back off. Don’t you think?”
Shrugging, I tried to look nonchalant. “It’s totally possible,” I agreed, “but I can’t just sit back and let them walk all over me for the rest of the year.”
“I get that, Rose, I really do,” Harper said, “but you just ruined Sara’s chance for a dance scholarship. She’ll be out for blood.”
“She has more than enough money to pay full tuition at any college in the world,” I shot back. “Are you guys really mad that I’m standing up for myself?”
“Not mad,” Maggie interjected, talking over Harper, “but we’re a little worried about you, Rose. We don’t want this to get worse for you.”
“It can’t.” I struggled to stand up and then turned to face my friends. This was not how I thought that they would react. I understood that they would be a little worried, but I didn’t want to have to deal with them giving me grief over standing up to the harpies. “I don’t think you guys understand, but it seriously can’t get worse. Do you not remember when they threw out all of my stuff last semester?”
Maggie looked embarrassed, but Harper tipped her chin up to me. “Just be done, Rose. You got your revenge on Sara, and we know that it felt really good, but I think that it’s a good idea if you just call it quits.”
“No.” My voice was stronger than I meant it to be, and my friends both looked surprised. “I can’t back down now, you guys. Not when they know that I’m coming for them. If I don’t see this through then they’ll just think that they’ve won, and if you guys aren’t cool with that then feel free to keep your distance. I don’t want you two getting hurt, and it’s okay to be afraid.”
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I was almost afraid to open them, afraid that my friends would have disappeared, but when I looked again, they were still there.
Relief washed over me when I saw that they were both still looking at me. Sure, they looked scared. Yes, they both looked like they thought that I’d gone nuts, but they were still there. They hadn’t abandoned me, and I was honestly afraid that they were going to for a moment there.
“We’re not going to abandon you, Rose. We did that once, and it sucked. You just need to understand that we are both really worried about you.” Harper stood up and pulled me into a hug. As much as I wanted to be strong, I felt myself melt into her.
“Just trust me. I’m going to be fine.” Even as I said the words, however, I wondered if they were true. I could hope that everything would work out, and I could take all precautions to ensure that I didn’t get hurt and that my friends weren’t pulled into something dangerous, but I still couldn’t guarantee their safety.
As smart as my friends were, they knew that, and yet they didn’t walk away.
As smart as I was, I still let them stay.
I just hoped that that wouldn’t end up being a mistake.
Chapter 12
Dodging the harpies over the weekend was easy enough since I made sure to stay with the rogues every waking second. Nobody came up to my room at night, but even if they had, I made sure to keep the door locked tight so they couldn’t get in. I didn’t want any visitors, and I certainly didn’t want anyone to break in and steal my things. Again.
Monday morning, however, brought its own challenges. The rogues walked me to breakfast, which was the first time since Friday night that the rogues, the harpies, and I had all been in the dining hall together at the same time. We pushed open the double doors and Brett led the way in. I followed him, with Kaleb and Jackie at my sides.
As soon as we walked in, the entire dining hall fell silent. The harpies all stood up, Amelia crossing her arms and staring at us. Sara stood next to her, looking paler and thinner than she had last week.
She probably hadn’t eaten anything or gotten any sleep over the weekend, and the sent a stab of joy through me. Good. It was what she deserved.
Ignoring the daggers they were throwing us, the four of us walked to the line to get our food and then sat down at a table with Harper, Maggie, and their boys. Nobody else in the dining hall moved, but then Amelia walked around the table to us.
I watched her from the corner of my eye and slowly stirred maple syrup and toasted almonds into my oatmeal. She was coming over to intimidate me, I was sure of that, and I wasn’t about to let that happen. When she stopped directly in front of me, though, I didn’t have a choice but to look up and acknowledge her.
