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I kept my spoon in my oatmeal, then tapped it on the rim of the bowl a few times before finally speaking to her.
“Something wrong, Amelia? You look more constipated than normal this morning. I’m sure that I have something for that if you want me to help you out. It’ll get things moving in no time.” I knew that she had figured out that I was the one who put the glycerine in her coffee on the junior beach trip, but she’d never confronted me about it.
She smirked, her tight lips twisting into a smile. “It’s just a surprise to see you out of your gutter, you slut. You fucked up Sara’s life on Friday, you know that?”
I took a sip of coffee before answering her, hyper aware that everyone in the dining hall was staring at us and listening to every word. “Looked to me like Sara did a good job fucking up her life on her own, Amelia. If I remember correctly, I wasn’t anywhere near her or the stage.”
“We all know that you sabotaged her music, you bitch.” Amelia leaned forward before picking up my coffee and slowly pouring it into my oatmeal. I watched as the bowl filled with the murky liquid and as it spilled out over the rim and onto the table before pooling around the bowl.
Shrugging, I put my napkin by my bowl and stood up before grabbing my oatmeal and throwing it in her face. She had a look of triumph on her face before the oatmeal splattered on it, coffee quickly staining her clothes and dripping down her chin.
“You bitch!” She screamed and lunged at me, arms outstretched for my throat. I stepped back quickly, scooting behind my chair. Amelia’s face was red with rage and she put one knee on the table, ready to climb over it for me, but the rogues were there before she could.
Brett stepped in front of me. “You need to leave, Amelia. You’d hate to get marks for not being dressed appropriately for class.”
“Move, you bastard.” She hissed at him, trying to spot me over his shoulder. Before she could do anything, however, I darted to Brett’s side, casually resting my hand on his shoulder. His eyes flicked to me but then locked back on Amelia. “I’m going to kill your slutty little girlfriend. Maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll let you go for a ride later so you can feel what real grade A pussy feels like.”
Brett’s jaw twitched. I saw the movement and I immediately knew what it meant, but only because he and I had been friends for so long. He was pissed, and Amelia was the center of his ire.
* * *
“Listen, Rose, you have to let me help you finish your revenge list. I don’t care who it is or what you want me to do, but I’ll do anything okay?” Brett and I were walking after dinner, finally able to get a little alone time after what had to be the longest day ever at Taylor Prep.
Not that any of the harpies had actually hurt me this year, of course, but they’d done their best to throw me off of my game. I was getting really tired of them calling me so many names, but until Amelia got her harpies back together and figured out a plan of attack, that seemed to be the best that they could do.
“You weren’t even sure at first that I should go through with anything. Why the change of heart?” I knew exactly what had changed his mind, but I wanted to hear it from him.
Instead of answering me right away, he turned, taking me by the hand and pulling me off of the path. My heart leapt in my throat as we entered the woods. It felt like forever since the first time he’d taken me to the bunker, but I had no doubt now that that was where we were going.
I was right, and he didn’t answer my question until we were safely inside, the light on and the door sealed tight above us.
“Listen, Rose, you and I both know that things here aren’t going to get any better. They’re going to get worse each day until something breaks and everything falls apart. You mean too much to me for me to allow it to be you that breaks, do you understand? If you need my help taking down the rest of the harpies so that you can feel better and can complete the year, then I’ll do whatever you need. I just…I just need you to promise me that you’ll try to stay safe, okay?”
I nodded at him and sat down on the sofa, pulling my knees up into my chest. The joy that I’d felt over sabotaging Sara hadn’t dimmed exactly, but knowing that I was now the main focus of attention for all of the harpies again didn’t feel great.
It felt like I needed to watch my back.
Instead of answering him right away, I twirled my bracelet from Harper’s mom on my wrist. The chain caught the light and the stones flashed as I spun it around my wrist. It was the one thing I’d been given since coming to the world of Taylor Prep that wasn’t meant to hurt me.
“Another thing, Rose.” Brett’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I looked up at him. “You and I both know that my mom is working with the council to get you removed from school. I think that we need to take a trip to see her. Maybe we can clear the air and all get on the same page. If it means that I can protect you then I’ll do whatever I can, okay?”
“You’re kidding. Your mom is behind these attacks and you want me to go and talk to her? Are you serious right now?” I can’t keep the sharp tone out of my voice and I roll my eyes at him while I wait for him to respond.
Rude? Yeah. But I’m feeling a little lost and rude right now.
He nodded and sat next to me, pulling my legs so that they were stretched out across his lap. Quickly he flipped my shoes off of my feet and started to rub them. Normally, I would have melted into the sofa right there, but I was too focused on what we were talking about.
“Brett, that feels great, but let’s be real. Your mom hates me and she wants me out of Taylor Prep. What in the world do you think that we can say to her to change her mind and make her decide that I’m not so bad? I just…I just don’t see a way that this would work out in my favor.”
“You know that I wouldn’t let you get hurt, Rose. And you know that my mom wouldn’t hurt you, right?” His hands stilled on my foot while he talked and I kicked him a little to remind him to keep rubbing. I didn’t want to be having this conversation right now, but if I could get a foot rub out of it then I was going to milk it for all I could.
“I know that you would do everything in your power to protect me.” I was treading on thin ice, and I knew that. Brett’s relationship with his mom was just as complicated as his relationship with me and I didn’t want to make him feel like I didn’t trust him. “But I also know that she’s a very focused woman and I’m worried that she would take our visit the wrong way.”
He didn’t answer for a while after that, but his hands kept kneading my feet. I relaxed, closing my eyes, feeling the weight and pain of the day slip away. I could survive whatever the harpies tried to throw at me as long as I had the rogues with me, and that’s all Brett was trying to do.
Let me know that he was with me. He was trying to help me see just how much I meant to him. If that meant that I needed to go and see his mom…then I could do that. It wasn’t high on my list of things that I wanted to do, but I would do it for him.
“Okay.” I opened my eyes and looked at him, searching his face for his response. “Okay, Brett. If it’s that important to you then I’ll go with you. I’ll see if your mom will sit down and talk to us and see if we can make her understand that I’m not…I’m not out to get her. She was protecting you, Brett, and that’s all parents can try to do for their kids.”
