Elite (Eagle Elite #1)(19)

I knew by then that in order to see what lunch you were, you had to type in the code on back into the school web program, but there was no code!

Ugh. I decided to worry about it at lunch.

By the time lunch came, I was so hungry I was ready to throw the card at Nixon’s head.

I walked toward the lunch room, hoping my card would work. I swiped it through the door to the cafeteria, nothing.

I swiped it again.

And again nothing.

I kept swiping until finally a little red alarm went off. Oh great.

“Need help?” I looked up to see Chase’s blue eyes piercing into mine. I still wasn’t sure if I liked him or hated him.

“You could say that.”

“Here.” He held out his hand. I slapped the card into it and waited for him to swipe it. Instead he put it in his pocket and grabbed my arm leading me down the opposite hallway.

A small door said The Red Room.

“Is this hell?” I asked in a small voice. Because on the opposite end was that super fancy restaurant. I didn’t even want to know what was in here.

“Not exactly.” Chase gave me a sad smile. “But it’s best to be seen and not heard in here, you get it?”

Terrified, I could only nod as he swiped my card. The red light went off and the door clicked open. “Good luck, Trace. And for the record. It will get better.”

“Right.” My chin trembled as I gathered my card and walked into the dark room.

It didn’t look so bad. Until my eyes adjusted and I noticed something was very wrong about where I was.

“Fresh meat,” a girl purred beside me. I jerked away and kept walking toward an empty table. I smelled food, but I didn’t see any food anywhere.

People whispered in low voices but for the most part nobody paid attention to me. I sat at the table and looked at the menu.

All the options were for vegans. Great. No meat. Damn you, Nixon.

When the waiter came and took my order I nearly cried. Something about a tofu burger was just so wrong after being brought up around cows.

I checked my cell for messages. Nothing. Not even from Monroe.

Lunch officially sucked. People were talking about me. I had no friends, and I couldn’t eat meat. To make matters worse the only free table was smack dab in the middle of the cafeteria, meaning I was on display for all to see.

I waited for my meal.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally the bell rang.

The waiter arrived with a large platter and took the top off of the plate.

No food. Only a note that said “Moo. Maybe if you ate less, Tim wouldn’t complain about how terrible you were in bed.”

The tears came then. Full force. I was already the type of girl that got really moody when I couldn’t eat. The waiter had already disappeared.

I was going to be late for class.

The rest of the day slipped by. My only companion was the growling in my stomach. And yes I was aware how pathetic I was being. I was actually quite thrilled to be invisible considering the happenings of this morning.

And then Lucifer decided to make an appearance. It was like he appeared out of thin air. I mean, I guess I was looking at the ground. But still, the minute my eyes snapped up, there he was — icy stare full of beautiful sin.

I sighed and put my hand out on my jutted hip.

“There were rumors you didn’t get lunch.”

My eyebrow arched. “Rumors, huh? Well, alert the authorities. Oh wait, I forgot, you’re what? The judge, jury, and—”

“—Stop.” He said it so low I almost didn’t hear the words. Nixon walked toward me. I had nowhere to go but backward down the hall, and really that just seemed like a waste of time, so I tried to sidestep him.

His muscular arm popped out of nowhere, nearly bruising my windpipe in the process. “I’m speaking to you.”

“And I’m leaving.”

“Just…” He scratched his head and then did something totally out of character.

Nixon smiled.

My heart skipped a beat, or maybe seven. I lost track when I stopped breathing like a normal human being.

Without me even realizing it, he had pulled me to the side of the hall and was pinning me against the tiny alcove in the wall. Great, nobody to witness my death.

“Eat,” he urged.

My mouth snapped open to say something snotty, but the minute it did, he forced a granola bar into it.

My stomach growled with joy and my embarrassment skyrocketed as he looked down and smirked. “See? I knew you were hungry.”

I took a bite and pulled the granola bar out of my mouth. “Of course I was hungry, you ass! I was in the Red Cafeteria! I half-expected to be eaten myself in that place, and they don’t serve meat. NO MEAT, Nixon! Some cow has to live another day because the people in there eat tofu! Do you even know what that stuff is made out of?”

His eyes widened. He opened his mouth but I poked him in the chest. He flushed and then jolted away.

“And let me tell you something else. I did not sleep with Tim! Well, I may have slept, but I definitely didn’t touch his— And, and… I—”

His eyebrows rose as I lost my train of thought. He licked his lips and leaned forward. “Oh do continue. I love getting reprimanded. You gonna spank me later too?”

I felt my nostrils flare, but of course my stomach hadn’t forgotten it was starving, which of course made Nixon laugh harder. “Good Lord, woman! Just eat the damn granola bar and say thank you!”