Elite (Eagle Elite #1)(20)

Thank you? Did he want me to thank him for what just transpired over the past twenty-four hours?

And suddenly I remembered. I hadn’t seen him last night. That was all Phoenix and a bit of Chase. Bastard.

“Where were you last night?”

Nixon’s smile froze on his face. “I gotta run.”

“Wait.” I grabbed his arm. His muscles flexed beneath my fingers.

I noticed as light tremble in his arm as he jerked away. “Please.” His eyes closed briefly. “Don’t touch me.”

And then he was gone.





Chapter Ten


I wish I could say my days got easier. That after the granola bar incident everything was peachy. For the rest of the week the Red Cafeteria still served nothing but tofu and vegetarian options. By Friday the following week, I made a mental note to go grocery shopping for snacks that weekend the minute classes were over.

Luckily, the notes had stopped.

Well, actually it wasn’t necessarily lucky, because that meant I had to eat whatever was in front of me. I decided that tofu burgers weren’t so bad if you bathed them in ketchup, which I did every day. I even closed my eyes in hopes that God would sense my plight and turn my tofu into a giant cow.

I was just finishing my burger on Friday when someone approached my table. Yes, I was still sitting alone.

“Can I help you?” I asked sweetly.

The girl leaned forward until her boobs almost spilled out of her white button up shirt. “Yes. I was told to give you this.” She thrust a note into my face and waited for me to take it.

My fingers gripped the small white paper. Carefully I opened the note. It said, Meet me outside.

Outside? As in outside by all the grass and trees or outside the cafeteria?

The bell rang, signaling I had to leave anyway. Tossing the note onto the tray I picked up my bag and rushed out of the room.

Kids were lining the halls. Weird.

I kept my head down and gripped my backpack as I kept walking.

“Slut, Slut, Slut,” they chanted as I made my way through the hall. Great. Trying to ignore your peers is about as easy as trying to ignore your own face in the mirror. You don’t want the words to affect you, but it’s impossible. Weight descended upon my chest making it hard to breathe.

And then someone threw something at my head.

I staggered and reached up to touch the liquid running down my face.

Egg.

Another one hit my messenger bag, which upset me more than when it hit my hair. That was the most expensive thing I owned, next to the boots Chase had gotten me. I didn’t count grandma’s vintage shoes, because those were passed down.

I kept my gaze focused on the end of the hallway and kept walking.

Eggs flew by my head. I had to close my eyes a few times in order to wipe the slime away from my line of vision. Once I reached the end of the hall, I turned to the left, and ran right into three strong boys. Each of them had a bucket.

“Better get you clean. Elite doesn’t like dirty whores.” They lifted their buckets and dropped ice cold water all over my body.

Ruined. Everything was ruined. My one and only uniform was ruined. My messenger bag, possibly my cell phone, and all the textbooks I was carrying with me that I knew I would have to replace.

I choked on a sob and pushed through them. Passing my classroom, I began walking faster and faster, until finally, I broke into a run. I turned back to make sure they weren’t chasing me.

They were.

And everyone was laughing.

The minute I turned forward, I tripped and fell, scraping my knee like a little first grader.

People circled me, still chanting whore and slut as if I had done anything to deserve it.

“You don’t belong here, Farm Girl!” one guy shouted.

“Spend so much time on your back you’re gonna get sores!” a girl spat and then dropped a condom on top of me.

It was at that point that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to close my eyes and wait for everyone to leave, or just cry and embarrass myself. Hell, I was already beyond embarrassment. I wasn’t that girl. I was a virgin for crying out loud! I’d kissed one boy in my entire life! Ruthless, they were ruthless. More condoms followed until I was literally covered in them, and then one of the girls from the Red Cafeteria walked up to me and pulled my hair toward her, nearly dragging my body along with her.

“You are nothing. Do you understand?” she said in even cold tones. “You don’t belong here. Say it.”

I refused to say it.

She pulled harder. I shrieked and tried to fight her. Damn, she was strong. “Say it!”

“I—”

Tears burned my vision again. How did this happen to me?

I swallowed bravely and stared her down, even though I knew it was stupid and pointless. “I belong here.”

People laughed behind her. Some gasped, and yes, I did see some people averting their eyes. So not everyone was heartless, but it didn’t matter. I had no protection, nothing.

“Leave her alone,” a low voice said from behind the crowd.

I didn’t realize I was trembling until I tried to rub my eyes to see better.

“And who do you think—” The girls words died off. She jerked away from me as if I was diseased and then she was scrambling for words. “I did it for you, Nixon, for you! She can’t dismiss you like that. She can’t—”