Claimed by the Devils

Chapter 10

Aria POV

By the end of the week, I was exhausted. Friday couldn’t roll around quickly enough and as Heather and I entered the female changing rooms for gym, the idea of doing any physical activity even for educational purposes didn’t exactly get me all warm and fuzzy.

I was so tired.

Late nights and early mornings did not make for a happy Aria.

Entering the changing rooms, I saw several girls were already changed.

I spotted Chloe with her bunch of cronies in the corner.

“Are you okay?” Heather asked.

“I’m fine. I think.”

I covered my mouth as I yawned. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail today. I was still undecided about cutting it. Heather was right, though. I grew my hair as another defiance to my parents but also because of my memories with Drew. She would spend hours brushing my hair while also getting me to remember spellings. She’d throw out random words, and I’d have to spell them, define the meaning, and even create a sentence with it.

Sometimes I’d groan, but there were days when I really missed her that I’d give anything to be sitting on my ass with her brushing my hair, spelling out.

I opened up my gym bag and pulled out the required uniform for the gym. A white polo shirt with the crest of the school on the right breast pocket and a simple pair of black shorts. Again, the crest was on the left leg of the shorts. They fell to above the knee, but at least they were comfortable.

Changed, I waited for Heather to finish tying her sneakers. The moment I saw how used they were, I made a note to buy her a brand-new pair.

Heather didn’t like to ask for help. She felt being at this school was enough charity. Last year, she’d spent most of the winter with leaking shoes. I only knew the damage when she came to my dorm and I saw the trail of wet feet. I’d presented her with a new pair of shoes the next day. She’d been really upset and hated that I pitied her. I simply told her that I care. She was my friend, and I’d do what I could to take care of her.

We linked arms and walked out to the main hall. The guys were already lined up.

This was one part of school I hated, the mixed groups of students. Male and female. Back in public school, they had done an experimental program where they separated the genders. Most hated it. I relished it.

It kind of helped doing gym without any guys to point out my bouncing breasts with the rude comments and pointing fingers.

We took a seat on the bleachers and I saw the Saintly Devils were not too far from us. They all kept looking at me, and I hated the attention.

“You’re shaking,” Heather said.

“I’m fine.”

I noticed Heather liked to touch me a lot. Hold my hands, tuck my hair back, even putting her hand at my back. At first, I found it a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t the touchy-feely kind of person. Then I thought of Drew. She was the only person to give me physical comfort. I never brought it up with Heather and just learned to deal with it.

Some people liked to be affectionate.

Heather grabbed my hands, holding them. I didn’t know why I was so nervous.

Gym always made me feel this way. There was no getting away from it.

“You can all moan and groan, but we all know what is coming. We’re going to do laps. Assess your fitness level, and then we get to decide what to do with your asses for the rest of the year,” Coach Bilson said.

We got to our feet and headed outside. At least it wasn’t raining. Coach Bilson didn’t like excuses. He told us all we were living in a different time than when he was a kid, but what didn’t kill you, made you stronger. He didn’t take any crap from anyone. I thought he was the only person the Saintly Devils didn’t piss off.

You made an enemy out of Coach Bilson, your time during gym was a nightmare. Once we were on track, he got us all lined up into separate running times. Heather had to go first, so she lined up and was gone. The next crew was Chloe and several guys.

What a surprise, I was left to run alongside a couple of other girls and the guys I’d been trying to avoid.

“Are you ready for this, babe?” Rowan asked.

I wrinkled my nose at him. Running was the sport of the devil. If I kept a good pace, I wouldn't look like a total loser. What I couldn’t do was sprint. I wouldn’t last the lesson, and Coach loved to make these last. They were hard and grueling.

The moment he shouted go, I took off, keeping a steady pace.

I wasn’t going to lie, my heart raced like crazy, and a part of me was a little embarrassed I wasn’t quite as fit as everyone else. I was a bigger girl, had been all my life, but I’d prided myself on being able to do as much as I can and keeping active. I often enjoyed walks, and there was a short time I did some yoga. After I nearly trapped myself into a position and panicked, the yoga came to an end. There were better things in life to do than attempting to bend like a pretzel.

The guys were ahead of me, and I was more than happy with that. It was hot.

I was tired.

I didn't want to run.

This week alone had been one of the weirdest I’d ever experienced.

The selection. The attention. The guys. They weren’t taking it very well. Even after four days—we started on Tuesday—you’d think they would have taken the hint. Nope. No hint taken.

We had just finished one lap when the coach shouted for us to take another. I glanced over and saw Heather running, keeping to herself. I was so ready to call it a day.

“Hello, beautiful,” Rowan said, moving in a little closer.

I groaned.

“Can we not?”

I was only going to be able to use a few words. I was already out of air.

Damn. Running was no easy thing.

“You know it’s Friday, right?”

“Of course.”

“There’s a party happening off campus.”

“No.”

“You’re going to make us work for it, aren’t you?” Rowan asked.

“I’m not making you work for anything.”

“Yeah, you are.”

I was so angry I stopped.

“What will it take to make you leave me alone?”

“Give us a chance. Give the selection a chance.”

“Hell, no. I don’t know you guys. I don’t want to get to know you guys. This is all … it’s wrong. If you had any sense, you’d leave me alone and find a girl who wants all your attention.”

“What’s going on?” Lucian asked, joining us.

We were all covered in sweat.

“Nothing.”

“Do I need to give you guys detention?” Coach asked, yelling across the field.

“She won’t come to the party with us,” Rowan said.

“I never go to any party.”

I glanced over Lucian’s shoulder and saw the glare from Coach. I quickly jogged past them, doing the laps.

We did the laps three more times before Coach got us all to stop. To cool our bodies down, he told us all to do stretches.

I was about to head to Heather when someone banded their arm around my waist and pulled me back.

“Not happening,” Rowan said.

“Damn it. Just let me go.”

“Nope. You need to cool your body off, and I know just the trick.”

I didn’t like the way his palm rested against my stomach as if he had a right to touch me. He didn’t. None of them did.

One look at Heather, and I saw Elliot had intercepted her as well.

Gritting my teeth, I had no choice but to stretch with him. When everyone lay down, Rowan took me to the ground, grabbing my foot and lifting it up.

“This is supposed to feel good here.”

He placed his palm beneath my thigh, a little too high up. I glared at him, tense.

We swapped legs, and then we were told to change partners.

“You can be on top any time you want to, princess.”

I grabbed his leg and pushed a little too harshly. He moaned.

“That’s right, baby, make it hurt.”

The urge to kick him in the balls was strong. I showed restraint.

Once the cool-down stretches were done, Coach let us all know the first couple of weeks were going to be obstacle course training. It was designed to help the football team with reaction times. Everything we did was for the football team.

The lesson was done, and I felt so much relief to be getting back into the changing room. I didn’t swap my clothes, instead grabbing my bag. Heather did the same.

“I don’t want to eat in the cafeteria for dinner. How about I take us out to pizza? Your place. You can have your fake pizza.”

I burst out laughing.

“There is nothing fake about it. It’s so good.”

“I don’t know how you can eat that stuff.”

I rolled my eyes. Vegan pizza was the best. I loved it.

We left the changing room, entering the main school quad, and left each other to go to our own separate dorms.

The one thing I didn’t have in my dorm room was a shower. I had no choice but to gather my shower bag, towel, and a change of clothes, and head to the communal one the whole dorm shared.

Cleaners came in regularly to clean up the mess, so sharing a room with nearly a hundred girls wasn’t so bad.

I went to the shower at the end of the hall. I put my bag down, then took out my soap and shampoos. I loved to use vanilla-scented shampoo. I waited for the water to turn warm before stepping beneath the spray and closing my eyes. There were some luxuries I missed from home, like a nice hot bath. Showers were going to have to be done until Thanksgiving unless I didn’t go home this year.

My parents were trying to be the more loving and responsible type. I thought they were making up for the times when I was a kid. They hated how much my characteristics resembled the nanny rather than them.

After washing my body then my hair, I stayed beneath the spray for a good five minutes, just allowing the week to roll right off me. It felt good to have completed one week. Not too many to go, and then I could start the next stage of my journey.

After turning off the shower, I grabbed the towel and as I wrapped it around my body, the lights suddenly went out. I was thrown into total darkness, and my heart started to race. I had a fear of the dark, and I immediately closed my eyes, knowing without a doubt someone was in the room.

“This isn’t funny. Whoever it is, turn the lights back on.”

I hated how my voice quivered.

This was a childish fear. One I found so utterly humiliating.

“Turn the damn light back on now.”

My name was whispered in the air.

With no other choice, I had to open my eyes. There was no way I could get changed.

Damn it.

Why had my life begun to suck so bad? I hadn’t done anything to anyone else.

“Whoever it is, you’re going to get reported to the principal and then your ass will be kicked out of here.”

My threats were useless.

“Fuck.”

I heard someone moving. I made a quick dash for it as someone grabbed my hair, pulling me back. A bright light shone in my eyes, and in my haste to get away and the sudden attack, I’d lost my towel. My screams filled the air, followed by my humiliation. I’d been the victim of a damn prank.

The lights came back on.