Year One

23

He yanked his arm out of her grasp. “I’m not telling him s**t. I agree.” He lifted his head and scowled. “You’re just over here blabbing, and we don’t want to hear it.”

“Are you being serious right now?” Her voice turned into a shriek, and her hands began to shake. “You asked me to sit here.”

“No, actually, I didn’t.” He stood and crossed his arms. “You sat down, and I didn’t even want to waste the energy to tell you to leave. Don’t make it out to be something more than it is.”

“That’s bull s**t, and you know it.” Ashley’s gaze landed squarely on me.

“Oh … now, this is going to be fun.” Cole winked at me and turned back to focus his attention on her. “You miss me, eh?”

“I wasn’t even looking at you.” Her face began to turn a shade of red. I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. Maybe it was safe to say it was the combination of both.

“It’s okay to admit it.” He acted as if he was flipping his hair over his shoulder. “I’m pretty hot.”

“This isn’t some type of game, Cole.” She pointed her finger in my direction. “That b***h hasn’t even been here a week, and she’s already screwing s**t up.”

“What exactly is she screwing up?” Jess’s violet eyes glowed, and she glared at Ashley.

I couldn’t believe that both Jess and Cole were standing up for me.

“They’ve all been different since she’s gotten here.” She stomped her foot and clenched her hands. “She needs to crawl back into whatever hole she crawled out of.”

“So, you’re saying Rage has been acting indifferent to you?” There was a challenge in Cole’s eyes.

“Yes, and she’s the only variable that changed.” She shook her head, causing her hair to bounce behind her.

“Is that how you’re justifying it in your head?” Cole’s dark laugh seemed to echo across the cafeteria.

“Let me make it clear. Obviously, I’ve needed to do this for a while.” Rage grabbed her arm and pulled her hard toward him.

Her breathing increased, and a small smile spread across her face. “Yeah, baby?”

This was going to be bad. I wasn’t sure why she was smiling, but I had a feeling he was about to pull the rug out from under her.

“First off, don’t ‘baby’ me.” His eyes were now slits, and there was a tick in his jaw. “You’re nothing to me.”

“What?” She took a deep breath and shook her head no. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is.” He let her go and took several large steps away so he was next to Damien, who had been silent the entire time. He quieted his voice so only the table could hear. “You were just a distraction and nothing more. I told you from the very beginning that you were a mere distraction; just a way for me to pass time.”

“But it changed.” Tears welled in her eyes, and it sounded as if she was begging.

A part of me felt bad for her, but these guys didn’t seem to put on charades. She should’ve known what she was getting into.

“No, I allowed you to think it was something.” He chuckled, and a smirk spread across his face. He whispered, “But now I need to fix my mistake. You were always a distraction. You will always be just another notch in my belt.”

“You asshole!” She spun away from him, and her eyes met mine. “You’ll pay for this.”

Right when I was beginning to feel bad for her, she had to go and do that.

“Misplaced blame is only for the ignorant.” The words came out before I could stop them. “So, I’m not surprised by your words.”

Cole began laughing hard and placed an arm around my shoulders. “God, I love you.”

“This isn’t over.” Ashley’s face was the same color as a tomato, and a tear ran down her cheek, leaving a wet trail behind.

“Come on, Ashley.” Jordan and Madison appeared beside her. “Let’s get you away from this slut and her fairy trash.”

“I’m not a fairy.” Jess wiggled her fingers, and the water from both her and my cups jumped out, splashing all over the three girls. They were now standing there with their clothes dripping wet and in a puddle.

“Both of you are going to pay for this.” Jordan marched to the cafeteria door and held it open as the other two girls ran through.

“That was epic.” Cole chuckled and dropped his arm. “Jess, we may have underrated you.”

“It’s just nice to have a friend.” She focused on me with a smile.

“Ravey, things sure are getting interesting with you around.” Cole bumped his shoulder into mine.

“I’m sorry about that,” Rage said as he and Damien reached our table.

“You don’t need to apologize to me.” Cole smiled, placing a hand on his chest where his heart should have been beating. “But thank you for your kind words and concern for my well-being.”

“You’re such an i***t sometimes.” Damien punched Cole in the arm.

“Now that’s not a way to get into my pants.” Cole tsked and rubbed his arm.

“Good, I’m trying to do everything possible to not get in there.” Damien glanced at his watch and began moving away. “Remember, Raven, we’ll be continuing our training sessions every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until you get a handle on things.”

Like I could have forgotten that, but at that moment, my priority was getting away from Rage. “I don’t even know where my classroom is, so I better get going.”

“I’m sure someone here would love to help you.” Cole’s smile seemed to fill his whole face.

“Yeah, Jess said she would help me earlier.” So that was a lie, but this was a serious test of our friendship. If she didn’t get the hint, I could very possibly wind up killing her.

“Can’t let my girl get lost.” Jess stood and waited on me. “Let’s go so we both aren’t late.”

Not needing any additional encouragement, I stood and rushed to the trash bins. I didn’t even bother saying ‘Bye’ to any of the guys. For now, I had to get distance from them even though a part of me didn’t want to go. It had everything to do with Rage, and that wasn’t cool.