My legs are bare because it’s still nice enough out to not have to wear tights, but almost every girl in the hall also has bare legs, so I don’t think it’s my appearance that everyone is whispering about.
I don’t like this. It’s way too similar to my first day at Astor, when nobody said a word to me because they were waiting to see which way Reed and his brothers would swing. Hate Ella or welcome her. In the end, the student body settled for something in between. Most of the kids never really warmed up to me, but that’s probably because I was purposely antisocial and hung out only with Val.
Today, almost everyone I pass eyes me with contempt. As I make my way to my first class, I can’t stop fidgeting. I feel self-conscious and I hate it.
I’m jostled violently when a dark-haired girl shoves me to the side instead of walking around me. She saunters forward a few feet, then stops to look at me.
“Welcome back, Ella. How was the abortion? Did it hurt?” She smiles innocently.
My jaw opens just slightly before I force it shut. The girl in front of me is Claire something-or-other. She used to hook up with Easton before he got bored of her.
“Screw you,” I mutter before brushing past her.
I reach chem class at the same time as Easton. He takes one look at my face and frowns deeply. “You okay, little sis?”
“Fine,” I answer through gritted teeth.
I don’t think he believes me, but he doesn’t say a word as he follows me into the classroom. We settle at the table we’ve shared since the semester started, and I notice several smirks aimed our way.
“Nice. The Royal sex doll is back, huh, Easton?” a guy drawls from the back of the room. “Bet you and Reed are thrilled.”
Easton twists around in his chair. I can’t see his face, but whatever his expression is, it silences the heckler in a heartbeat.
There’s a cough followed by sounds of notebooks opening and clothes rustling.
“Ignore ’em,” Easton advises.
Easier said than done.
My morning only gets worse. Easton’s in most of my classes and he plants his ass beside me in each one. My cheeks burn as I overhear two girls whispering about how I’m sleeping with two of my stepbrothers.
“She’s definitely doing Gid, too,” one of them says, not even bothering to lower her voice anymore. “It was probably his baby she got vacuumed out.”
Easton does his turn-around-and-glare-bloody-murder thing again, but although it quiets the catty bitches, it doesn’t silence the uneasy voice in my head.
Val warned me there were rumors floating around about me, but is this what people actually think? That I was gone because I was having an abortion? That I slept with Reed, Easton, and Gideon?
I’m no stranger to embarrassment—stripping at the age of fifteen taught me a huge lesson about humiliation—but knowing that everyone at school is saying all this horrible stuff about me has me blinking back tears.
I have Val, I remind myself, and she’s the only person in Astor Park whose opinion matters. And Easton, I guess. He’s barely left my side since I got back to Bayview, so I think I have no choice but to consider him a friend. Even if I do despise his brother.
After class, I head back to my locker to exchange textbooks because they don’t all fit in my bag. Easton disappears down the hall, but not before squeezing my arm when we encounter yet another flurry of nasty whispers.
“So today’s Easton’s day?”
I tense up at the sound of Jordan Carrington’s voice. I was wondering how long it would take for that bitch to roll out the unwelcome mat.
Rather than answer, I grab my World History text off the top shelf and replace it with my chem book.
“That’s the arrangement, right? You alternate between Reed and Easton? Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you do Reed. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, you do East.” Jordan cocks her head. “What about Sundays? Is that reserved for one or both of the twins?”
I slam the locker door and turn to smile at her. “Nah, on Sundays I bone your boyfriend. Except for the times he’s busy—then I do your dad.”
Her eyes flash with anger. “Watch your mouth, bitch.”
Keeping my smile in place becomes a strain. “Watch yours, Jordan. Unless you want me to smack you again?” I prompt, reminding her of the beatdown I gave her in the gym last month.
She releases a throaty laugh. “Go ahead and try. Let’s see how far you get when you don’t have Reed to protect you.”
I take a step closer, but she doesn’t even flinch. “I don’t need Reed’s protection. I never did.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, really.” I jam one finger in the center of her chest, right between her perky boobs. “I’m capable of taking you down all by myself, Jordan.”
“It’s a whole new era here at Astor Park, Ella. The Royals don’t call the shots anymore. I do. One word from me, and every single student at this school will be happy to make your life miserable.”
“Gee, I’m terrified.”
Her lips curve. “You should be.”
“Whatever.” I’m sick to death of this chick’s power trips. “Get the hell out of my way.”