My stomach drops, fists clenching at my sides and I’ve heard just about enough out of her lying mouth. I fling the door open, startling them as they shriek until they see me standing in the open stall with my arms crossed over my chest.
“Stalk much?” Paris's other friend sneers. I can’t seem to care to get to know their names.
“You know what is pathetic, Paris? You and how you continue to chase Logan when he obviously doesn’t want you. Keep spreading rumors, I don’t give a fuck because I’m the one warming Logan’s bed at night. Actually, all of them. So yeah, I’m a slut. Their slut.” I grin as her face contorts into rage, her cheeks turning red as her friends go silent.
“My God. You're so blind and easy to spread your legs to any guy it would seem. You are nothing but trash. Logan realizes that and he’ll drop you once he’s done with you. I’ll be here, waiting for him to return to me like he always does.” Paris steps close, pulling out her cellphone, and shoves it in my face while looking smug as hell.
I pull my gaze away from her and blink a couple of times as the image in front of me on the screen starts to make sense. I can distantly hear the girls giggling but my whole focus narrows on the image of Paris and the two guys surrounding her on a red velvet couch that looks familiar. Dom’s club. My eyes scan the article by Elle Walker, a journalist.
What is this? It can’t be real. Logan promised me… but you can’t deny what’s right in front of your face.
Both Logan and Nicky are on either side of her, crowded close like lovers. Paris has her hand on Logan’s leg as it looks like he’s whispering something in her ear with a smile on her face. Nicky’s chest is pressed up against her back, his hand wrapped around the back of her neck as he stares at the couple in front of him with a small grin stretched across his thick lips.
Nicky hardly ever smiles. God. Can this really be happening? Does Tey know about this? I feel like a fool, staring at the article that just goes on and on about Franco’s son not setting a good example since his father might be putting his hat into the next election. I don’t care about any of that.
“See? You are just a game to pass the time,” Paris sneers in my face, smirking when she sees my eyes water until I blink the tears away. “I was surprised Nicky has taken an interest in me since he has a thing for dicks. Disgusting.”
Her friends laugh, making crude jokes and making fun of Nicky. I feel my pulse pounding, a whooshing in my ear as if I have my head dunked under water.
“What the fuck did you just say?” My body is locked tight as a bowstring, all my focus zeroing on Paris.
“You heard me, skank.” Her voice is arrogant, making me feel pissed off and repulsed by her behavior.
She snatches her phone out of my frozen fingers as she turns back to the mirror, playing with her hair and laughing with her friends as I stand behind her. I can handle her shoving her relationship with Logan in my face, I’ll cry about it later under my covers but to make fun of someone for loving another person… It’s wrong. The whole thing makes me mad, furious that I make my decision to kick her snooty, hypocrite ass. I don’t think, I just react.
Her scream echoes around the bathroom as I grab her by the back of her head, my fist tight in her hair. There's just something therapeutic about slamming her plastic surgery nose in the mirror, her face is squished and smeared with blood from the cut at her temple.
“I’ve had enough of your jealousy and nasty attitude. Should I just kill you now?” I lean down and whisper in her ear, watching her eyes widen as she struggles in my grip.
Her two friends intervene, pulling me off Paris who turns around with her lip curled as she dives at me. The two girls scream as we go down in a tangle of limbs the moment Paris attacks me with her body, scratching her nails down my face hard enough to draw blood. I don’t care at the moment, I want this bitch to pay for everything she’s done since I first met her. Her two friends get up and scramble to the door, leaving me and Paris rolling on the floor as I pull my fists back to punch her in the face. Her elbow catches my lip, splitting it open as I manage to roll on top of her and swing my fists until she stops fighting back.
Arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me off a passed out Paris and I kick my legs, yelling as I try to get out of their hold.
“Calm down, killer. It’s just me,” Tey grunts out in my ear while tightening his arms around my waist. I try to kick his shin from behind, but he doesn’t let up.
My body goes slack in his grip the moment it clicks with me that he’s holding me back from committing murder in the girls’ school bathroom. I pant for breath, staring down at Paris, and manage to kick her in the gut one more time before Tey pulls us away with a dark chuckle.
“Not that I don’t disapprove but what did she do to make you beat her unconscious?” Tey gently sets me down on the bathroom counter, caging me between his arms as he examines my face.
“You don’t know what Logan and Nicky did last week with Paris?” Tey’s eyes flicker towards mine with a confused look before he presses his thumb against my split lip.
“You can’t believe everything that comes out of Paris’s mouth when she’s jealous of you.” He clicks his tongue, shaking his head while looking over my messy hair and bloody face with a soft smile spreading over his plump lips.
“Tey… There are pictures on the internet by some journalist catching them at Dom’s club with her. They looked pretty cozy,” I mumble, hating how defended and hurt I sound.
Tey freezes, staring deep into my eyes and biting his lip ring as doubt crosses his facial expression. I gasp as he swings me up in his arms suddenly, throwing me over his shoulder like a caveman until my only view is his tight, muscular ass. He walks out of the bathroom, and down the hallways of the school without saying anything. The sun is bright and hot on my back as he strides outside and across the parking lot before stopping. He bends down and sets me on my feet, the blood rushing back to my head with a small wave of dizziness. I glance around and see him holding open the backseat door of Nicky’s car, waiting for me to move.
“Get in.” He gestures with a wave of his hand to the backseat.
I huff out a breath and climb in, scooting over when Tey follows after me while slamming the car door behind him. The silence is thick as we shut ourselves in the car, the blacked out windows adding to our privacy. I watch him rummage around in the middle console, pulling out wipes and turning back towards me. It’s hard to read his expression, his eyes flicking between mine and back towards the smeared blood on my face that he slowly wipes away.
“You have no reason to believe me but, Tillie… We are all crazy for you. Whatever Logan and Nicky did, hear them out first before making up your mind. Promise me that please?” Tey leans back, cupping my cheek as he swipes his thumb back and forth over the corner of my split lip.
I don’t know if I can do that. I’ve been burned so many times in life that there isn’t much left inside me to feel any emotions. I think of my life without the guys in it and come up blank. Maybe the image the journalist caught isn’t what it looks like? Can I really trust a word anyone says, especially Logan? What more do I have to lose? At least I’ll be able to get a real answer and know if this is where I’m meant to be.
“I’m scared. What if it’s something I’m not ready to hear?” I stare at him, hoping he has an answer but he just shakes his head with a sigh.
“I don’t know, kitten, but I know those guys. They would kill for you, die for you and that says something. Although I’m kind of pissed about them keeping secrets. Do you want to have some fun with me while getting revenge?” Tey starts to smile wickedly, leaning back in the seat with his legs spread and patting his lap.
