didn’t understand why Maddox was so fascinated by me, their words, or why me and not them. Honestly, neither did I. Maddox was somewhat a mystery even to me. Why did he put me on his radar?
Riley let out a huff, her face red with anger. “What is wrong with them?”
“Just…ignore it,” I said, breathing out a tired sigh. “They’ll eventually grow bored and choose another victim.”
“It’s not fair.”
No, it wasn’t, but I was learning to accept my fate.
Riley, bless her heart, looked ready to attack someone, but I pulled her back.
“You have dance practice, right? Don’t be late.” I nudged her toward the door.
She let out a sigh and gave me a sad look. “You can’t them walk all over you, Lila. I did that. I let them bully me to their satisfaction and they took everything from me. My friends, my popularity, my pride… until I had nothing left. They are like vultures. They won’t stop until they break you apart. You need to show them who’s boss because you are.”
After all, I had nothing to be scared of. Maddox was on my side now. His friend. His only friend who was a girl. I had more power than any of the girls he slept with. He was king, and as much as I hated it, that made me the unofficial queen. Berkshire Academy was my kingdom.
But no one wanted a cold queen. The last thing I wanted to do was have them despise me any more than they already did.
Once Riley left, I walked into the bathroom since my bladder was close to exploding. The bus wasn’t going to be here for another fifteen minutes, so I had enough time.
I was washing my hands when it happened.
When they rounded up on me.
In the mirror, I caught sight of four girls. I recognized two of them. Bethany, probably the most popular girl in Berkshire, and her best friend, Suraiya. The other two girls were familiar, but I didn’t know them well enough to know their names.
They circled around me, and I shut off the tap, shaking away the droplets of water from my hands.
“Can I help you?” I asked, suspicious of their sudden appearance.
“She can speak,” Bethany mocked, with a fake innocence.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m leaving.” I walked past her, and she grabbed my arm, digging her long nails into my skin. I didn’t flinch, but it stung like a bitch.
“Not so fast, Garcia.” She said my name like it was a stain.
“What do you want?” I wasn’t scared, but I didn’t like how there was one of me and four of them. They crowded around me, trying to be intimidating.
Bethany smiled, though it looked every bit as fake and malicious as she was. “I just wanted to give you a little…warning.”
I laughed. “Maddox? Right, of course. Go ahead, give me your warning.”
I tried to appear unfazed, but I knew what was coming. They were here for a reason. The fact that I wasn’t cowering or begging for them to spare me angered them.
“Let’s just say, I’m trying to save you some face. Maddox will grow tired of you, soon enough, and he’ll drop you like yesterday’s trash. You’re going to be hurt because that’s what he does. He breaks girls like you for a hobby.”
I returned her fake smile with one of my own. “Oh, like he grew tired of you and threw you out like yesterday’s trash?”
The corners of her eyes twitched, and her smile slipped off her lips.
I wasn’t done yet. If she wanted to be a bitch, I was going to show her how to play the game right.
I shook her hand off me, tsking under my breath. “I remember that day. Gossip tends to travel fast.”
Last year when I was still the new girl, Maddox and Bethany slept together. The next day, she publicly claimed she was his girlfriend, but he turned her down in front of everyone by saying: You were a good lay but not good enough to earn the title of my girlfriend.
It was harsh, and things turned ugly that day.
But Bethany was rich and spoiled as well as the cheerleading captain. She was Miss Popular and gossip like that didn’t affect her. Sure, her pride was wounded, but she bounced back quickly and kept the title of queen bee.
She growled and lashed forward, backhanding me in the face. I didn’t see it coming, and it hurt. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth when I