Aside from hating me, they didn’t like it when I had anyone on my side. It was why no one asked me to homecoming. It was why I couldn’t go to any school games, and why I couldn’t even walk to my locker without having curses and names thrown at me. It was also why every girl in the school looked at me like I’d caught leprosy. They didn't want to catch the guys’ wrath like I had. It was understandable.
Bonham, Luis, Godfrey, and Rogue didn’t just run the school. They were practically going to inherit all of Savannah. Their parents had the three C’s: cash, connections, and capability. This city was in the palm of their hands.
By the time I made it to the nurse’s office, the bell had long since rung for the next period. My mama would probably lecture me about my tardiness later. These teachers were the worst narcs ever. Any little thing that happened, and they ran off to Principal Livingston. Just another reason for Mama to be disappointed in me.
I threw open the door and looked around, relieved when I found that it was empty of other students, but the nurse was behind her desk. Nurse Courtney was a thirty-something ex-debutante. She came from a long line of good Savannah blood, but my mama said she ruined her life when she married beneath her. Her filthy-rich parents cut her off and disowned her for it.
Now, she was stuck giving out ice packs for fistfights and Tylenol for period cramps to a horde of entitled teenagers. If I were her, I would’ve been bitter as hell. Nurse Courtney looked up from her phone where she sat at her desk, and her eyes immediately widened at my partially soaked, bloody, and bruised self.
“What happened this time?” she asked, getting up from her seat to come assess me.
I shrugged. “Same bitch, different day.”
Nurse Courtney’s lips thinned. “I wish you’d let me report Stephanie.”
I shook my head and followed Nurse Courtney to the chair while she pulled out some antiseptic and cotton balls. “No, it would only make it worse,” I said.
“That girl used to kiss your feet. Hell, y’all used to be friends,” she reminded me.
It was true. I used to hold the entire school in the palm of my hand, all because I was the Heirs’ queen. The Stephanie Palmisanos of the school worshipped me, because they wanted to be me. But the moment Bonham put word out that I was yesterday’s news, they all dropped me like burnt hot cakes.
As we got older, the guys became notorious for having sex with girls and then tossing them away, but not me. With me, they were always different. I never slept with any of them, but I was part of their inner circle, and I cherished our friendship. Until seven months ago.
The other girls were jealous, but they wouldn’t have ever dared to be mean to me. Rogue would’ve destroyed them. He was best known for being the destructive yet protective one of the group. No one dared to mess with me and risk pissing him off. Funny how fast things can change.
I was their friend since we were seven years old. I thought we’d always be together. Now, I was the scum of this prep school, and the entire student body liked to remind me of that everyday. And the girls? They relished in my downfall.
Nurse Courtney pressed the cotton ball against my lip, making me hiss in pain. She tsked while she went to work cleaning off the blood streak that Bonham had made. It was the first time any of them had touched me for months. I actually got a little sick satisfaction from it, even though he did it to bring me more pain. But then, I’d always been fucked up when it came to them.
“It won’t always be like this, honey,” she whispered in a low tone, a secret reassurance meant only for me.
I knew she was right. I knew it was temporary. Graduation was just around the corner. I had the acceptance of a legacy at Harvard and a new life waiting for me.
So why did it make me sick to think of leaving the guys who were tormenting me?
“Just gotta survive the next six months,” I said through gritted teeth, hoping I sounded tougher than I felt.
“Look, I’ll give you a pass to excuse you from your next class. Why don’t you go blow off some steam, sugar?”