on my behalf?”
I shouldn’t be baiting him like this, but dear Lord I was enjoying that dream, and the blissful sleep that came with it.
Apollo and Cassius snuck me back here just before dawn. I made sure not to wake Jasper, watching him like a hawk as I’d changed into my pajamas and slipped into bed. And unless he’d woken up just after I’d gone to shower, how else would he know I was gone?
“Do they hurt—?” He cuts off with an angry sound and stabs a finger toward me. “You know what? Fuck you. Do whatever you want. But I swear, if I get punished again when you fuck up, then—”
I sneer at him. “When did you ever get…?”
Jasper stands, turns to the side, and tugs down his boxers. Mustard-colored bruises mar his skin.
My stomach turns over before logic can take hold. “You’re lying,” I tell him, standing to get my clothes so I have an excuse to get the hell out of our room. “Those look old, anyway.”
“I got them the first day you arrived because you went to class without your school uniform.”
“I didn’t have one!” I whirl around to face him, thrusting out one of the dresses that miraculously appeared in my closet the day after Ruth took my measurements.
While Apollo watched.
My cheeks catch flame. I hope Jasper takes it as anger and not…something else.
“Think that matters?” he mutters.
“You want to know what I think? I think you did something,” I say, walking closer until he’s leaning back to get away from me. “Something bad enough to get you stuck with a roommate. And now you’re trying to blame me for it.”
This shuts him up, but from the sulk on his mouth, it won’t be for long.
I huff and pause a moment to rub at my temples. There’s still a faint headache lurking from all the weed and alcohol I consumed. “Where do I get painkillers from?”
He smirks at me. “Go fuck yourself.”
“Asshole.” I storm out, heading for the restroom. I hear him calling after me, but I ignore it. Probably just trying to blame more shit on me. The fucking nerve.
I find the closest restroom and change in the stall. After washing my face in the basin, I spend a few minutes trying to sort out my hair.
No luck—it will need another wash before people stop confusing me for a clown. My gaze tracks to the small window on the side of the restroom.
What time is it?
I bundle my pajamas against my stomach. The only laundry hamper I know of is the one in the showers, but I’m sure as hell not going there. I’m sure it’s full of naked boys. And the only naked boys I want to see are a select few who I’m pretty sure wouldn’t be caught dead in that place again.
I’m still blushing at that thought when I let myself back into my room and shove my dirty clothes under my bed.
“Idiot,” Jasper mutters from his bed. He’s lying on his back, a dog-eared copy of Metamorphosis propped on his stomach.
“Jerk,” I snap back. I tug at the hem of my school dress and flounce out of the room.
My stomach keeps alternating between a hungry pit and a maelstrom of bile and stomach acid. Apollo had murmured something about coffee to me when they’d been sneaking me back inside, wrapped in a blanket with nothing but underwear beneath. If it hadn’t been for them, I’d have peed myself at the thought of having to get back to my room without someone seeing me.
So coffee. Possibly breakfast.
Oh Lord. Do I have more gruel to look forward to?
I pause in the hallway, a hand on my stomach. I have to stop thinking about that or I’ll fucking puke.
I’m used to the hallways being empty around here. It seems the only time there’re lots of activities is in the morning when all the boys rush to go shower before pray—
Wait. Did I miss prayer?
I peek down the hallway and spot a boy heading toward me, hair wet and a towel dangling from his shoulders.
“Sorry?” I call out, stepping into the hallway.
He takes me in with a frown. “Yeah?”
“Were there prayers this morning?”
“It’s Saturday,” he says, frown deepening as he moves past me.
I throw up my hands at his retreating back.
I risk a peek outside. There’s not a cloud in the sky and, judging from the position of the sun, it’s early. I should have checked my schedule. Were the weekend activities even on