Page 90 of Sinful Desires
“Smart bastards,” she grumbled. “What happened when you got there?”
I shifted uncomfortably on the bed, not sure if I should spill everything or not. Anxiety ate away at me. As if noticing this, she placed a reassuring hand on my knee and nodded encouragingly.
Deciding that it was best to tell her everything, I did. Well, I chose to leave out the part of me coming all over Collin’s fingers. My body’s betrayal didn’t need to be up for discussion.
She was quiet as I spoke, her eyes widening every now and then when I hit certain points in my story.
“That’s literally insane,” she said once I finished up. “I knew they were all fucked up, but I guess I didn’t realize to what extent.” A few moments later, she grimaced. “And I had sex with Hunter.”
I snorted in amusement even though it wasn’t a laughing matter. “And I fucked Collin,” I reminded her. “I know exactly how you feel.”
Her expression contorted as her thoughts consumed her. “Something isn’t right about any of this,” she mumbled. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels really off.”
A humorless laugh left me. “No shit. They’re certifiably insane.”
She rolled her eyes playfully. “Obviously, but that’s not what I mean. For years people have known to avoid them because they’re assholes and can make school here a living hell. They’re known for pushing people around—guys mostly. But what they’re doing to you…that’s not something they’re known for. It’s bordering on obsessive, degrading, and possessive.”
A lump formed in my throat, making it difficult to breathe. I knew Myles had some twisted vendetta against me and that he pulled his friends in on it. But I have noticed things shifting with all of us. Foster groping me, Collin and Hunter making me come despite hating me, Myles acting somewhat human. If he truly hated me, why bandage the wound on my hip? Why give me a drink and help me back to my room? Raven was right. It didn’t make sense.
“They’ve never done this before?” I questioned, my skin crawling with nerves.
“No. Like I said, they’ll get into shit with other guys usually. It’s almost never a girl, and when it is, it never goes this far.”
I nodded, my teeth sinking into the fat of my lower lip. “What does this mean for me?”
She shrugged unhelpfully. “I’m not sure, but I doubt it’s anything good.” A thoughtful expression contorted her features and her eyes glazed over. When she brought herself back to reality, her eyebrows drew together in contemplation.
“What?”
She quickly shook her head. “Nothing. I was just thinking.”
“About?”
She couldn’t throw all of this stuff at me and expect me not to ask any questions. Things have been getting worse and worse for me here, and I doubted that it would change any time soon.
“Really, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about this girl who used to go here. Her name was Dory.”
I didn’t believe that this was the only thing she’d been thinking about, but my shoulders relaxed, nonetheless. “Gia told me about her,” I murmured.
My stomach churned with another round of guilt. These guys have done horrible things, yet my body reacted to them like they were gods. Even Foster who did nothing but insult me, belittle me, and degrade me. I wanted my body back. I wanted my life back.
Raven nodded. “She wasn’t like them,” she said. I didn’t even have to ask who she was referring to. I knew she meant Madison and Jessica. “Dory was pretty and new. That’s why they befriended her,” she continued. “I think they were targeting her from the beginning. They just used Hunter as the excuse they needed to finally knock her down a peg.”
“Why befriend her at all then?” I inquired, my forehead creasing.
“To keep her in their corner. Girl code and all that. They thought that if they had her on their side, she wouldn’t go after their boyfriends.”
I pushed out an unsteady breath. “That actually makes a lot of sense.” They felt threatened by Dory, so they welcomed her with open arms. When the opportunity presented itself, they struck. If I had been here back then, I would have helped her. No one deserved to go through something as traumatic as that. Especially alone.
All this talk about mean girls had my mind spinning. An image of another mean girl I thought I left behind sparked in my brain. Paisley.
Beating her ass in that ring felt amazing. How she even knew where I’d been sent off to was beyond me. Hell, was she even here for me at all, or was it a coincidence? I couldn’t picture her doing anything bad enough to get sent here.
“Maybe we should tell someone,” Raven chimed in, worry tugging at her features. “About what they’re doing to you. Maybe Mrs. Bell could do something?”
I was shaking my head before my brain could catch up with my movements. “Absolutely not,” I said a little too hastily. “That’s what got me into this mess in the first place. It’s bad enough that I told you.”
Myles promised to kill me for telling on him last time. For some reason, I was still standing. If he caught wind that I told on him again, I wouldn’t stand a chance.