Jessie Kensington thought she had escaped her troubled past when she faked her death and started a new life as Violet Arrowood. But three years later, she finds herself at Vanguard University on a scholarship, trying to build the future she always d...
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My cheeks are still burning, and I'm surrounded by people snickering and cheering, both at me and the game that Vanguard University just won.
Ty's jersey clings to my wet skin, making me feel like a giant target. I'm furious that he would put me in this position. Clara has been bombarding me with questions after she stopped staring at me like a deer in headlights.
I keep giving her vague answers—"I don't know" and "he just wanted to humiliate me." Part of me thinks that's true. I understand he was trying to distract Clara from that monster, but why me? Why this? Does he hate me so much that he's willing to embarrass me in front of everyone? I thought we were starting to become friends—okay, maybe not friends, but something more than we were. It stings to think he would do this.
"Okay, I know I've asked like a gazillion times, but I still don't understand WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!"
Ugh. I roll my eyes and push past Clara. Cass is approaching us both, so I know I'm not leaving her alone up here. Tate left earlier, putting his number in Clara's phone so they could "catch up" later. I'm glad he did because, as nice as he was, I wasn't in the mood to be fake nice to someone I don't really know.
I make my way down the bleachers, watching Lexi, the cheerleader, skip after Ty like a puppy. I've never understood why girls do that. I've seen it happen here and at every bar I've worked at—chasing a guy who treats them like crap. They disappear down the halls. The rest of the cheerleaders give me death glares and snickers.
"Who even is she?" one girl says loudly enough for me to hear.
"I don't know, but maybe it's a charity case?"
"Maybe she's Lexi 2.0."
"I don't know. She probably should rethink her wardrobe, though. Her thighs are hella thick."
And then, to really drive it home: "Did someone order slut with a side of cellulite?" The last girl snickers.
I curl my arms around myself and walk faster, desperate to be invisible. I shouldn't let them get to me, but I can't help it. My skin should be as thick as metal, but it's not. It's porous, absorbing every insult and bad word, and it hits me deep.
I walk past the football team as they push through the double doors into the hall where Ty and Lexi have disappeared. I slip in and head to the nearest bathroom. I hear Ted calling me from somewhere, but I ignore him and quickly close the door behind me.
I shouldn't have come to this stupid game. It's all Ty this and Ty that. Now Ty has dragged me into this madness. I don't want to deal with mean girls and unwanted attention. I should be at home working on my essays, focusing on my degree, starting a new life, and getting back to Mikey. I know I shouldn't have left Clara alone there; she definitely wasn't in the wrong. I'm just as confused as she is, and I'd rather be humiliated in front of everyone than have her see that douchebag. No one here knows me—at least, not the old me. That's what's important. But that doesn't mean I can be reckless. One small slip, like that photo on Clara's Instagram, could ruin everything. I was lucky she deleted it in time. If the police or anyone from my hometown had seen it, everything I sacrificed, everything I've worked for, would be for nothing.
