Chapter 18
When the bell rings signaling the end of precalc, I’m up and out of my seat about as fast as I can move. Everything is a jumbled-up mess in my head, and I need somewhere quiet to think. I hurry to the end of the hallway and out the side door. Fuck lunch. No way in hell am I venturing into a cafeteria full of vipers. Not when I’m still reeling from Mandy’s threats and trying to decide how to prepare myself for her next attack. Because I have no doubt she’ll come at me again, especially after I made her feel like an idiot.
Glancing around, I decide I’ll just sit in the grass at the side of the building and eat the apple I hadn’t been able to eat this morning because my anxiety had set in. I finish it way too fast, my stomach still gurgling for more. There are no garbage cans nearby, so I chuck it way across the lawn. At least some animal will have a good dinner.
The door bangs open, and I cringe. Shit. I’m afraid to look up and see who’s found me.
“Fucking finally. There you are. What the hell, Lyla? What are you doing out here?” Griffin sighs, running his hand through his hair and plops down next to me with an inelegant thud.
I don’t say anything at first, my mind tumbling.
“Everyone is combing the school looking for you.”
“Everyone who?”
“Beau, Max, Micah, Xander, Daphne, Scarlett. Aria. Fucking everyone.” He throws his arms up to emphasize his point.
“They didn’t have to do that. People are being assholes, that’s all. I’m fine.”
“Right. When a girl says she’s fine, that’s like a flashing neon-yellow sign that she’s not.” Griff nudges my shoulder. “Look, you can talk to me. I’m a good listener. Promise.”
I look warily at him. Griffin has been nothing but nice to me since I got here.
He reaches for my hand, and I stare down where they’re joined as he threads his fingers through mine. “I mean it. You can tell me anything, and I won’t repeat it.”
I think he’s just being friendly. Brotherly, even. I nod, letting out a huge sigh. “Thank you, but I’m okay. Aria warned me that there would be some bitchy behavior I might have to deal with.”
As if he senses I have more to say, he sits in silence, waiting.
I nibble on my lip for a few seconds, debating how much to tell him. Finally, I figure it would be good to have another person in addition to Aria on my side and in the know. “That girl Mandy is gunning for me already. She basically staked her claim on Beau and told me to keep my hands off. We might have had a little disagreement in the bathroom.”
Griffin cocks his brow at me, as if he knows I’m downplaying things.
I grit my teeth. “Okay, fine, it was more like a big disagreement, complete with threats, name-calling, and shoving. But she’s apparently the team captain and that could cause me some real—”
He groans. “Ah, shit. Yeah, she’s going to be a pain in the ass. But how does she even know who you are? It’s barely lunch on your first day.”
“Oh, please. Everyone and their mother knows that I’m the new Thorn in your side. I’ve already been accused of latching on to you guys and using you to get ahead here. Then there was Mandy, and—” I hesitate, blowing out a deep sigh.
Griff sucks in air through his teeth. “What else? Tell me.”
“Did Beau tell you about the asshole in precalc?”
He shakes his head, frowning. “No, he didn’t.” He shifts to the side, pulling out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Beau to let him know I found you.” His thumbs fly over his phone’s keyboard. “Done. Now tell me about the asshole.”
“It was lovely. I’d just had it out with Mandy in the bathroom, and Beau offered me a seat next to him, but I chose to sit with Aria instead. You know, because she’s my friend, too. Well, the second I didn’t go back there with Beau, some asshat opened his mouth laughing about how Beau has pussy available in his house and he can’t even get with it because I have attitude. That’s sort of how it went.” I shrug. “I may have told him off.”
Griffin chuckles. “Well. Things have gotten interesting quickly.”
I cover my eyes with one hand. “Yeah. They have.” I peer at him from between my fingers. “Anyway, the worst of it is Mandy. She hates me already, I guess just because I’m staying with you guys? It’s pretty shitty that she threatened me and my position on the team.”
“Totally not cool. And Beau’s going to be pissed.”
“Will he be, though? I got the impression he liked her.”