I’m waiting outside of Matthews’ office first thing Wednesday morning, ready to plead Daisy’s case again. I pushed her too far and I know it, and damn if she didn’t get to me yesterday afternoon, clipping roses in her dad’s garden and looking pitiful as fuck. Her face was pale and her eyes were swollen, like she’d been crying nonstop since second period, which she probably had.
Seeing her like that made me feel bad—and renewed my intentions. I refuse to let this girl remain suspended for another day. I basically asked for that slap. I provoked her into violence and I’m more than willing to own it. Couldn’t even tell anyone why I did that. Something about her sets me on fire, and not always in a good way. It’s annoying, how she doesn’t seem to like me. And then what do I do?
Push her limits and make her hate me even more.
God, I’m stupid sometimes.
But ultimately, I’m a fucking Lancaster and I know I can convince Matthews to revoke the suspension or whatever he has to do to get it off her record. He adores Daisy. Thinks the sun rises and sets on her pretty blonde head. He doesn’t want his favorite student to be among the degenerates of the school, which she sort of is right now.
Kind of hot, I cannot lie. The girl definitely has spirit inside her. She had no qualms slapping me yesterday morning. No hesitation either. One second, she’s staring at me in disbelief and the next, her hand is cracking across my cheek, making it throb.
The moment Matthews enters the admin building and sees me standing outside his closed office door, he comes to a stop, his shoulders sagging as he tilts his head back for a moment before he zeros that gaze of his directly on me.
“What are you doing here?”
He knows what I’m doing here. I don’t know why I have to bother explaining.
“Daisy Albright,” I answer, shoving my hands in my pockets.
I went full blown Lancaster Prep today, wearing every piece of my uniform. Even the goddamn jacket. I wanted to look like the perfect little student in the hopes it would convince Matthews I mean business.
“You can’t change what happened.” He strides toward me, walking past me to unlock his office door. “Only a few days into the school year and look at the chaos you’ve already caused.”
“I want to make it right,” I tell him as I follow Matthews into his cramped office.
He completely ignores me, turning on the lights and dropping his battered leather book bag on top of a pile of file folders. Hasn’t the man heard of digital filing? Storage? iClouds?
“There’s nothing you can do to change the situation,” Matthews says once he’s settled into his creaky old chair. “She has one more day of suspension and then she’ll be back at school tomorrow. It’s fine. She’s going to be fine.”
I feel responsible for her getting in trouble. I should’ve never said she had mommy issues. I pushed and pushed until she broke and after seeing her yesterday, I realized she’s not just broke, she’s broken.
Maybe she’s always been broken. I don’t know. Deep down, I feel like shit for it. I’ve done her wrong and I need to fix this.
And I never want to fix shit.
When I remain in front of his desk deathly quiet, Matthews finally sighs, leaning back in his chair as he watches me. “You’re not going to give up, are you?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Why do you want to help her anyway?”
“It wasn’t her fault, what happened.”
“She’s the one who slapped you.”
“I said something shitty to her to make her react like that,” I say.
Matthews’ brows shoot up. “What exactly did you say?”
I shake my head, my lips pressed together. I’m not telling him because hearing me admit it out loud will make me feel even shittier.
A sigh leaves Matthews. “Are you willing to take on her punishment?”
Icy tendrils of shock slide down my spine, but I remain as stiff as a board as I murmur, “Maybe.”
Or maybe not. Fuck, what will that do to me? I’m already in detention. Newsflash—it sucks. Taking a mandatory day off of school because I got “suspended”? My parents, specifically my father, might want to kill me, but what’s really going to happen in the long run?
Absolutely nothing. If I want to go to college, my dad will just buy my entry anyway. Via paying for a new dorm building or whatever. It’ll be no problem.
While Daisy is over here toiling away, trying to earn good grades so she can get into a good school and become a good little tax-contributing citizen for the rest of her life. She’ll work a boring job and marry a boring man and have a couple of boring kids.
Sounds real fucking great.
So why the hell do I care? Why do I want to help her?
The look on her face when I said she had mommy issues haunts me. The shock in her gaze, the pain. I hurt her with two carelessly said words and I can’t take them back.
I may be reckless and impulsive, but I never want to intentionally hurt someone. And that’s what I did to Daisy.
What I keep doing to her.
“How about this. I’ll suspend you for two days and scratch Daisy’s suspension off of her record. Not like the suspension will hurt you,” Matthews mutters.
It’s like he read my mind. I need to make it up to her so I automatically say, “I’ll do it.”
“Why?”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“Why are you willing to take on her punishment? You’re not what I would call a martyr, Arch. You’re probably one of the most selfish Lancasters I’ve run into, and trust me, I’ve dealt with a lot of you,” Matthews says vehemently. “Not a single one of them has taken on someone else’s punishment as their own.”
“Like I said, I made her do it,” I admit. “I goaded her into slapping me.”
“You goad everyone into doing what they do when they’re around you. You do realize this, right? You need to learn how to control yourself.” Matthews leans forward and reaches for his desk phone, picking up the receiver and punching a few numbers on the keypad before it starts ringing. “Hey, Ralph. Will you let Daisy know she can come to school today? Yeah, I know I had to suspend her, but there was some, ah, confusion regarding the situation.”
He goes quiet and I can hear the school groundskeeper, otherwise known as Daisy’s father, berating Matthews for making such a huge mix up. The headmaster glares at me as he takes his verbal beating, finally able to speak after a few minutes.
“I apologize for any misunderstanding. Have Daisy come to my office as soon as she can and then we’ll let her go on to first period. Yes, I’ll be waiting. I apologize again. Thank you.” He hangs up the phone, his gaze finding mine once more. “You owe me, Lancaster.”
I stand up straighter. “I know.”
“The dad is angry, as he has every right to be. Did you hear him? Daisy cried buckets yesterday after what happened.”
“I know.” Seeing her yesterday, her pale face and bloodshot eyes, told me as much. I felt like absolute shit after what she said to me. How people don’t really like me, implying that they all just kiss my ass because they’re afraid to cross me. She’s full of shit. I have friends. I run this fucking school. “I owed her this for what I said.”
I can’t believe those words just left me, but damn, it’s true.
“I’m suspending you for five days.” I’m about to complain, but he holds up his index finger, silencing me. “Even worse, I’m going to make you go to school anyway. I’m just marking on your permanent record that you have a five-day suspension. That’s what you’re going to do as payback for whatever it was you said to her. What you do to everyone. Stop torturing people, Lancaster. Especially sweet, harmless girls who are good students and who’ve done nothing wrong. Daisy’s only mistake is somehow getting in your crosshairs.”
I school my features into complete neutrality, not about to show him even a bit of emotion.
His words are like a punch to the gut. What I do to everyone? I don’t torture people.
Well. Maybe I tortured Daisy. But we’re even now.
She tortures me all the damn time, though she’s completely unaware of it.
I exit the admin office minutes later, running into JJ in the senior hallway where our lockers are. He flicks his chin as he makes his way toward me, his lazy swagger enough to make me want to roll my eyes, but I keep my expression straight. Serious.
“What’s up?” is how JJ greets me, reaching for the lock on his locker, twirling it open.
“Nothing much. Same ol’ shit, different day.” I open my locker and stare inside, not shocked whatsoever to find it empty. All of my books are back in my room.
God, my teachers must hate me.
“Saw Cadence last night,” JJ drops as nonchalantly as can be as we start walking down the hall.
“So?” I can’t even work up enough emotion to care. I know they don’t get along, but I’m sensing Cadence might’ve put JJ up to say this to me. Unlucky for her, I don’t give a damn what she’s doing or who she’s doing it with.
“We were chilling in the common room at our dorm hall. If you hung out with us normies every once in a while, you’d get to see her too.” JJ grins.
“I don’t want to see her. That’s the issue. Next time I run into her, I’ll go running and screaming in the opposite direction.” I laugh, but there’s no humor in the sound so I immediately stop.
“Ouch, harsh.” JJ rubs at his chest, as if my words were a direct hit on his heart and not Cadence.
“You know what I mean. When I said I was ending things, I meant it. She’s nothing but trouble, and now she wants me back? Forget her.” I slow my steps as we draw closer to my English class, surprised when I see the familiar blonde head walking down the hall from the opposite direction, her long hair pulled back into that ever-present braid. It’s neater this morning, not a hair out of place, and I sort of want to mess it up.
“Well, I talked to her for a while last night, and she’s really upset, A. I don’t know why, but she misses your mean ass and wanted me to tell you that,” JJ says, getting to the crux of the conversation.
Thinking of Cadence supposedly suffering over our breakup makes me feel nothing at all. That’s a serious indicator that I’m completely over her. “Tell Cadence I don’t miss her.”
JJ rears back. “I can’t say that to her face.”
I send him a look. “I know. But you should anyway. See ya.”
Leaving JJ where he stands, I dash into English right at the same time Daisy enters the room. I’m directly behind her and she has to know it, but she doesn’t look back. Doesn’t say hi or say my name, or offer me a thank you or anything.
That kind of…what? Hurts?
Nah. Nothing hurts me. I’m impenetrable.
I watch her settle into her usual desk right at the front of the room, dropping her backpack at her feet. She shrugs out of her jacket, the front of her button-down straining across her chest and my gaze drops there, staring for a second too long at her tits. I wonder what they look like without the shirt on. Without a bra on. This leads me to wonder what she looks like completely naked.
I bet she looks pretty fucking great.
She glances over at me, doing a double take when she realizes I’m standing there staring at her like a dumbass, people entering the classroom and pushing their way past me as I somewhat block their entry. Her lips form into a slight frown, her brows drawing together and she looks away, focusing on unloading her backpack of everything she needs for class.
Like I have no control over myself, I go to her. Settle into the desk behind her, dropping my backpack at my feet as well. Extra close to hers, so I have no choice but to bend over and practically invade her space as I unzip the top and blindly pull out a notebook.
I have no idea if that notebook is for English, but I’m running with it for now.
“What are you doing?” Her tone is soft, yet vaguely hostile, and when I chance a glance at her face, I see the pain in her gaze. The wariness.
She should be wary of me. According to her and Matthews, I’m a piece of shit that gets a tiny thrill out of torturing her and everyone else at this school.
“Getting ready for class,” I tell her, wondering if Matthews mentioned the reason why she’s back in school a day early. Did he tell her that I’m the one who’s taking the punishment now? Does she know that her suspension is off her school record?
Probably not. I bet money Matthews made it seem like he’s the hero and he bailed her out.
Such shit.
“You don’t sit here,” she points out.
“It’s a free country. I can sit wherever I want. And I don’t think Winston’s gonna protest.” I say his name extra loud because he just entered the classroom, and by the pleased smile I see on his face, I can tell he agrees.
“If Arch Lancaster is choosing to sit at the front of the class, I can’t complain,” Winston says as he makes his way to his desk. “What’s brought you closer?”
“I’m enraptured with your scintillating lectures,” I tell him, laying it on thick.
I can practically hear the aggravated noise that leaves Daisy. A few other people in class laugh too.
“I appreciate it. Don’t think they’ve ever been called scintillating but if you’re this enthusiastic and we’re only starting the semester, I know I’m on the right track.” Winston grins before he ambles over to his desk.
Daisy turns in her seat the moment he’s gone, her narrowed gaze only for me. “What, now you’re the suck-up?”
“He loves it.” I shrug. “He’s a good guy.”
“I really like him,” she admits softly.
A surge of emotion fills me, something I don’t recognize, and I sit with it for a moment, wondering what the fuck.
Am I…jealous? Of her saying she really likes Mr. Winston?
No. Impossible.
