BROKEN & SCREWED (BS #1)

Book 2 Chapter 5

5

I got to my political science class early on the first day of classes. Sunday was spent moving in, Monday was the day for making sure everything was ready to go, and it was now Tuesday. My first class was at eight thirty, but I showed up at eight. It wasn’t that I was nervous. I think it was that I was bored. I hadn’t slept well and was up early so I got dressed and headed out. After grabbing a bagel and coffee, I found the classroom and took the seat farthest in the back. As others started to trickle in, I put my bag in the chair beside me. I wasn’t feeling social.

No one minded.

They trailed in and sat by themselves. A few girls came together and took the row in front of me. At eight twenty-nine, I slumped down in my chair and rested my head against the wall behind me. Closing my eyes, I could’ve fallen asleep. I was hidden in my back corner, but then I heard something that had my eyes wide open again.

One of the girls whispered in her friend’s ear in front of me, “That’s Cord Tatum and Jamie Striker. I heard they might take this class, so glad we took it now.”

The friend giggled, whispering back, “Super HOT!”

“Jenna was with Jamie at the Kappa party last Friday night.”

“Really? Isn’t he dating—”

The first one nodded, her excitement was barely contained. “Tiffany Chatsworth. Sucks to be her, huh? He’s the biggest manwhore on the team.”

“Bad for her. Good for us.”

The two shared a knowing grin. Then the first one leaned closer. “I heard they’re having a party next Friday. I’m going to try to talk to Jamie after class; maybe we can get an invite.”

“We need an invite? We can’t just go?”

She rolled her eyes, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “It’s at Jesse Hunt’s house. You have to have an invite to even know where it is. No one knows where it is unless you’re in their circle. I heard his daddy bought him a new mansion.”

The friend groaned, giggling at the same time. “Jesse Hunt. Oh my God! Is he going to be there?”

The other one shrugged. “Don’t know. I heard he’s anti-social. You have better chances trying for Cord.”

“Why Cord? Jesse Hunt is way hotter.”

The first one blinded her with a smile. “Because I’m going for Jamie. And trust me, Jesse Hunt is out of our league.”

“What about Tiffany?”

“Who cares?” She shook her head, a look of disgust flashing over her. “She’s a b***h. She needs to be taken down a notch.”

Then the third friend leaned over. “Would you two shut up? Everyone can hear you.”

“Sorry,” one whispered.

“Sorry,” the other hissed, but neither looked all that sorry.

I wanted to groan. Cord was in my class. Nothing against Cord, but I hadn’t told him about my hope to be anonymous. It hadn’t mattered over the last two days. Jesse hadn’t texted or called. I hadn’t cared. For real. After he left, my head had swollen with questions and doubts.

I didn’t know if I wanted a real relationship. And if he did, I had no idea. Jesse wasn’t the committed type. It was why I had stopped our arrangement in the first place, but then he was in my dorm room. He hadn’t ignored my calls on purpose, and there was no big secret about his phone call to Ethan that night.

All control fled when he was close, but he hadn’t been close since, and my sense of reason was back.

I could not do a relationship. No way.

I was barely able to stand saying hello to Beth the past couple days. Kara had been sickeningly sweet when she saw me in the bathroom. She wanted to know if I had hung out with Beth and Hannah, but my mouth had been full of toothpaste. I used that to my advantage and shrugged, unable to talk. She’d been nice and waited until I spit it out and then rinsed my mouth. I hadn’t been so nice. I gave her a polite smile and walked out of the bathroom.

I didn’t need anyone knowing my business.

Hurt flared in her eyes, but that didn’t stop me from snubbing her. She was better off. That was what I told myself, and the next time I saw her, she didn’t try again.

An unnamed emotion burned low in my gut, but we were both better off. She hadn’t asked how I knew Cord, and I hoped she would let that go as well. No one needed to know any of that information. And certainly not these three girls who sat in front of me.

I tried to slump farther down in my seat, but to no avail, I could see Cord and a taller guy who looked like he could’ve been a poster boy for any Ivy League school follow behind him. He was tall and built with wavy blond hair, dark eyes, and a smirk plastered over his thick jaw. He knew they were the center of attention, and he loved it.

They approached the back of the classroom. The girls in front of me bristled from excitement. Their eyes were glued to the guys as they trekked all the way to the back to where I was.

The first girl drew in her breath. The second one nudged her friend.

They were openly staring as their heads followed the guys until they were almost completely turned around in their seats.

Oh God.

I closed my eyes. My gut fell to the floor, and I looked up. Cord was grinning at me across the three empty seats. His friend seemed annoyed, shifting on his feet behind him.

“Little Connors.” A big smirk came over Cord’s face.

The same cockiness had been with him the night he told Marissa to get lost. I bristled with irritation. No way was he going to treat me the same way, even though he had been nice to me on Sunday.

I scowled at my bag. “The seat’s taken.”

His smirk deepened, and he gestured to the two empty seats next to it. “These too?”

“Yep.”

“Alex, come on.”

“I have friends coming.”

“We’re the last ones in, and there are no other seats.” He flashed me two dimples. “Sorry, Little Connors, you’re s**t out of luck. We’re sitting here.”

“Come on, man.” His friend was growing restless. “Let’s sit already. Since when do we have to chat about it?” He shot me a dark look. “Who’s the chick? Never mind. Sit down, Cord.”

The decision was made.

Cord’s bag landed on the seat with mine, and he took the closest seat. Our bags were between us, but he leaned over and asked in a quiet voice, “Why you got a stick up your ass? I thought after Sunday night, you’d be happy to see us.”

I glared at him.

His friend snickered. “That’s what I thought.”

Cord ignored him and asked me, “You embarrassed to be seen with me, Little Connors?”

“Stop calling me that,” I hissed. I was fully aware of the attention we were receiving. All three girls were blatantly eavesdropping on our conversation. Not that they needed to strain to hear. Cord wasn’t quieting his voice. “And stop insinuating we slept together.”

“Hmmm.” Cord’s dimples appeared again. Oh, yes, he was enjoying himself.

“I mean it. It’s like we don’t know each other, okay?” I wanted to smack my forehead. I had just made it worse. Judging by the smug looks, the girls were certain we had done the deed. The one who wanted Cord not so discreetly turned toward me, measuring me up and down.

I glared at her. “Eyes up front.”

Her mouth gasped open, but she turned quickly in her seat. The third friend’s shoulders were shaking in silent laughter.

“Were you left unsatisfied Sunday night?” Cord mused. Lounging back, he rested his arm across the back of the seat between us. “Are you mad at me?”

“Yes, Cord. You left me unsatisfied Sunday night. May the decree officially be announced that you didn’t measure up.”

His eyebrows furrowed together. “Well, I wouldn’t put it that way.”

“Nope. We should air this out, you know, so other girls have been warned ahead of time. My time with my lover was cut short. A guest arrived, prematurely, if you’re getting my drift. Its arrival came early.”

His eyebrows shot high, and his arm dropped from the chair, but then he caught himself and chuckled. Shaking his head at me, he put his arm back on the seat. He looked ready with a retort when his friend checked into the conversation. “Dude, you were in jail Sunday night. When’d you hook up with her?”

“He didn’t,” I snapped at him. “That’s my whole point.”

The friend glared back. “Sounds like you need to get laid to me. You’re a bitch.”

“Jamie.” Cord gave him a pointed look. “You don’t know who she is.”

“Yeah, but—”

“You don’t know who she is. Watch your tone.”

He reared back. “Are you kidding me? She’s just some—”

“No, she’s not,” Cord cut him off again. “I was just giving her a hard time. Relax.”

“She was being a b***h to you. Just saying, that’s not cool.” His friend leaned back in his chair with a slight glower. He grumbled, “Since when do you let chicks talk to you like that?”

“I was baiting her on purpose. She lashed back. It’s my fault.”

Hearing this, I sat back and had to reanalyze Cord again. This was the same Cord from Sunday, when he’d been nice and helped me move in. This wasn’t the old Cord from when he had thrown aside Marissa after their first hook up. I kept quiet since I had no intention of asking. It was interesting to see the change, though.

Cord dropped his arm and leaned close. This time he lowered his voice so the girls couldn’t overhear him, “You pissed that Jesse hasn’t called? He’s got stuff going on right now. I don’t know if he told you that.”

I shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Yes, you do.

Ignoring that nagging voice in my head, I scowled at him. “Just do me a favor. Pretend we don’t know each other. I don’t want the extra attention, you know?”

His eyes narrowed.

I stiffened, feeling the weight of his measuring gaze, but then he nodded. “Sure.” A ball of tension loosened in my gut, and I lounged back in my chair again. The professor had started roll call. Cord was true to his word. He dropped the teasing, and it was as if we never knew each other. The only time he violated this was at the end of class when the professor told us that we would need to form a group of three or four.

Cord latched on to my desk. “Partner up, Connors.”

I glared. What was he doing?

Jamie had the same sentiment and glowered at me around Cord. He didn’t argue.

The three girls had turned around, hoping to become a part of their group, but they stopped when he did that. I realized why he’d done it, and rolled my eyes at him. He shrugged, but gave the professor our names when the groups were recorded. It was then announced we’d be working with the same group throughout the semester on different projects. The first project was for introductions.

Screw that.

Class was dismissed and everyone stood to give phone numbers and e-mail addresses out. Not me. I grabbed my bag and darted past Cord and Douchebag for the door. I heard DB grumble behind me, “Dude, are you mental? That girl is crazy.”

I didn’t hear Cord’s response. I was already out the door.

I had two more classes, and it was after two before I was done for the day. My stomach was rumbling since I’d skipped lunch so I wasn’t late to my third class. When I headed to the food court, I spotted Beth and Hannah at a picnic table in the yard. They had books spread across it and Hannah was lying on her side while her cousin was hunched over a book on the other side.

I paused, wondering if I should go over or not, but Beth glanced up and saw me. She waved me over, and Hannah lifted her head to see who was coming. She squinted with a hand over her eyes, but dropped her head back down when she saw it was me.

Drawing closer, I nodded to Beth.

“You have another class?”

A line was forming outside of the cafeteria’s doors, but I put my bag on the ground. “I’m done. I was going to grab some food and start studying.”

Hannah groaned. “It’s the first day. You two are nerds.”

Beth shot her a dark look. “We are not. When you’re failing all your classes before finals, don’t come to me for help.”

“Ugh,” her cousin mumbled, scowling back as she sat up on her side and pulled a book in front of her. “Fine. Whatever. You suck.”

A small grin teased the corners of her mouth, but then Beth rolled her eyes. She turned to me, “Take a seat.”

Gesturing to the doors, I started toward them. “I’m going to grab some food. Be right back. Watch my bag?”

She nodded, turning back to her book already.

Hannah frowned at me before I turned all the way around. I couldn’t see from the Aviators she was wearing, but I was sure she was studying me intently. I narrowed my eyes back at her, wondering the reason behind her sudden perusal. She hadn’t given a damn whom I had been when we went to Club T. When I headed back with a salad, muffin, and water, both girls seemed to be reading again. Neither said a word when I sat, so I ate my food and pulled out one of my textbooks for my own head start.

“Hannah!” a sharp voice called out.

I checked my phone. We’d been there for an hour.

“Oh God,” Hannah groaned. Her forehead went into her book. “Maybe she won’t see me.”

I fought against grinning, but then I didn’t have to fight against it anymore.

Tiffany marched over to us with Chandra and Kara behind her.

The three of them struck a picture among the rest of the Grant West students. Royalty, I snuck a look at Beth. She had used that term before, but I hadn’t seen it before that moment. These girls were beautiful, all of them.

When Tiffany saw who else was with her sister, her lips thinned, but she ignored me. “Hannah, you never called me back last night.”

Hannah groaned in response, muffled from the book.

Kara glanced at me but turned away quickly.

I fought against biting my lip. That was not guilt rumbling in my stomach. That was my food. That was all.

Chandra stood behind their leader, ready for whatever was going to go down, but when she sent me a questioning glance, I knew it was bothering her about Cord. She still didn’t know how I knew him. When Beth let out a small sigh, my attention was distracted. Tiffany stood at Hannah’s head, glaring down, while her sister continued to ignore her. Beth’s shoulders slumped and before she lowered her head back to her book, I caught the pain that flashed over her.

I straightened where I sat. That wasn’t the sort of pain where she was being ignored or where she knew there was going to be a confrontation between the sisters. That was deep pain, the type that I felt stirring inside me as a response to seeing it. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, wondering what the hell had gone down in Beth’s life for her to react like that.

Then I shook my head clear. What was I doing? I couldn’t get involved.

“Hannah, I’m speaking to you!”

Her elbow rotated and her hand lifted in the air. The middle finger was extended next.

Beth and I both shared a look, each grinning.

“You’re such a pain in my ass.”

Hannah finally looked up, sunglasses still in place, and grunted, “Likewise, big pain-in-my-ass sister.”

“You need to call me when you go out drinking. Mom was worried to death about you.”

“Mom wasn’t worried about me. Mom would’ve been cheering me on. You were worried, Tiffany. Stop putting your crap on other people.” She gave her sister a nice eff-off grin. “I have no plans on reporting to you wherever I go, whenever I go, and whoever I do so get that out of your head. You didn’t care last year. You don’t need to now.”

Tiffany’s hands slid from her hips and her voice quieted, “Hannah, I’m worried about you. Last year, you didn’t have—”

She cut her off, “It’s none of your business. Back off.”

“I’m—”

Hannah shoved her book closed and swept it into her bag as she stood from the table. Pulling her bag onto her back, she was seething at her sister. “Stay out of my business. You do that, and we’ll get along fine.”

“But—” Tiffany glanced at Beth, who immediately dropped her eyes back to her book.

I frowned.

“And don’t look at Beth. Unlike you, she’s actually there for me and trying to support me.”

“I’m trying to do that, too.”

Hannah poked her sister in the chest, pushing her back a step. “No, you’re not. You’re trying to control me. Trust me. I feel back-doored up the ass every time you talk to me.”

Her sister’s mouth dropped open, and her friends moved away from the two. Tiffany sputtered, “But—Hannah, I don’t—”

“You do.” She silenced her with a look. “Do us both a favor and leave me alone. Focus all your energy on making sure Jamie doesn’t cheat as much as he did last year.”

Tiffany’s face flamed, and her shoulders went rigid. Her jaw clenched, but before she could send a scathing retort, Hannah was gone. She jerked toward her cousin instead and clipped out, “Can you make sure she doesn’t end up dead by the end of the semester? It’s the least you could do.”

Beth didn’t respond.

When she realized she wasn’t going to get a response, Tiffany turned to me instead.

I just held a hand up. “Don’t even start. I’m not a punching bag for you.”

She rolled eyes and muttered, “We’ll see about that,” before she left. Chandra and Kara both gazed at me in concern but followed a second later.

“What a b***h,” came from beside me.

“Does she always talk to you like that?”

“More or less.” Before I could reply, her shoulders went back and her chest rose. “I’m not weak to let her talk to me like that. I used to fight back, but it only made things worse between her and Hannah. If I don’t respond to her, she always goes away and things aren’t that bad between them.”

They looked pretty damn bad to me. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’m not weak.”

“You are when it comes to Tiffany.”

She had started to turn back to her book, but her eyes snapped back to mine. Anger morphed over her and she lashed back, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I shrugged, but I murmured, “I know enough to know that you’re scared of your cousin.” Before she could reply, I finished, “And we both know that’s not Hannah. Does she remind you of your mother?”

Beth paled. “What did you just say?”

“Tiffany. She’s like your mom, isn’t she? That’s why you don’t fight back.”

“Shut. Up.”

I grabbed my book and my bag and stood before regarding her for a second. “I’m not judging. I was dumped by both my parents, so I get it. But Tiffany is not your mom. You can stand up for yourself against her. She’s still here, and it doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”

As she gulped, I gave her a small wave and left.

I hadn’t minced my words, and I hadn’t taken pity on her. That was what she’d been scared about, but that small voice whispered in my head, telling me that I was being a hypocrite.

You’re scared, just like her.

I was, but I wasn’t going to deal with my parents yet. I wasn’t ready for that.