ASHER LEFT ME STANDING THERE.
Just like that. No Do you need help getting inside? Or anything remotely human.
Motherfucker.
I have to hobble for fifteen minutes to reach the entrance. Since I don’t remember this place, it takes me even longer. I don’t ask the others for help since that’s the same as admitting weakness.
As soon as I walk through the huge doors, an onslaught of students greets me.
“You’re okay, Reina?”
“How is the leg, Reina?”
“Is it true you were in a fire, Reina?”
“Are you cheering for the Devils this Friday?”
I try to smile, but it’s like my reaction is frozen beyond reach. I don’t know these people, and while I’m glad no one seems to recognize I don’t remember them, I don’t want to sound or appear rude.
After all, this is my college.
The attention in the halls is like having a vicious tongue lap my skin. I can see hatred behind some smiles, envy behind others. There are also eager faces, both male and female, who wave awkwardly as if they’re sure I won’t return them.
I figured I’d be popular considering the stupid-ass cheerleading position, but I never thought it would be this…fake.
So far, I haven’t met anyone who actually sees me, the person inside, not the face or the cheerleading uniform—though even I don’t know who the hell the person inside is.
I focus on my steps instead of the horde of people surrounding me. The halls are large, but I can’t breathe well with the crowd.
It’s worse that I don’t know where to go.
You should’ve planned this better.
Shut up, brain. I know that.
“Out of the way, fuckers,” howls a familiar voice from the other side of the hall.
Students trip over each other to make way for none other than Owen.
He grins from ear to ear, winking at a girl here and smacking another’s ass there. It’s like he thinks he’s a sex god blessing the peasants with his presence.
“Rei-Rei.” His grin turns into a wicked one as he drapes an arm around my shoulder. “I thought you were going to be a zombie for a bit more.”
“And I thought you’d stop being a pig by now.”
“Define pig.” He waggles an eyebrow. “Because if it means a lot of meat, then I do have that, babe.”
“Eww. Gross.”
His brows furrow and he pauses for a second. “You realize you just said that out loud, right?”
“Was I not supposed to?”
“Usually, I know you think it, but you never voice it.”
“New person, new rules.” I jab his hard, muscled side. “Pig.”
He laughs. “Well, shit. Looks like we got a new Rei-Rei in da house. You going to talk back to everything?”
“If you’re being a little shit, why shouldn’t I speak my mind?”
“Because you don’t?” He waves two fingers in front of my face. “You usually have a blank robotic thing going on here.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know. Don’t fucking care.” He lifts a shoulder. “Now, about that BJ you promised me…”
“In your dreams, dude.”
“Dude?” He stops, watching me closely.
Asher had a similar reaction when I called him that earlier.
“What’s wrong with that?” I ask, unsure what the hell their problem is.
“You don’t call me dude, Rei-Rei. Were you hit badly in the head?” He lifts a hand before I can form a response. “Don’t answer. I don’t care. I’m more interested in the BJ.”
“I told you it’s not happening, dude.”
“Fine.” He feigns a breath of resignation. “I’ll settle for a lap dance.”
“Hard pass.”
His shoulders shake with laughter that somehow seems genuine compared to all the fakery I’ve seen since this morning.
“What was my reply when you asked me for blowjobs before?” I ask.
“You agreed, of course.”
I narrow my eyes. For some reason, that doesn’t ring true. “Don’t lie to me.”
“You really agreed.” He squeezes my shoulder. “Didn’t mean you did, though.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Beats me.”
“What does…” I clear my throat. “How does Asher react to that? You’re supposed to be his friend.”
“Come on, of course he knows they don’t happen. Otherwise, he would’ve been after my ass.”
“And he’s okay with the joking?”
“Meh. I thought so until he threatened me not to joke with you about BJs the other day.” Owen shakes his head. “Weird son of a bitch.”
Hmm. That’s interesting.
We continue walking for a while. Deep down, I’m thankful for his presence. I would’ve felt utterly out of my element if Owen weren’t by my side.
“What position do you play on the Devils?” I ask.
He raises an eyebrow as if he didn’t expect me to ask that question. “Wide receiver.”
“What about Sebastian?”
“Quarterback.”
“Are you hoping to get drafted into the NFL?”
“What’s with all these depressing questions first thing in the morning? You never gave two shits about us before.”
“Oh.”
I’m the head cheerleader so I figured both our teams were one. After all, the cheerleading squad exists for the sake of the football team, no?
“I’m sorry.” I meet Owen’s brown gaze.
He stops in his tracks, and I’m forced to stop, too. “What did you just say?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t care before.”
He points a finger at me. “Who are you and what have you done with my bitchy Rei-Rei?”
Before I can answer that, a group of beautiful girls in cheerleading uniforms storm in our direction with Bree at the front. They pluck me away from Owen and surround me in one shallow hug after another.
They say things like they missed me and the team isn’t the same without me. However, just like when the other students greeted me, I can sense a wicked undertone. If I’m being honest, some of the girls even appear sad I’ve returned.
Ouch. That stings.
At this rate, I’ll end up with figurative needles all over my heart.
“Oh my Gosh, Reina”—Bree points at my shoes—“where did you get those vintage flats? Aren’t they like five years out of fashion?”
I stare down at them, frowning. They’re kind of cute. I mean, even the resident asshole, Asher, looked at them with amusement.
“They’re back in style. Keep up, Bee,” a girl on my right says in a bored tone.
She’s wearing the cheerleading uniform and black-framed glasses that hide her Asian eyes. Black strands fall on either side of her face in slick lines like some anime character or a cosplay.
Now that I think about it, she’s the only one who didn’t hug me just now.
“It’s Bree, not Bee,” my supposed best friend bites out. “As if you’d ever know anything about fashion, Naomi.”
The girl, Naomi, glares back. “I kind of do since my mom owns a fashion house and all that.”
“Whatever.” Bree brings out her phone and spends several minutes trying to fit everyone in a selfie frame.
I lean closer to Naomi and murmur, “Thanks.”
“I didn’t do it for you.” She retrieves a tablet from her bag. “Bree is a bitch, but so are you.”
She walks in the opposite direction before I can respond while Bree continues fussing with her phone.
“Never mind Naomi.” A girl with a cute, goofy smile inches toward me. “She shouldn’t even be with us. Dean George shoved her down our throats because her mom wouldn’t give a generous donation to Blackwood College if her daughter isn’t part of the cheerleading squad.”
“Stop smiling like an idiot, Lucy,” Bree snaps without looking back.
Lucy, the girl who was speaking to me, clamps her lips shut and slowly retreats.
Bree swings me to her side and orders several other girls, the prettiest ones, to stay back. She snaps several shots of the entire team. I try to smile for the picture, but the gutting fakery all around me is like tasting bitter acid.
She posts it on the cheerleading squad’s Instagram account with the caption ‘Captain is back!’ then shows it to all of us. The girls ooh and aah for a while before their attention drifts to the latest gossip going around the college.
We walk down the hall. Bree and I are at the front, and the others follow like they’re our ducklings or something.
This was my life? Come on, Old Reina, you could’ve done better.
Not that I’m judging or anything.
“Someone saw Jason Brighton outside this morning,” one of the girls says over her gum.
Her friend gasps. “No way.”
“Yes way.” She pulls out her phone and opens an Instagram account with the handle devils-for-the-win. Sure enough, there’s a picture of Jason’s pickup truck pulling out from behind the college’s student parking lot. Jeez. I can’t believe someone managed to spot him even though he parked that far away.
“What’s that loser doing here?” Bree snaps.
She has a squeaky kind of voice that really gets on my nerves. I’m tempted to hit her upside the head every time she talks that way. It’s like she has zero respect for anyone.
Old Reina, why the hell were you even friends with her, let alone best friends?
Before I can come to Jason’s defense, Lucy whispers, “Maybe he came to spy for the Knights.”
“I’m sure that’s not it—”
I’m cut off by a fuming Bree. “I’m going to tell the dean about this.”
“There’s no need,” I tell her.
“What do you mean there’s no need, Rei?” she scoffs. “They’re our rivals and the game isn’t far away. Do you want them to beat our asses?”
Okay, I definitely underestimated the whole rivalry thing between the Knights and the Devils. If the cheerleaders are so worked up about this, it must be huge.
In that case, it’s better they don’t know I asked Jason to drop me off. Obviously, the Knights aren’t welcome around here.
Maybe that’s why I kept my friendship with him secret?
I really hope that’s the case and not some other snobbish reason.
“This is me.” Bree leans in as if to kiss me, but she doesn’t. She only says, “Muah, muah,” on each side of my face and stalks off to class.
Things continue being awkward as the rest of the girls follow behind me. I test it and try to hobble faster, and they also quicken their pace. I walk slower, and they slow down, too.
Okay, this is ridiculous.
I stop and face them. “Walk beside me.”
“Uh…we don’t do that.” Lucy bites her cheek.
“You and Bree are always in front,” another says.
“Well, that changes now. I’m not your mama duck.” My attempt at humor falls on deaf ears. They watch me with quizzical expressions, and none of them laugh.
I shake my head. “Just come over here.”
One by one, the girls abandon their backup-dancer positions and trickle to my sides.
Lucy takes my right, grinning until her nose scrunches. We round the corner in silence. Students keep staring at us—or maybe they’re staring at me.
“Rei…” Lucy starts. “I mean, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but the girls are so curious about what happened.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Oh, right.” Lucy exchanges a look with the others, as if they expected me to say that.
“I really don’t remember.”
“Yeah, sure, Reina.” Lucy’s grin falls a little. “It’s just that we were so worried when we heard the police found human remains close to where you were attacked.”
I come to a screeching halt, forcing the entire squad to stop, too. “How do you know about that?”
“D-Dad is the deputy commissioner. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I frown. This is my chance to know what happened back there. “Do you remember the night I disappeared?”
“Of course I do.” She grins. “We played against the Vikings.”
“And beat their asses,” a girl adds. “Do you remember Seb’s last-minute play?”
“Totally cool,” Lucy says before facing me. “You disappeared before the end of our routine.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. I remember it so well because you never do that. You’re usually the last one to leave.”
That means I broke a pattern. There’s definitely something fishy about that night. “Do you know where I went?”
They all shake their heads, and Lucy says, “We thought you snuck out with Asher since he came back from England that weekend.”
He’s obviously mad I disappeared on him that night. There’s no way I went to see him, which leaves one option.
Did you think you could escape?
I’m beginning to believe maybe Asher’s assumptions are true. Maybe, just maybe, I planned to disappear from Blackwood for good.
Now, I have to figure out why.
