Page 3 of The Ring
“They did, but Anthony spoke to the school, and they’re fine with me starting late.”
“It must be nice having a brother who can buy your way into anything,” TJ sneers, leaning back.
I give him a slow, deliberate glare. “Well, you’re an expert on that, aren’t you?”
That was a low blow, and I knew it. I remember how devastated he was when we found out his father had bought his way into the University of Edinburgh. He had applied in secret, hoping that, since it wasn’t one of the top universities in the UK, no one would find out, and he could earn his admission on his own merits. But somehow, his dad did. Not only did he buyhis way in, but he also changed his major from undeclared to business.
I never had much of a problem with the privilege I was born into or the path my brother had already laid out for me. I don’t love it, but it is what it is. I never felt the need to advertise it, though—nepotism isn’t exactly something to flaunt. Still, it never bothered me the way it bothered him. He wanted to break free from his family’s control, but he didn’t know how. So instead of doing what they wanted, he chose to do nothing.
TJ’s jaw clenches, and he opens his mouth to say something that, based on our previous interactions since we broke up, I knew would hit me as hard as my last comment had hit him. Laurie does too and tries to stop him, but Annabelle beats them both.
“Truly, didn’t all our families buy our way into college? Mine did, and I’m not afraid to admit it. Maybe… not publicly, but with you all, I have no problem.”
She’s lying. She got in on her own merit. Her mother would have rather paid to keep her out than to help her.
Her attempt to defuse the situation falls flat. TJ is glaring at me, and I glare right back.
“I tried to hold it in, but I can’t anymore,” West says, breaking our staring contest. “Can someone tell me why the two of you broke up?” He points between the two of us.
Right then, Nate, who is sitting beside him, frowns oddly at Annabelle and asks, “Did you just kick me?”
Annabelle grimaces. “Sorry, it was for him,” she says, pointing at West, just as he loudly exclaims, “Ouch!” receiving the kick that was intended for him.
“That was unnecessary,” West tells his sister, leaning down to rub his leg—though I’m pretty sure it’s more for show—before adjusting the sleeves of his white button-down. “I’m justasking what everyone wants to know. So… is someone going to answer?” He looks around the table, waiting for a response.
The whole table falls silent, and it’s clear by the look on most of our friends’ faces that they don’t know the whole story. The only ones who do are TJ, Nate, and me, and I’m the only one aware that Nate knows. Annabelle knows the condensed version. Luciancouldknow, since he and Nate are best friends and live together, but I don’t think he does.
I’m sure they all want to know, but we’re not the kind of friends who pressure each other for answers. We wait until someone’s ready to talk. Well… everyone except for West and me.
The silence stretches on for a while, until TJ breaks it, delivering the comeback punch Annabelle stopped him from giving earlier.
“I just found out she’s fucked in the head, mate,” he replies sharply, then looks away at the plants.
I swallow hard and blink a few times as I tell myself that he doesn’t mean it, but maybe he does. And that it doesn’t hurt, but it does, especially because I have spent more time in psychiatrists’ offices than I care to admit, but it is better than what actually happened.
I attempt not to do it, but I glance at Nate, who has been awfully quiet during the whole brunch. He turns to look at me, his expression full of pity. I hate that look.
A part of me has always been worried he would be the one to reveal what happened. I think he wouldn’t do it, at least not without my permission, but I am not sure. And according to Laurie, the fact that he and TJ have been in a passive-aggressive mood since Nate returned from his visit to me in Paris hasn’t been helping much.
“TJ,” Laurie scolds him. I make a gesture with my hand, signalling to Laurie that I don’t need him to defend me.
“Honestly, it was for the better.” I force a bratty smile, trying to mask the vulnerability. “I finally got rid of my shackles. Andwow… what I was missing. French men definitely know how topleasea woman,” I add, attempting to sound as careless and slutty as possible. But it feels like I’m wearing someone else’s skin. I just hope TJ doesn’t notice I’m lying. In my twenty years of life, I’ve only slept with three people, and two of them have been in the past four months. And none of them were French, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“So,Little Nellyfinally stopped being a one-man kind of girl,” West teases, clearly enjoying poking at TJ. Since that’s the main goal, I let the nickname slide, focusing on the tension it creates.
TJ is looking at me like I wronged him. He wronged me first, but he does have a couple of valid reasons to be mad at me—even hate me.
Chapter 2
TJ
Fuck, fuck, fuck, that fucking brunch was a fucking nightmare. West tried to convince me to ditch it, but I couldn’t. She’s like a fucking magnet especially designed for me. It was easier when she was in Paris. If I wanted to see her, I had to pack, get my passport, and take a plane or a train, and eventually, in the process of all of that, the rational part of my brain kicked in and prevented me from doing it, although sometimes it has been very close to not doing so. Now I can just go to her house if I want to. A fifteen-minute walk from my place, tops. I have timed it. Which is barely enough time to stop that impulse, and I dread the day I will no longer have enough self-control to do so.
It was maddening knowing she had had sex with other guys. The same girl who once said to me that while she didn’t believe in waiting until marriage, she did believe in waiting until you were in love. I used to know her better than I know myself.
Could she have changed that much in the past months?
Was she in love with the guys she slept with?
