Page 142 of Knox Academy Omnibus
“Sawyer did,” he says, lowering his tone.
“Fuck off!” I hiss and race for the door. I don’t want to think about Sawyer. Despite his assurances, the guilt over what I cost him eats me up inside.
Fuck them, fuck Monty...just fuck! Who knew growing up and being on my own would be so damn hard?
Tears fall down my cheeks. I manage to find my bag and a half empty bottle of scotch. It’s not my preference, but I’ll take it.
Outside, my driver is nowhere to be found. I have an idea. My car is in the garage and Montydidsay he would have it delivered to the school. For whatever reason he hasn’t gotten around to it yet. I could save him a job...
I swipe the keys from a hook on the wall and within two minutes I’m driving back in the direction of the academy.
I ask Siri to call Smalls. The call almost rings out when his sleep filled voice picks up.
“Hey baby girl, is everything okay?”
“We’re still best friends...right?” He knows this is my go to question when I need to talk to him or I’m upset and just need to hear him tell me we will always be friends.
“Forever, you know that.”
“I’m sorry,” I choke out through my tears.
“For what?”
“Yelling at you, being a bitch to you about...Sarah.” Her name is still a bitter pill to swallow. “Calling you at this stupid time all because I’m upset.”
“Nothing you do will ever make me not love you. You’re my person.”
“You’re my soulmate, Smalls. How can two people be soulmates and not be together?” I whisper, tears still streaming silently down my cheeks.
“Relationships come and go, Soulmates are forever. Beyond this lifetime.”
“I don’t deserve you,” I murmur.
“Believe me, you do.” He hesitates for a moment. “So what did they do?”
I laugh; he can read me like a book. “Nothing. I can’t forgive them, can I?”
“I can’t answer that for you.”
“I know, I just don’t want to be that girl, the one who lets men treat her like crap and just forgives them because she is in love.”
“Love?” he asks.
“You know what I mean,” I quickly evade, my pulse racing. Shit, where did that come from? “Anyway, I’m about to pull into the academy and I may have stolen my own car. I think I need a pass to get it into the underground parking garage near my dorm.”
“Okay...and Amelie?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
I know why he is thanking me: I’m here so he doesn’t have to go to prison.
“You would take a bullet for me and I would do the same for you. Trust me when I say being here isn’t as bad as prison. You’re too pretty, you would be someone's bitch.”
He laughs. Smalls would be no one's bitch he is a 6’ 7, 150kg teddy bear. Borderline scary looking if you don’t know him. But I would do anything for him, and there is no way I would let him go away for an accident. A stupid prank gone wrong. One which he did for me anyway; he wanted to get the teacher too stoned to turn up for detention, so that I could sneak out more easily.
We end the call, and I spend twenty minutes arguing with the security guard about having a parking spot. He couldn’t get hold of Monty, Laura, or even Sawyer. He ends up calling Grandaddy Knox, a man I’m yet to meet, but he must still hold some authority here because I heard yelling and cursing, a lot of yes Sir’s from the guard, and I’m let in with an apology and a pass to stick in my car.
