Page 21 of In Darkness We Claim

This time, the smile I give her is genuine. “Go to class. I’ll see you tonight.”

As she walks away, I draw in a ragged breath, wishing there was a way I could instantly thicken my skin, as I know I’m going to need it. I want to pull my shoulders back and lift my head up high, ready to challenge anyone who even looks at me wrong, but I can’t do that.

Perfect feminine Harper wasn’t raised to be strong or argumentative. She’s meek and submissive, so I reluctantly drop my gaze to the floor and attempt to make myself as invisible as I can.

Too bad it doesn’t work! I only have one more corner before reaching my lecture theatre when someone bangs into my shoulder, knocking my bag to the floor. Despair fills me as my books and everything else in there tumbles out.

As I bend down to collect my things, I mutter an apology, despite it not being my fault. I reach for the book nearest to me first, but before I can grab it, a bright pink stiletto heel presses down on my hand.

I let out a yelp as I look up to see Tillie scowling down at me with Sienna by her side. I curse whatever deity is listening for my awful bad luck.

“Well, well, I thought there was a foul smell around here. Turns out it’s just a homeless, skanky arse traitor,” Tillie snarls, twisting her overly made-up face.

Ignoring the sharp jab of pain against my skin, I snatch my hand from beneath her unforgiving heel. A quick, furtive glance confirms their enraged faces, and with a silent resolve, I gather my things, determined to ignore them both.

“I thought you’d had the good sense to drop out when you didn’t come back for the start of term. Seems you’re just as stupid as you look,” Sienna adds, flicking her bleach-blonde hair over her shoulder.

Once all my things are in my bag, I stand back up, throwing it over my shoulder as I do. Both mean girls take a step closer, blocking me against the wall behind me. I let out a sigh, which sounds suspiciously like a groan. It’s too early to be dealing with this nonsense.

“I need to get to class,” I tell them through gritted teeth.

“Why are you here? There’s no way you can afford it. I heard they seized all your family’s money and took your house. You’re a fucking nobody, and we definitely don’t want you here,” Tillie snaps, pushing me back against the wall.

An overwhelming urge to fight back ripples through me, heating my veins as I bite down on my lip to prevent myself from saying something I might regret.

“You should have fucking stayed away. We’re going to make your pathetic life hell,” Sienna adds, pushing my shoulder the same way Tillie just did—like a terrible copycat.

Before I can respond, I’m startled into silence when I see Ryan walking over to us. Although he’s not looking at me, I can’t help but hope he’s here to tell these bitches to leave me alone. We may not be together anymore, but I was his girlfriend for two years. He can’t have forgotten that already.

Ryan stops when he reaches Sienna’s side, and everything moves in slow motion, like something out of a horror movie, as Sienna turns and pulls him into a kiss. It’s overly affectionate for something so public, but it’s clearly Sienna’s way of marking her territory.

She might as well have pissed on him. But I don’t care; she can have him, as I sure don’t want him anymore—maybe I never really did.

As they continue sticking their tongues in each other’s mouths, Tillie pulls my attention back to her. “Oh, you didn’t know, did you? Ryan and Sienna are together now. He knew he could do so much better than a dirty little tramp like you.”

I bite my lip so hard I can taste copper as blood leaks into my mouth. I really want to say something, but I know it’ll only make things worse, so I stay quiet. Besides, my silence seems to wind Tillie up even more, as she actually stomps her foot when she doesn’t get a rise out of me.

Then her eyes widen, and the anger on her face is replaced by excitement mixed with a little craziness. “But don’t worry, I can help you appear a little less like a dirty tramp.”

Before I can work out what she means, she opens the bottle of water I didn’t even see her holding and pours it over my head. My strawberry-blonde curls plaster against my scalp as the liquid drips down over my body, soaking me.

Ryan and Sienna part just long enough to turn and laugh at me, while Tillie takes her phone out of her bag and starts snapping pictures of me looking like a drowned rat. The soft fabric of my dress is clinging to my body, and the coldness of the water has my nipples poking through.

Don’t cry, Harper. They will never see you cry!

Despite the mental reminder, the tears form, and I have to fight to keep them at bay. Luckily, Tillie, Sienna, and Ryan appear to have had their fun—they have the pictures as a lasting reminder—and I breathe a sigh of relief when they turn and leave.

Just when I think the situation couldn’t get any worse, I look up and see Lawson Radley leaning against the wall opposite, his piercing silver gaze taking in every inch of my soaked skin.

As I draw in a breath, I try to pull my shoulders back, but all that does is cause the soaked material of my dress to scratch against my peaked nipples. The dress covered me well enough, and came with its own built-in support, so I didn’t need to worry about wearing a bra—until now.

I drop my gaze to the floor as I take a step towards the classroom, hoping I’m not already late after my nightmare of a morning so far. But I’ve barely made it two steps when Lawson pushes off from the wall opposite and starts stalking towards me.

If I keep moving forward, I’ll knock into him. So I do the only thing I can think of when my heart is beating so loud I can hear it echoing in my ears…I retreat. Shockingly, in just a couple of steps, my back hits the wall behind me, yet Lawson keeps going until I’m caged in.

He’s standing so close I have to look up to meet his gaze, only to find he’s not looking at my eyes at all. He stares at my sundress clinging to my skin, lingering on my nipples poking through.

Now would be a great time for the ground to open up and swallow me whole, please.