Hate Me

“Keatyn, you didn't do anything wrong,” Riley says. “You're just stronger than she is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if it were you, you'd fight back. You wouldn't just sit around and wait for something to happen. You'd make what you want to happen, well, happen. It's like what we just learned in history. How you never know what people will do when faced with danger. How they react like animals. Fight or flight.”

“Fight or flight?”

“He’s right,” Aiden says. “Your friend chose flight, but not you. You'd fight. You wouldn't let this stop you.” He wraps his hands around my fists and squeezes.

I smile at him. “You’re right. And you just gave me an idea.”

“What’s that?”

“Instead of her going to dance this week, I will.”

Aiden and Riley share a worried glance.

Aiden kisses me. “Stay here with Riley until I get back.”

The second Aiden closes the door, Riley narrows his eyes at me and says, “So, which one of us are you telling the truth to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your story. It’s full of holes.”

“I know. I don’t want to lie to you. I just had to lie about this. I’m sorry.”

“That’s all you’re lying about?”

“Yes. I hate to lie. But I promised. And the lies are only for protection, so I hope you understand.”

“I understand. Now, move over. If you’re going to do something dangerous, I’m going to help you script it.”

I move over and lean against his arm while we brainstorm.

What we end up with is a scene straight out of a movie.

Which is pretty fitting, if you ask me.

Feeling horrible.

5:45pm

Aiden comes back from basketball with takeout food from the cafeteria. Potato soup for me and chicken fajitas for him.

He does our homework while I mostly just lie on his bed feeling horrible.

He makes me stay with him until it’s time for curfew, then walks me to my dorm and gives me a comforting goodnight kiss.

As soon as Katie is asleep, I go into the stairwell, call Troy, and tell him what I think happened.

“Oh, wow,” he says slowly. “I didn’t even put that together. Do you really think it was him?”

I tell him about the picture.

“Wow,” he says again.

“So, I need to know. Did he get one of the bouncers to bring him back there? Give her a card? Anything?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Let me check and I’ll call you right back.”

Ten minutes later, he calls me back.

“Yes. He asked one of the bouncers to give her his business card. Said he was a producer and would be interested in doing a screen test with her. From what I understand, this isn’t unusual for him. A lot of the girls admitted to doing screen tests and many have hooked up with him. They say he’s charming and a perfect gentleman.”

“Is the bouncer willing to tell all this to the police?”

“He will. He feels responsible because he helped her get the job.”

“Troy, if he isn’t arrested this week, I’m coming back Thursday to dance again. I want to honor her in a big way. Do you think the club and the girls would be willing to help?”

“Absolutely. We’re all still reeling. And we’ve been trying to figure out something to do for Leighton.”

“Leighton was her name?”

“Yeah, Leighton Wall.”

I close my eyes. Somehow knowing her name makes it even worse.

“I’m going to have a bunch of packages delivered to the club with your name on them. What time does the club open?”

“Ten.”

“Can you have all the employees there at nine?”

“Will do.”

“And Troy?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t tell Damian. I want to keep him as far away from this mess as possible.”

I know Cooper will probably have a fit about this, but I don’t care.

I toss and turn in bed, trying to sleep, but visions of Vincent, cages, and scissors haunt me every time I close my eyes.

I know there’s a very good chance that I might not come back from this trip.

That my fate might be the same as Leighton’s.

Aiden sneaks in my window sometime after curfew and pulls me into his arms.

I still don’t sleep, but I do realize there’s something important I need to do before I go back to face Vincent.

Just in case I don’t come back.

I slip out of bed, grab my phone, sneak into the bathroom, and send Sam an email with a very specific set of instructions to be carried out in a very short amount of time.

I end the email with a directive to meet me on Thursday afternoon.

Then I use the notes function on my phone and start writing.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13TH

Kiss me here.

7:40am

Aiden meets me in my dorm room with coffee and donuts.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

“Better. Thanks for always being there for me, Aiden. I really appreciate it.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he says, setting down the food and taking me into his arms. “What’s that?”

I turn around and see a wrapped tube with another pink bow. “It must be from my naughty Santa. Katie must’ve put it there when she left for her Spanish Club meeting.”

“Do you want to open it?”

“Yeah,” I say, eager to stop talking about yesterday. I rip the paper off the container to find a game called Sexy Truth or Dare. I take off the lid and Aiden pulls out one of the long sticks out and reads it.

“How fun,” he says. “You have the option of answering a truth about sex or you have to do the dare on the back.”

“That would be fun to play with our friends!”

Aiden shakes his head and holds out a stick with one of the dares, which is definitely something you wouldn’t want your friends to watch you do.

“Maybe it’s more of a couple’s game,” I say. “Did you get another gift this morning?”

“Yeah, I think Maggie might be my Santa. She was in our dorm, supposedly picking up Logan, but he always meets her.”

“I don’t know who anyone has except for Katie. She’s bad at keeping secrets.”

“Who does she have?”

“Dallas. Yesterday she gave him a six-pack that she decorated so that each beer bottle looked like a reindeer. Today it was a t-shirt with a porcupine that says Do I make you thorny?”

“That’s fu

“Sure.”

He untucks his shirt and pulls it up.

“Ohmigawd.” I laugh at the downward pointing, pink arrow-shaped sticky note he has stuck to his stomach. “Kiss me here, huh?” I ask, reading it.

He gives me an adorable grin. “I wanted to give you first dibs.”

I pull the sticky note off and put it on my notebook. “I better be the only one you’re offering dibs on the Titan.”

“The what?”

My eyes get big, realizing what I just said.

Shit.

“The, uh . . .”

Aiden gives me a panty-melting smirk. “You named it?”

“I didn’t mean to tell you. Now you’re going to get a big head.”

He chuckles, playfully pulls me into his body, and puts his mouth near my ear. “If it’s called the Titan, it must already have a big head.”

“I got my Greek mythology screwed up when I named it.”

He glances at his watch, noting that we need to get to class. “We’re going to finish this conversation tonight.”

Hawthorne’s Sweetheart.

Ceramics

Jake leans over when our ceramics teacher goes into the kiln room and says, “You’re going to be Hawthorne’s Sweetheart, Monroe.”

I squint my eyes at him. “What’s that?”

He shakes his head. “I always forget you’re new. You know how for Homecoming and Prom we choose royalty?”

“Yeah.”

“We don’t for Winter Formal. Instead, each dorm chooses a girl to represent their house for the upcoming year. To be their Sweetheart. It’s a big honor.”