Saints of the Syndicate by Natalie Nicole
Chapter 4
Bethani
Sitting here in my tiny, musky as hell dorm room for the ‘scholarship students’, I glance around at the sad excuse of what my life is.
God...How is it that I miss the streets of LA?
This is my second year at Blackwell University, and I am honestly still regretting it. When I first received the letter from the university, I thought this was finally my chance to make something of myself. To finally prove to all those assholes at the Washington State Children Services that I wouldn't turn out like my mother. That I wouldn't be just another product of a drug addict whore that turns tricks to get her next fix.
Thank God her one client noticed me and had an actual heart.
I'd probably be dead by now if it wasn't for Jim. Which reminds me, I need to reply to his email from last week. Even if it is just a bunch of fluff lies. He is one of the few people that has ever given a damn about me. The only others I can think of are Ramona that ran the homeless shelter and Stella, the only person on this campus that isn't a complete stuck-up snob. We met last year in the Intro to Journalism class. She wants to be a fancy fluff journalist for the rich and famous, which as pretty as she is, she can do in a heartbeat.
Me on the other hand? I want to photograph and report the terrible aspects that most of society doesn't understand or completely ignores. I have a passion to bring to life the shitty things of my past and put them on full display. I want to make people realize there are real problems going on in this world. Hunger, abuse, homelessness, pain, suffering, sickness (mentally, physically, emotionally), and so many other wicked terrible things.
That's the only thing keeping me here at this absolute high society hell hole playground for the rich and clueless university. The credibility I can get from making it through here will give me the needed notoriety at a media firm to continue with my goal: saving those that don't think they can be saved because their life has been the same for generations and no one knows how to break it.
Top university of the west coast? Eye-fucking-roll.
More like a top university of how to become the next high-class Stepford wife or the next Mr. Whatever the 17th of asshole-ism and playboy status.
My phone chimes, which brings me out of my hateful thoughts.
Shit. My head wandered off for 15 minutes when I should have been reading my Journalism 2 book.
Stella: Hiii lovey! Want to come over for cheesecake?!
Me: Hey Stella. What do you want?
Stella: Why would I want anything? I just miss you!
Me: You saw me yesterday in class. I miss you too. But you only bring out the cheesecake when you want me to do something. So, what is it?
Stella: I bought your favorite...A whole Tiramisu cheesecake and your fave drink supplies!!! :)
Damn her. She knows she has me. Shit.
Me: You are a viper sometimes, you know that?
Stella: Ehh? So, how long until you get here?
Me: Be there in 20.
Stella: Yay!!!!! Also, bring that adorable silver dress too.
Me: WHAT? Stella...What do you have planned? Tell. Me. Now!
Stella: Ugh. Buzzkill. Fine. WE are going to a club, Miss Boring. And if you don't want a video of me dumping your fave cheesecake in the trash then you will buck up and get your butt over here so we can get ready! :)
Me: ......
Me: Fine! You win devil woman! ONLY because I will hurt you if you throw that cheesecake away and you know it.
Stella: Loveeeeeyouuuu :) :) :)
Me: Yup. Blackmail is love.
Damn. Double damn her. God love Stella, but some days she is too much.
-----
Stella flings the door open as soon as I knock on her apartment door, bouncing up and down like a cat on crack. "Took you long enough!" she says then bounces on me and crushes me with a hug. "I am so totally excited for tonight! We are going to have a blast girl."
"Crushing. Me. Stell," I wheeze out.
She quickly lets me go, grabs my hand, and drags me behind her like a lost puppy. "Sorry boo! I'm just excited!"
"I can see that. Now, where is the cheesecake and alcohol? You are not touching me until I have at least a piece and a drink."
"Kitchen island, already waiting for you, sexy lady." She winks.
"Yes. Broke college chic is all the rage there devil woman. How people think you are a total sweetheart is beyond me." But as we reach the kitchen, and I see my bribe gift waiting on me, I stop and give her a hug. "You are lucky I love you. You do realize that right?"
Her megawatt smile lights the room. "I know! Now hurry up and drink your bourbon and eat your cake! We have to get ready!"
"You do realize I drink whiskey, not bourbon, right?"
"Sure sure! I just showed the person a picture of whatever is your all-time favorite, pay, and walk out the door."
"Wait...you got me."
"Yup! Johnny Walker Blue! I know this semester has been rough for you, plus I had to bust out the big guns to get you to agree to go out tonight!" Yet again, another blinding sweet smile plasters her face.
"For one, that is an almost $400 bottle. Way too damn much Stella. For two, damn you! You're about to make me cry!" She knows this semester sucks for me. Most of the teachers are fucks because they know my status here. The turnover rate for scholarship students is ridiculous. If you make it past freshman year, you are lucky. But all the others that got here and left either flat out weren't cut out for college or did it as a screw you to the college they wanted to get into. Even one semester at Blackwell will get them insane perks at their real dream schools. Something about the image of how a Blackwell University student loved them more. Insert eye roll here.
"Awwww...I didn't mean to make you cry, love! But you desperately need this, Bethani. I know this is a huge change from the shelter in LA, and I can't imagine the way people treat you, but you have to know there are other good people here. This will be a good stepping stone for it. I'm inviting a few others to meet us there. I promise that if you give them a chance, you'll like them. I mean it took me half of our first semester last year to finally get you to say more than two words to me."
I snort. "Girl, you were a walking, talking, sugared-up Malibu Barbie. I'm honestly surprised you don't bounce off walls with as much Red Bull as you ingest." I pause, taking a deep breath and exhaling before finishing, "And I will attempt to give them a chance. Just don't expect sunshine and rainbows to fall out of my ass. You know I'm not comfortable with how everyone here just throws money and last names around like they are all walking Greek Gods and Goddesses."
With the eye roll she throws my way, I'm surprised her eyes don't stay back in her head. "Ok. I'll give you that one. Yes, some of them are completely pretentious and stroll around like they are walking the red carpet daily, but not all of them are that way. Hell, even I try to stay away from them. Which I can't, since my papa owns the biggest modeling agency in the United States."
"Shit. How do I constantly forget about that?"
Her dad, Chad Monterey, is the CEO and founder of Monterey Modeling Agency. But regardless of how much money they have, Stella, her parents, and 6 other siblings are all super down to earth. Granted, they still live in a mansion, but it's not ostentatious. That's actually where I stayed for all the breaks and in between summer classes. Her family took me in and treated me like a daughter. While the whole thing was still super weird, and I mostly clung to Stella, I did open up a little bit to her family. Not much, just enough so they didn't think I was going to rob them blind like some trash hood rat.
"Easy, and you know that. But anyway...Finish your shit then grab another drink and meet me in my room so we can get ready!" And with that, she turns and leaves me to my thoughts, homemade cheesecake, and in my opinion, the best fucking whiskey known to man.
-----
"What is this place?" I mutter to myself.
"Club Luxe, boo. Only the best place to party here in Sonoma." Stella quips. "Oh my gosh! Hiiii Roman! I'm so glad you are the doorman tonight! That other guy is a dick head."
Roman grunts, but his lips turn up slightly in enjoyment at a tipsy Stella. I may have drank a third of my bottle of Johnny Walker Blue, and Stella had about 4 skinny cocktails while getting ready, so we are both a little more giggly than normal.
"Licenses ladies?" Roman, the absolute hulking man of a doorman in a 3 piece suit, says while shoving his hand our way.
Stella hands hers over and he quickly studies it then hands it back and sticks his hand my way.
"Uhh...Here ya go...Roman?" I say while he snatches mine away to study it before handing it back.
He quickly opens the door and grunts a, ”have fun” our way before we walk inside to what I can only describe as the most top-notch place I've ever stepped foot in.
While Blackwell University is old school money, gothic architecture and dripping with condensation; Club Luxe has super clean lines and a new money look. Dark matte black and silver walls, modern/slightly industrial bar area, a similar style of couches, high-top tables, and chairs throughout. Purple lights from the floors shining to the ceilings gives everything super classy air around the place. Surprisingly enough, for how expensive everything clearly is, I don’t feel totally out of place. At least not like I do every day on campus. Here I actually feel like a normal college student that isn't living the dumpster fire of life.
"Come on! Let's grab those open chairs and order drinks while I'm texting Benny to see where they are!" Stella yells while grabbing my hand and dragging me to the bar.
We grab our seats, order 2 drinks each since this place is so damn packed, and I just look around while Stella texts whoever she said she was texting. Huh, this place even has a second level with what looks like private suites. Guess the name really suits the place. Shocker.
The next thing I know, I'm being introduced to Benny, Jeremy, Rhett, and the catty bitches with them when a set of hands touch my shoulders, making me jump.
"Hey! Watch it ass-"
"I told you I'd find you sweet cheeks," he says into my ear, making me freeze for a second.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
I school myself quickly and turn his way.
"Peter."
"Bethani."
"What do you want?"
"To talk of course. I've missed you."
"Yeah? Well, I haven't missed you. So just fuck off to your boys."
"Bethani...We are going to talk," he grinds out while digging his thumbs into my back, which I know are going to leave marks. But I'm not going to let him know it hurts.
"Actually...I'm here with friends. So no, we aren't going to talk. Not here. Not now. Not any other time either. I thought I made it clear I didn't want to see or talk to you ever again?" I sneer.
"And I told you our conversation wasn't-" his sentence is cut off when a pair of guards walk up and interrupt. Thank god.
"Excuse us, sir, we need to see your ID. Now," one of two giant ass security guys says to Peter as they stand close to him.
Lord. Do these guys drink Miracle-Grow or something? Wow.
"Oh, fucking Christ! I showed it to you when I came through-"
"Either give us your ID or we can escort you out," the other human hulk says.
"Fucking fine." Peter quickly hands them his ID while scowling at them like his usual spoiled brat self.
*Gag*What did I see in him again?
"Awfully young looking to be 67 years old. Don't you think Z?" Hulk number 1 says to Hulk number 2, now named Z.
Peter's face pales, and he attempts to stammer out a response, but they snatch him up and turn him towards the door to escort him out. They don't get far before he looks back at me and mouths, 'I'm watching you Bethani' before spewing all sorts of shit to them. It makes my heart stop temporarily.
"Bethani? Is he still a problem?" Stella asks nervously while the others just stand there, unsure of the whole situation they witnessed.
I quickly grab the glass closest to me and take a big swig, allowing the liquor to burn its way down before answering. "That's the first time I've seen him since the end of last school year. He doesn't know my dorm room, and I changed my number, so how he found me is beyond me."
"Are you going to be ok? I can call my dad, and he can help."
"NO! God no. Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine. If I see him again, I'll just go to the campus security and let them know," I say while finishing off the last of my first glass before setting it down to pick up the other we ordered. I need something to keep myself from losing my shit.
"If you say so, girl."
I gave her a small smile then turned to everyone to make small talk to help keep me distracted. As I begin conversing, a watchful presence washes over me. My gaze flits towards the VIP area where three towering figures stand there and look like they are watching the crowd. I can only assume it’s the owners so I quickly flash a smile and mouth ‘thank you’ before returning to the conversations in front of me.
*30 minutes later*
"Hey...I think I'm gonna head out. I'm starting to get a headache," I say to Stella as my vision slowly starts to blur and the pounding behind my eyes gets progressively worse.
I see the look of concern on Stella’s face, but quickly shut her down before she tried to intervene. "It's nothing. I promise. It’s only a 10 min walk back to my dorm. I'll text you when I get there."
"Pinky swear Bethani?" she says with a glare while I roll my eyes at her juvenile request. I go to stand up, but quickly sit back down as a head rush hits me. I act like I’m just adjusting my stilettos and staying bent over until I can gather enough composure to pull off my ruse that I’m not completely obliterated. Holy shit what did they put in those whiskeys?
This is a bad idea thinking I can walk. Like one of the top dumb ideas. But I’ve already said I’m going to walk, and I’m not about to back down to the challenge. Maybe I’ll just talk these stupid heels off once I get outside. That should help.
Standing up slowly so I don’t give anything away, I give her the pinky promise she asked for along with a hug. Then I say my goodbyes to everyone else and start the slow and determined walk out of the club, praying like hell the fresh air will help.
Walking past a seriously pissed-off-looking Roman, I say goodbye to him, and as I turn to start walking, I trip over a giant crack in the concrete sidewalk, falling to my knees like a ditz.
Way to go Bethani, you freaking klutz, I think to myself.
"There was a crack there you missed doll face. Easy enough to miss. Don’t worry, your knight in shining armor has you." A deep voice breaks through my head while his arms pull me up.
"Wait...What? W-wh-what's going on?" I slurred.
A dark chuckle from the guy beside me finally breaks through my drunken stupor a bit. He finally starts speaking again as he rounds the corner of the building, forcing me along with him. "Oh sweet, stupid Bethani. I told you I was watching you. Now I have you exactly how I want," Peter darkly says as he turns me to face him and slams me back into the block wall.
My head connects first and bounces off as the rest of me finally hits it. I hiss in pain through the black spots clouding my vision as I feel the wall digging into various spots of my upper body, slicing mini lacerations into my back and arms while a trickle from my head slowly starts soaking into my hair.
"The. Fuck. P-Peter? W-why?" I grit through my teeth while trying to stay awake. Alive? Whatever I was doing.
As his hand grips my neck to force my face to look at him, he tightens it more and more as he speaks, "I fucking told you. I told you you'd be fucking sorry to leave me. I was willing to look past your bullshit sob story of a life and make you the perfect little wife for me. All you had to do was listen and do what I said. But no-" he stops abruptly as something in the background catches his attention.
"Fuck." he mutters. "We are not finished here."
My head hits the wall again and my world goes effortlessly black.