Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

31

Camilla

I shifted in my sleep, wanting to bury my cold face in the warm body on my side.

Nothing.

I turned around, hoping I’d find some warmth on the other side.

Nothing.

I frowned in my sleep, reaching out with both my hands to feel for Caleb and Corey’s bodies.

Nothing. The bed was empty.

Where did they go? The thought made me blink my eyes open. 

Corey and Caleb spent the night with me. After tucking me in, they slid into the bed, sandwiching me between them. Each time a nightmare woke me up, they were there to soothe and calm me.

By the time morning came, I was comfortably warm and toasty. Only when I could no longer feel their presence did I wake up again.

The gray light of dawn filtered through the closed curtains. I glanced at the mechanical alarm clock on the bedside table.

It was already close to seven A.M.

Groaning, I sat up.

There was no way I could laze around on a Monday morning. There were classes to attend until late afternoon and an evening of working at the café to look forward to.

The smell of coffee wafted into the room along with snatches of conversation. Sudden hope swelled in my heart. Caleb and Corey were still here.

Throwing off the blanket, I climbed out of bed and headed to the living room. The twins were drinking coffee with a box of cinnamon rolls between them.

“Morning, lost girl,” Corey said with a bright smile. “Sleep well?”

I gave a nod as my heart fluttered at the sight of them in my tiny kitchen.

Morning stubble coated their chins. Their dark locks were untidy but they still looked so sexy. I probably looked like a hag with my dry, untamed hair right after getting out of bed.

They suffered through my tantrum last night and still stayed with me. Neither of them touched me but provided me with their warmth and protection.

“Have some breakfast,” said Caleb. “We’ve got bagels, rolls, and coffee.”

“When did you get these?” I asked, taking a seat at the small table.

“Caleb woke up early and brought them over,” said Corey. “He’s the morning guy. Lucky, right? There’s good breakfast as soon as you wake up.”

“Yeah,” I said, grabbing a sesame-covered toasted bagel and coffee.

I was glad they were making small talk.

While I was calm again, I still couldn’t forget the humiliation Noah put me through yesterday. Pain lanced through me each time I heard the jarring laughter of the crowd in my mind.

I quietly drank my coffee. After finishing two bagels, I got up from the table.

“Where are you going?” Caleb asked at once.

“I’m taking a shower and getting ready,” I replied.

“You don’t want to take a break and stay home?” Corey asked with a grim expression.

“Girls like me don’t have the luxury to do that,” I said. “We deal with grief and sadness in our own time. I must keep up my attendance at all the classes for the scholarship I receive. There’s no skipping class each time something upsetting happens. Plus, there’s work. I need the money to pay for rent and food.”

“Stop worrying about these things,” said Caleb. “Dad will take care of everything.”

A wry laugh escaped me. “He will. Brian’s a decent man and wants to do everything for my mom, but while he gives me something, his sons will make sure I pay back with humiliation and pain. It’s too high a price, guys. I better make my own money and pay for my own shit.”

I was surprised to see a flash of guilt in their eyes.

“Anyway, I’ll be going out in half an hour,” I said. “You guys better pack up your food and get ready to leave too. I’ll be locking the apartment.”

They glanced at each other, doing their weird telepathic thing where they silently communicated. I left them at the table and stepped into the bathroom.

I took a hot shower and scrubbed my body clean thoroughly. The scent of my familiar green apple shampoo soothed me, helping me build back my strength to face the day.

I’d be seeing Noah if he decided to attend classes today. He’ll probably be there, I decided. He wouldn’t want to miss seeing my sorry, pathetic ass. I barely gave him the satisfaction last night after escaping with my friends.

I wanted to hurt Noah but knew there was nothing I could do.

The only retaliation left for someone like me was to make sure I did well and became independent with my own skills and hard work. No one could take those away from me.

A little over a month remained until the final exams.

I just needed to grit my teeth and work hard until then. Once I graduated, I could move away from this town and find work elsewhere.

While I worried about Mom, I knew I could trust Brian. He’d look after her better than me.

I took a deep breath and switched off the shower. Wrapping a towel around me, I walked into my room.

Corey and Caleb were still in the living room area. They were still giving me space for which I was grateful.

I dressed in a comfortable shirt and jeans, pairing the outfit with a navy coat. Monday was always hectic with back-to-back classes and work.

I checked my schedule, packed my backpack with all the notebooks I needed, and grabbed my phone. On a normal day, I’d bother with some lip gloss and mascara but I didn’t care enough today.

“I’m ready to go,” I announced, walking into the living room.

“We’ll give you a ride,” said Corey as he stood up and stretched.

“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary,” I said. “It’s best I don’t get noticed hanging out with you guys at campus. I don’t want to attract any attention to myself.”

Corey chuckled and glanced at his brother. “Has anyone told us to fuck off in such polite words before?”

“Nope,” Caleb answered.

“Come on,” I said, moving toward the door. “I need to lock up now.”

***

I felt overly conscious as I walked down the aisle of the department building. So far, things were going smoothly. People passing me by didn’t react differently or look at me twice.

Entering the classroom, my gaze traveled over the vast expanse of the lecture room, searching for Wyatt. My friend wasn’t here yet but Noah sat in the last row, his steely gray eyes fixed on me.

Anger and pain lanced through me. He was so beautiful and cruel, it even hurt to look at him.

“Milla,” a familiar voice called my name from behind me.

Turning around, I came face to face with Luke and Wyatt.

“How are you doing?” Wyatt asked, looking anxious.

“I’m okay,” I said with a nod. “Thanks for looking out for me last night.” Looking up at Luke, I let my gaze rove all over his face. He didn’t look hurt. “I hope they didn’t hurt you last night.”

“They didn’t,” said Luke in a grim tone. “But I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them from taking you. There was nothing I could do when they claimed they were your family.”

“I’m just glad they didn’t give you a hard time,” I said. “I’d hate it if you got into trouble with Corey and Caleb because of me.”

“Don’t worry about me. You’re the one who needs to be careful.”

Wyatt grabbed my elbow and led me down the second row. “I’ll stick with you the whole day and Julie will join us when she can. We won’t let anyone bother you.”

I smiled at my friend and playfully pulled his beanie over his eyes.

“Hey!” he protested, fixing his lopsided hat.

I chuckled, feeling much better than this morning.

“It’s good to see you smile,” said Luke and took a seat beside mine.

“You’re sitting with me?” I asked, surprised. He usually sat with his gang of friends.

“Just showing support to my incredible partner,” he said, flashing me a grin.

Warmth spread through me. I distinctly felt Noah’s gaze boring in the back of my head, but was easily able to ignore him because of my friends.

The lecturer entered the room and at once, silence fell over the buzzing crowd of students. I took my notebook and got ready to take notes because we were going through some last-minute discussions on important exam topics.

Most of the class went fine but toward the end of the hour, giggles and chuckles cut in between the lecturer’s talk. Looking around, I saw everyone staring and pointing at me.

“Silence!” the annoyed lecturer snarled. “These topics will come up during the exams.”

To his dismay (and mine), the class got rowdier. Almost everyone was looking at their phones and laughing. Even some of the more older kids in the class couldn’t help but throw smirks at me.

“It’s happening,” Luke muttered in a low voice. “Everyone’s watching what happened to you last night.”

My good mood evaporated in thin air.

I swallowed the embarrassment and stared ahead at the professor who’d given up and was packing up his things.

“Ignore them,” Wyatt mumbled. “They’ll laugh a few times and forget about it.”

I stayed quiet, hating the attention on me.

“Come on.” Wyatt hurriedly packed up his bag. “Let’s get out of here.”

Since the lecturer left the class, we were free to leave.

Luke came beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” I asked, staring up at him.

“They won’t come near you if I’m at your side,” he said in a grave tone. “I’m an Elite, after all. They owe me some respect.”

He steered me toward the doorway.

Noah stood nearby, staring at me with a deathly glare. He couldn’t openly talk crap to a frat brother, so he was forced to remain silent.

I looked away, letting Luke lead me out of the classroom. Noah wanted to make a fool out of me but I’d do my best not to give him any satisfaction. He wanted me to have a breakdown but I was determined to stay strong.

Luke and Wyatt were making it far easier than I could’ve anticipated.

“You guys are the best,” I said as we walked down the hallway.

“You deserve more,” Luke whispered in my ear, sending a strange shiver through me.

***

The situation got worse as the day progressed.

Somehow, everyone on campus seemed to have seen the video of me getting doused with blood. Within hours, everyone was pointing at me and calling me ‘Carrie’.

Then, there were those who openly called me a whore. The girls were cruel and mean, telling me on my face what an ugly bitch I was. They were ruthless, trying to gang up on me anytime they found me alone.

At one point, I was so scared, I ran inside a nearby shop to use their bathroom. Wyatt stuck to my side loyally but even he had limits to the places he could follow me.

The guys were just as horrible. I’d never been approached by so many boys in all my four years of college. They taunted me, grabbing their crotches, telling me they’d buy me lunch if I let them fuck me.

Wyatt got into a scuffle toward late afternoon after he couldn’t take it anymore. Luckily, Luke and his buddies were present on the scene, so the situation didn’t get too violent.

Even then, Wyatt ended up with bruises on his chin and cheeks.

I wanted to hide in a corner and cry my eyes out but knew doing so would only encourage the bullies. A college campus wasn’t too different from a high school, after all. It was even worse because everyone was desperate to belong to a group, clique, or sorority.

So, torturing a girl they’d never talked to became the popular thing to do.

Two more weeks, I chanted in my head every time I wanted to run.

Noah’s plan to torment me was working perfectly. I’d have to hand it to him for being a genius at making a hell out of my life. He didn’t need me in his house to inflict pain on me.

He had the whole Silverlake Uni campus doing it for him.