Chapter 224
CATHERINE
The ride to school was another nightmare I couldn’t stand. Maybe… just maybe, I would let Richard know that riding along with Lucy to school wasn’t so fun for either of us.
She was sitting in the back of the car with me, her face still slightly swollen from my mother’s slap, though she had buried the bruising under layers of expensive concealer.
She spent the entire fifteen-minute drive trying to poke at me. “So, Catherine,” she drawled, checking her reflection in a compact. “How’s your mother? Is she enjoying the ’private’ time Richard gave her? I hear he was very… thorough with his discipline p>
I stared out the window, watching the trees blur into a smear of grey. I saw my mother this morning and asked her how it went down with Richard. She told he was angry and only scolded her for a while. Probably Lucy had no idea of the conversation and was trying to make me think Richard laid his filthy hands on Lisa.
“Why are you so quiet? Finally realizing that I am not to be messed with, right?” Lucy smirked, snapping her compact shut. “I am glad the ’lowlife’ finally knows her place. It’s about time p>
I didn’t make a sound. I didn’t even turn my head. I just hoped the driver could drive faster. This bitch was a breath of unfresh air. Air and noise pollution… to be accurate.
Her smirk faltered, I could feel it. She craved the reaction. She lived for the spark of anger or the tear in the eye, and when I gave her nothing but icy silence, she grew desperate. By the time the car pulled up to the campus gates, she was vibrating with frustrated malice.
Since she couldn’t break me, she went looking for someone easier.
We stepped out of the car, and I immediately looked for Julian’s car. He was already parked near the science building, but before I could head toward him, Lucy spotted her prey.
Sasha was walking toward the library, her head down, her shoulders hunched. She looked half the size she used to be. The leaked nudes had done exactly what we all wanted—they had stripped Sasha of her armor and left her looking like the common students.
Lucy quickened her pace, intentionally angling herself so she could “accidentally” shoulder-check Sasha as she passed. The impact sent Sasha’s books flying, and she tumbled onto the asphalt, her palms scraping against the grit.
“Oh, oops,” Lucy giggled, not even bothering to look back. She stopped a few feet away and turned, looking down at Sasha with a look of mock pity. “Sasha? My bad. I didn’t see you there. Then again, it’s hard to see someone when they’re so… low. You know? The floor is where you belong, so there’s nothing wrong with a reunion p>
Sasha looked up, her eyes red-rimmed and fierce despite the tears. “Go to hell, Lucy. I am not interested in picking a fight with a desperate attention seeker. So kindly go on with your day, while I go on with mine p>
The crowd of students nearby slowed down, sensing blood in the water. Of course they were about to watch a good show.
“You just called me an attention seeker?” Lucy clutched her chest, her voice rising so everyone could hear. A wicked laugh followed. “Why would you pass your name to me? Last time I checked I’m not the one who was desperate for attention. I’m not the cheap slut who records her sex videos and shares it around for validation p>
Oh goodness. Guilt gnawed at me, especially because I was the one behind the release of that video.
Lucy wasn’t done. She pulled out her phone, tapping the screen with a manic energy. “Should we remind everyone? In case they missed the ’full’ view p>
She held her phone up, the screen bright as she flashed the leaked image toward the students around. They started laughing—that cruel, hollow laughter that makes you lose faith in humanity. “Damn, Sasha,” one of them hollered. “You sure know how to arc that back. If you want to make more videos, I’m available p>
The boys laughed hard.
Sasha scrambled to her feet, her face a mask of pure agony. She turned to run, to hide in the library, but Lucy wasn’t finished. She grabbed a water bottle from a nearby table and threw the contents directly onto Sasha’s back.
“Wash up, sweetie!” Lucy yelled. “You look a little dirty p>
Sasha froze, the water soaking through her thin sweater, her breath coming in ragged, humiliated gasps.
I couldn’t stay silent anymore. I saw Tessa walking up from the parking lot, her face twisting in disgust as she witnessed the display.
“Oh, look who is calling someone dirty!” Tessa barked, stepping into the circle. “Being a pathetic bully makes you worse than her, yunno? What do you even enjoy from being this way? Does it make you feel powerful to kick someone when they’re already down p>
Lucy spun around, her eyes flashing. “Oh, look. Fiercie Tessie wants to play hero. Careful, girl. Remember how crazy I can get. You really do not want to pick a fight with me again p>
This shameless bitch! She felt no shame for what she tried to do to Tessa the last time, instead she was using it to threaten her. I didn’t hold back.
I stepped in between them. I planted my feet, my gaze level and cold.
“Enough is enough, Lucy. You dare mess around with my friend and I promise you’ll regret it more than that slap last night,” I said, my voice carrying a weight that made the surrounding students go quiet.
Lucy recoiled, her face turning that familiar blotchy red. “Stay out of this! You were quiet all through, let it remain that way. Besides, your friend started it. I was only enjoying my prey and she chose to offer herself too p>
“I don’t care. Tessa and Sasha are my friends, so you have to stay away from them p>
She scoffed. “Sasha? Your friend? Really? After how bad she treated you? Common, quit with your nonsense. She is a slut who deserves to be ridiculed p>
“Sasha is my friend,” I said, glancing back at Sasha, who was watching us with wide, disbelieving eyes. “She did bully but it’s in the past now. You call her a slut? Look in the mirror. You’re the one trying to buy a husband because nobody would want you for free p>
The crowd let out a collective “Ooh,” the tide of the atmosphere shifting in an instant.
Tessa stood beside me, her arms crossed. “And by the way,” Tessa added, her voice dripping with venom, “that outfit makes you look like a desperate mid-life crisis. Maybe focus on your own ’reputation’ before you worry about Sasha’s p>
Lucy stood there, trembling, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. She had lost the audience. With a sharp, humiliated cry, she turned and sprinted toward the main building.
The gossips began to disperse, whispering and glancing back at us. I turned to Sasha. She was still standing there, drenched and crying, looking at Tessa and me like we were aliens.
“Why?” Sasha whispered, her voice cracking. “I was horrible to you. Why would you help me p>
Tessa looked away, her expression still cold, but her voice was softer. “Because nobody deserves to be humiliated like that. Not even a bitch like you p>
I looked at Sasha, at the shattered girl behind the former queen bee. “Lucy is our enemy now, Sasha. And in this school, that makes us allies. Go clean up. We have a class to attend p>