Page 26 of Ashton

“We need to talk to Prescott now.” I don’t wait for them to follow.

Florence is typing away and doesn’t hear me enter. Today, she’s wearing a pinstripe suit with a white shirt, and I must say it’s giving me Beetle Juice vibes. I tap the desk, and she smiles with delight at me.

“Good morning. Prescott isn’t in yet. You can wait out here if you wish.” She points to the seat behind me.

“That’s alright. Do you know where he is by chance?”

“He had a morning meeting in the boardroom. I do believe the meeting is over.”

I turn toward the guys to see what they want to do. I have to hold myself back from knocking on every class door to find her. Maddox pulls his phone out, a last-ditch attempt. With a roll of his eyes, he places his phone back in his pocket.

“Florence, can you find out what class Odette has?” Ace inquired.

“I can. Is something the matter?”

“No, she just forgot something, and I can’t remember which class she said she would be in.”

Florence types away, and my body tingles with anticipation. This will only work if she’s in a class. If not, I have no idea where to look. I feel completely useless.

“It says she’s in Musicology. Do you know where that is?” Her eyes lifted to meet mine. “I wouldn’t interrupt her if she’s in there. You all know how much music is significant to her.”

“Yeah, thanks, Florence.”

She’s right, no matter how much we’re pissed at her. We can’t fuck with her career, she needs it to get out of this shitty town, and I hope Atticus can see the same picture I can.

“Now what?” I ask.

“We head to her class. I don’t give a shit. I need to know she’s there.”

Never mind, he doesn’t give a shit.

Chapter twelve

Atticus

The things I’m going to do when I get my hands on Jinx. She’ll wish she was in another State. Anything could’ve happened to her. For all I know, she isn’t even in this class. And if one more fucking prick stares at me when I walk the halls, I’m going to punch the shit out of them.

“Why won’t one of these sad sacks of shit just tell us what’s going on?”

“My guess is they’re all chicken shits.” Maddox shook his head in disbelief.

Chicken shits is putting it nicely.

“Don’t pay them attention, Ace. Jinx is our priority at the moment,” Ash reminds me.

It’s easy for him to say he’s the calm one. This is making me go insane. If Jinx thinks she’s getting out of my sight for one second, she’s dead wrong. I’ll handcuff her to myself if need be. This wasn’t how I expected today to start. What the fuck was she thinking, leaving the dorm without us? She knows anything can happen to her. Does she not care?

The sound of fighting pulled me from my thoughts. Maddox has a jackass held up against the brick wall. A circle of onlookers began to grow. The only thing saving us is we can’t get expelled.

“Maddox? What’s going on?” I grip him by the shoulder without taking his attention away from the jackass.

Maddox slams the jackass further into the wall when he starts fighting back. “This prick was talking shit about you, and Ashton and I had had enough. I’m sure he would like to repeat a few things, would you?”

He lets out a low chuckle. “Fuck you. You come into this school acting like the top dog, but you aren’t. You’re fucking nothing. You just proved that today.”

I hate when people beat around the bush. Tell it how it is. It isn’t that hard. Maddox must not like that answer either. His fist moves fast, connecting with the jackass’s nose. Blood pours in a steady stream down his mouth and onto his shirt.

“Now speak, or I’ll make you bleed someplace else.” Maddox jerks forward.

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