Page 64 of Broken Princess

Shaking my head, I tell him, “I’m heading to Carryville.”

A strange look crosses his face when he asks, “You’re going to see your ex?”

“My best friends, Marina and Tiffany, have been begging me to come for a visit and I think it’ll be a good idea for me to get away from campus for a few days.”

“That’s such a long bus ride. Let me give you a lift.”

“I can’t ask you to go out of your way and do that.”

“I was actually thinking of visiting friends in New Haven. It’s no problem dropping you off.”

It would be nice not to have to sit next to a stranger, and we’ll get there faster without all the extra stops. “Are you sure Noel?”

“Trapped for hours with you in a car? I’m sure I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.”

We make plans to meet up after my last class on Friday, and I text the girls, letting them know that there’s been a change of plans and I’ll meet them at the dorms.

It’s weird. My world tilted at Carryville, yet I have no qualms about showing my face on campus and seeing the people who know what happened with Robbie and me, unlike my current surroundings. I guess that’s just more proof of how fucked up things are around here.

“Tell me this is some kind of joke.” Logan says, stepping in front of me when I walk into the newsroom.

I look down, expecting to see my article or my pictures in his sinful hands, but they’re empty. “What are you talking about?”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not a mind reader so if you have an issue with my article or photos, you’re gonna have to be more specific.”

He grabs my arm, pulling me away from the bullpen, shoving his phone in my face.If it’s a picture of my ass, so help me. I look down and see he has the Prospectus app up and he’s on Noel’s page.

“This is not happening. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go away with him for the weekend.”

“I wasn’t aware you got final sign-off on my plans. Oh wait, you don’t.”

“Jordanna,”

“What?!” Fuck if I care about the warning in his voice. I’m tired of him trying to boss me around. “I don’t comment on who or what you do during your weekends away from campus, so why the hell do you think you have the right to say a damn thing about mine?”

He looks around to see if anyone is paying us any attention. He hates being challenged, especially within earshot of other people, which is exactly why I’m doing it. It always comes down to him and his fucking reputation as king, and I’m here to knock a dent in that shit every chance I get.

“I told you-,”

“Yeah, yeah. You want me. Nobody else can have me. Blah, blah, fuck you, blah.” I flip him off, walking back to my desk. I’m getting good at getting the last word in and walking away from him. But I know Logan, and it’s only a matter of time before he comes after me. When he does, I’ll be ready.

Logan

She didn’t come back to campus last night, and neither did Noel. His Prospectus profile shows he spent all weekend in New Haven, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t stop at a hotel on the way back. My nails dig into my palms as images of them together swirl through my brain like an unwelcome highlight reel.

I’ll fucking kill him, then I’ll fuck her so hard and long and deep, she’ll wish she’d never made the poor choice of going out of town with him to begin with. Jordy denies that there’s anything happening with us. But her body betrays her whenever I get near her.

I’m miserable company today and rather than pretend I want to be around my friends, I make excuses about having shit to take care of at the newspaper. But I don’t go there. Instead, I hop in my car and drive to my studio, hoping a few hours of working on my sculpture will help temper the rage brewing inside me.

Jordy hasn’t been here since the night she came to paint after Will tried to take things too far. Her shredded canvases still sit against the wall. I didn’t have the heart to throw them out. The unbridled fury she unleashed working through her emotions that night was captivating. The only other time I’ve ever seen her that unguarded is when she’s coming apart under me, and I haven’t truly seen that side of her since the last time we were together before the auction.

When she gets off now, it’s restrained, like she’s waging a war to hide a part of herself from me. I can’t let that go on. I want to seep under her skin and twine myself into her soul. I want everything she has to give, and when I have that; I want more.

She thinks I’m playing games, and she’s right, but this one has the biggest stakes I’ve ever encountered in my life. I won’t be satisfied with anything less than Jordanna giving me her whole heart, and this time, I’m not giving it back.

I’ve given into the compulsion to see her, which is how I wound up in the shadows outside of her dorm when Noel’s car pulls up. My need to torture myself to see what happens is the only reason I don’t snatch her away when he pulls her in for a hug. Deep down, I know I deserve to have my heart ripped out as payback for what I did.

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