Page 3 of Destroying Everleigh

She smiled proudly. “Midfield.”

That didn’t surprise me. Most guys wanted to be midfield since they had more opportunities to run and score. It was the most active position. When I was younger, that was my position, too. But then my asthma worsened, leaving me to take either defense or offense. I ended up taking defense, because it gave me a thrill, and was one of the more intense positions.

I glanced over at Rosalie again, her lip tucked beneath her teeth. When she caught me staring, she released it and offered one of her shy smiles. “What are you majoring in again?” I asked, feeling slightly guilty that I couldn’t remember.

“I’m doing my undergrad for psych,” she admitted. “Then I have to do another few years to get my doctorate.”

“And Alex?”

Her smile widened. “Same thing,” she stated proudly.

Their relationship was cute, but I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Sure, I had Lucas, but Rosalie’s relationship felt more authentic. I cared about my boyfriend, there were just so many obstacles in our way regarding the future. It would be naïve of me to think it would last long term. That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, reminding me how screwed up my life truly was. Lucas was one of the only things I had to look forward to, that didn’t tie me down as a parental figure.

My thoughts were cut short when the final person spoke to give their introduction. His voice making the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end—a voice I couldn’t forget, no matter how hard I tried. A voice that still haunted me at night when I was tucked under the safety of my thin comforter, reminiscing on how life had been before my mother’s diagnosis. A voice that I never thought I’d hear again.

“My name is Ashton Banks,” he began in that hard smooth tone, the one he used when he looked me in the eye with so much hatred and told me I was nothing but a whore and that we were done. It felt like the air in the room had grown thinner, tension prickling through the atmosphere and searing into me, but I was the only one who felt it. “I’m majoring in business. Within the next few years, I plan on graduating and working alongside my father as head CEO of Banks Enterprises.”

Murmurs sounded around the room, excitement carrying their voices through the tension filled air. Banks Enterprises was a well-known company, known for their casino and hotel chains throughout the world. When we dated, his father traveled a lot, trying to get his name out there. He obviously succeeded.

Professor Whitlock smiled at him with obvious admiration. I couldn’t see him from where I sat. He was somewhere in the back, but I wasn’t about to turn around and look, either.

“Do you plan on joining any of the fraternities?” she questioned, giving him a hopeful look.

“Haven’t really thought about it,” he admitted. “But I could be talked into it.” I didn’t miss the double meaning of his words, how they contained a sultry tilt at the end of his suggestion. Was he seriously flirting with our forty-year-old teacher? In front of the entire class?

Bold. I’d give him that.

My head was spinning, unable to catch up with the fact that he was in this class with me right now—that he’d seen me walk in, and that he knew I was here all along. After we broke up, he left school. I assumed he dropped out, but if that was the case, he wouldn’t be here right now unless he got his GED. Dread twisted my stomach into knots. We’d only dated for two years, but my entire world had revolved around him. He was my first love, my first kiss, my firsteverything. Back then, I was naïve enough to believe we had forever. Picturing a life without him had mademe sick to my stomach. But then…I made a horrible mistake that cost us everything. A mistake that could never be undone—one that made him despise me more than anything in the world. And I couldn’t blame him.

Professor Whitlock spoke for the rest of the period, smiling toward the back of the room every now and then—probably at Ash if I had to guess—and my stomach was twisted the remainder of class. Maybe he’d leave me alone. There was no undoing the past, but just knowing that he was here had doubt creeping in, planting a seed of dread in the back of my mind. Maybe once I got used to it, seeing him here wouldn’t bother me as fiercely. I could learn to live with it. It was my only option.

Toward the end of the period, Professor Whitlock explained that we’d do most of our work in a laboratory located through a door toward the front of the room where she now stood. We’d be given assigned seats, and these would be our lab partners for every project. Hopefully I got paired up with Amber, or anyone else who wasn’thim. She didn’t specify how many partners we’d have, but I guess I’d find out tomorrow. Considering she saidpartners, I assumed we’d have more than one.

When class ended, I stuffed my things back in my bag and jumped out of my seat. Everything in me was telling me to run away, to never look back, but I wanted to see Amber. So, instead of running out of the room with my tail tucked between my legs, I shouldered my bag and waited for my best friend by the door, hoping that she reached me before he did.

Students paid me no mind as they talked amongst each other, slipping out into the hallway beside me. Finally, my shoulders relaxed with relief when Amber’s green eyes captured my brown ones. Her burgundy-dyed hair rested straight around her shoulders, barely brushing against her collarbone. She shot me a smile from across the room as she moved in my direction, but before she could even get halfway across the room, my throattightened as electricity snaked down my spine, sending my body on high alert.

Glancing to my left where students were making their way down the steps and onto the floor, my eyes locked with Ashton’s gray ones. I had to do a double take to make sure this was actually him. He was much more muscular than I remembered, with tattoos covering the entirety of his neck and arms, drifting down his wrists and trickling along his knuckles. His gray shirt made his eyes pop and it was stretched across his hard chest and thick biceps. There was so much hatred in his gaze, urging me to break eye contact.

Instead of slipping through the door like the rest of the class, he stopped, his frame towering over me. He’d always been much taller, but it had never felt as intimidating as this. I was so short compared to him that I was eye-level with the tops of his ribs. I craned my head back to look up at him, my heart thundering beneath my chest.

“Isn’t this an unfortunate surprise?” he growled, venom coming out thick in his voice. When I just stared stupidly up at him and didn’t say anything, he continued. “I surely hope you weren’t waiting for me,” he mused.

“I’m wasn’t,” I snapped a little too harshly.

To my relief, Amber finally made her appearance, linking her arm through mine. I leaned into her subconsciously, thankful for the extra support. Her gaze raked over him from head to toe with obvious fascination, and his lips tugged into an arrogant smirk at her forwardness.

“Let’s go,” I told her, thankful that our free period was after one more class and I could sink into Lucas’s arms and revel in the safety of his presence.

Ashton looked between us, his eyes dropping to where we clung to each other. I knew what he was thinking. We were complete opposites in every way. Even in the way we looked.She wore a short skirt with a matching lace halter top, paired with heels. Her lips were painted a deep shade of maroon that brought out her tan complexion and green eyes. She was fucking breathtaking, and he knew it, too.

I, on the other hand, was wearing my gray soccer hoodie with a pair of athletic joggers and sneakers. My hair was naturally straight, tugged into a high ponytail. The only sign of makeup on me was my cherry lip gloss, black eyeliner, and mascara.

“I’ll be seeing you around,” Ashton told her, his eyes drifting over her exposed cleavage.

She smirked up at him, knowing exactly how to play on his level. Guys like Ashton didn’t like desperation. Not unless they were wanting something easy at the moment. If Amber wanted more than that, she’d have to play to his level, which she knew. She was experienced with that kind of thing, leaving guys wanting more, and feeding right out of the palm of her dainty little hand. It was impressive, really.

But right now, all I felt was jealousy, even though I had no right at all to feel that way.

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