Page 62 of I Despise You
Chapter 22
WHEN I WAKE UP, THEfirst thing I hear is the noise coming from the hallway. I get dressed as quickly as possible and poke my head through the door.
“What’s going on?” I ask Vanessa, who’s standing in the doorway of her room.
“Brittany,” she says.
“What about her?” My pulse speeds up. It has to be something about the video I sent, but I don’t know if it’s a good thing for me or a bad one. If Brittany is just furious and is looking for the person responsible for the video, then I’ll probably be high on her suspects list.
“From what I heard, someone filmed her at the party and sent the video to the principal, and I guess to her dad too. Her dad freaked out and I guess he thinks this school isn’t good enough for Brittany, so he’s sending her to a new school somewhere overseas.”
“Really?” My eyes widen. I hope I’m not dreaming, because if this is true, it’s even more than I’ve been hoping for.
She nods. “The principal is freaking out too, but it looks like the video is only showing Brittany, so the rest of us aren’t in trouble. I still think the school will up the security, so sneaking out may become harder, at least for a while.”
“What about Brittany? Does she want to leave?”
“Of course not. She’s been crying and begging her dad to let her stay, but I don’t think he’ll change his mind. Someone said she’s already packing her things.”
“Wow.” I’m really glad I won’t have to see Brittany here ever again. I’ll never forgive her for what she’s done to me, but now that I know she’s leaving, I feel a whole lot better. I still feel like I could’ve done more to make her pay, but it would’ve only dragged me deeper into it all, and this is way better. Even though I won’t admit it out loud, I hope karma gets her.
“Yeah. Now she won’t even be able to go to the Richerville University. She had a guaranteed spot there because of her dad and her good grades, but because the University sees this incident as a sign of immaturity and bad character, they won’t accept her.”
My eyebrows shoot up. I didn’t know about any of that. “And there’s no way she can change their decision if her behavior and grades are perfect at her new school? Or if her father pays double or triple for her spot?”
“Nope. You only get one shot. She’ll have to go to some other college.”
“Wait, does that mean there will be two free spots at the University? I mean, for the scholarship.”
“No. It doesn’t work that way. They’ll just pick another person from their waitlist. It’s usually some legacy student with exceptional grades. The scholarship for one student from our school is a special thing. It’s a reward for the best student. There can’t be two number ones.”
I guess it makes sense that they’re not offering more scholarships. Most students who can afford to go to this school have enough money to pay for the University too. The scholarship is intended just for prestige rather than for those who actually need it, and maybe for those who know they can’t make the list for some reason.
“Have you seen Chase? I need to talk to him.” I want to tell him about Brittany, and maybe talk about the scholarship with him so we can finally move past it.
“No.”
“Okay. I’ll go look for him.” I give her a small smile and head to Chase’s room. Maybe he’s still there. It’s early anyway.
I knock on his door, and when he opens, my lips part in surprise. His hair is a mess, his eyes bloodshot and filled with anger. I want to ask what’s wrong, but I don’t get a chance. His hand shoots out and grasps my shirt, yanking me inside.
He slams the door and advances on me.
“Chase, you’re scarin—” My voice is cut off when his hand wraps around my throat.
He shoves me against the wall so hard that I cry out.
“Why the fuck did you do it, huh?” he yells, his breath reeking of alcohol, his grip on my throat tightening.
“Let go of me. You’re hurting me!” I catch his hand with both of mine, but I’m not strong enough to fight him off. My stomach does a nervous flip, my chest tightening with terror, as my heart resonates in my head.
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” he hisses.
“What are you talking about?” I choke out.
“Did you like fucking him?”
“Chase, please! You’re not making any sen—” I cough, tears filling the corners of my eyes.
