Page 25 of Ruthless Legacy

Chapter Eight

By the time Calvin drops me at school the next day I’m still no nearer to deciding whether to ignore their challenge and to tell them to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine or whether to prove to them I can complete any challenge they set me. I’m so deep in my head, placing some of my notebooks in my locker, that I don’t notice Silver until he’s leaning on the locker beside mine.

“I’m having a party at my place tonight. You should come.”

I look up into Silver’s pale green eyes; he has his school shirt rolled above his elbows, showing a large snake tattoo winding down his arm.There’s a small cut under his eye thatmakes me suspect he’s been brawling recently. I close my locker and lean sideways against it, so we are facing each other.

“And why would that be?” I ask him, looking disinterested.

“Because, princess, I know how to have fun and you’ll feel at home in my world.”

I chuckle, arching a brow. “And that world would be?”

I stiffen when he leans into my personal space and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. “The one that isn’t ruled by rich, privileged pricks. You can bring Rafe’s little Wifey if you like.”

He knows about them?

My poker face mustn’t be on form today because he leans into my ear and says, “There’s a lot I know about your Aces, princess, and I’m willing to share if you are?”

I’m about to tell him no, when I remember the challenge and the second option of stealing the silver horse statue from the Silver mansion. I still haven’t decided to do their stupid challenge yet, but should I decide to, what better opportunity than a party at the Silver house with lots of people around?

“I’ll think about it,” I tell him with a non-committal shrug of my shoulders.

He grins at me, but his eyes shift attention behind me, over my head. “The kings are descending. I’ll catch you tonight, princess.” He presses a kiss on my head. “Oh, and wear something sexy.”

I pick my bag up off the floor as I catch sight of the three Aces heading my way. Before I can turn on my heels and head off in the opposite direction, two hands push me against the wall of lockers.

“What did he want?” Archer demands, crowding into my space.

Playing it cool, I adjust his tie and smile dryly at him. “What have I told you about keeping out of my business, Savage?”

He grins coldly at me. “I told you to stay away from him, remember?” He grips my ponytail and tilts my head up to look at him.

“Aww, you jealous Savage?”

He smirks. “Jealous, of a lowlife like him. You think I’m interested in your dirt-poor pussy? Play by our rules, Scarlet, or pay the price.”

I snigger. “You and your boys don’t scare me, Savage. You can hunt me, tie me up, brand me, but you’ll never own me. I play by my own rules, so do your worst to me. See if I care.”

Archer shakes his head and tsks at me like I’m a disobedient child. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He releases my hair so swiftly, making me hit the back of my head on the lockers. Fucking arsehole.

It’s after my first class that I notice a change. As I leave the classroom I’m spat at, called a whore, street rubbish. When I get to my locker and open it, rubbish tumbles out of it all over the floor, including stale food and used sanitary items. I hear droves of laughter behind me and know I’ll turn around to find an army of phones recording my reaction. Clenching my fists tightly — I take a deep breath and turn to face the swarm of students. I spot Archer and his boys standing over by the water machine, watching and waiting for my reaction. Keeping my eyes trained on his, I slowly suck one finger into my mouth and then another and then hold them up to him in a big fuck you sign before picking up my bag and heading to my next class.

In my second class, I sit myself down and ignore the catcalls and whispered name calling and pull out my iPad. Fuck all of them. They think I can’t survive this shit, well they’re wrong. About ten minutes into the lesson, I feel damp on the back of my thighs; I lift a thigh off the seat, and I grimace. There is a slime like substance all over the seat and now all over my skirt and thighs. The boy sitting behind me laughs and I glare at him. Jumping up from my seat, I grab my bag and head for the door. I hear the teacher demanding that I return to my seat, amongst the mocking laughter of my classmates, as I exit the room.

I head to the nearest girl’s bathroom and unzip my skirt and examine the mess. I wet some paper towels and then try to wipe off the gooey slime. It leaves a dark stain, but at least I get most of the sticky shit off. I hold it under the dryer and do my best to dry it out. It is still damp, but it will have to do for now as the bell for lunch has just gone and I don’t want to be caught in the girls’ bathroom in just my knickers.

With a scowl on my face, I leave the bathroom and head for the cafeteria. I grab a chicken salad and some French bread and storm over to an unoccupied table in the corner of the room.

“Hey, there you are,” Verity says as she throws herself down opposite me. “Woah, who pissed you off?” she asks as she takes in my face.

“Arthur-fucking-Savage and his Aceholes,” I hiss. “I swear one day I will fucking destroy Savage.”

I scoff and blink. “What have I done? I stood up for myself. Fuck their club and their stupid rules. I’ll talk to who I want to, when I want to. In fact, if I want to fuck Silver right here in this cafeteria in front of everyone, then I will, because no one controls me.”

Verity sighs and reaches over and pats my hand. “Oh, honey, it’s cute that you think that way, but if you don’t play by their rules, they will release all kinds of hell on you and they will give the school free rein to destroy you.”

“Let them fucking try. You don’t spend five years in foster care without developing a thick skin. It will take more than rubbish in my locker and slime on my seat to tame me.” I break off a piece of my bread with more aggression than is needed and shove it into my mouth. “Oh, and by the way, we are going to a party tonight at Silver’s.”

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