Page 1 of Ruthless Rose

Chapter 1

Honestly, I’m perplexed. An early morning phone call requesting my presence in the office of Rosehaven Academy’s headmaster before classes begin this morning is not something that has ever happened to me before. And when I told my parents where I was going so early, they’d flipped out and started asking all kinds of questions—questions I have no answers to because the secretary hadn’t given me a single clue about what is going on. Great way to start my week.

Hello, Monday. Nice to see you again.

My hands grip the wheel of my crappy old Honda Civic more tightly as I make the turn onto school property. My stomach twists angrily into knots and my palms sweat. Funny how I’m halfway to panic when I know for a fact I didn’t do anything. Hell, I never do anything.

I’m the nerdiest of the nerd girls and don’t even care that I’m labeled that way by my peers. In fact, I take an amused pride in it. I study hard and get good grades. It’s the life of an academic scholarship student here at Rosehaven Academy. I hardly ever go out, unless it’s with Max, my closest friend, to the movies or something equally tame. It’s in my best interest to steer clear of all the partying and boozing it up and who knows what else the rest of my classmates partake in. Only once so far in my senior year have I even bothered to attend a football game, and that was in support of my new friend Scarlett. She hadn’t wanted to go alone, so Max and I went with her.

I suck in a breath as a terrible thought occurs to me. Oh my God, maybe this has something to do with that awful prick Justin. He drugged Scarlett at Beau’s party this past weekend—and from what I gather, he’d had every intention of raping her. But I hadn’t been there and don’t know anything that would be useful, or even why the school would be asking. I only know what Scarlett has told me. My brow furrows.

Scarlett filled Max and me in on some of the nitty-gritty details via text after she was released from the hospital on Saturday. From what she told me, her boyfriend, Xander, and his stepfather, Sebastian, arrived in time to stop Justin from hurting her. The kicker is Xander’s dad, Joseph—Justin’s stepfather and the CEO of Grey Technologies—had encouraged the whole thing, using Justin as a weapon against Scarlett and Sebastian, who, as it turns out, is actually her dad. The whole complicated mess had all been in the name of revenge. Well, that and Justin is just a sick, rapey asshole.

So yeah, maybe it has something to do with that. I didn’t actually witness anything that went down with Justin, though, so I have no clue why they would want to see me about any of it. I quickly park in the student lot and whip out my phone, checking for text messages. Maybe they are pulling a bunch of us in for some reason.

But there are no texts from my friends, nothing to indicate that anyone other than me has been singled out for a chat with the headmaster.

Taking in a shaky breath, I tap out a message to Scarlett and Max in our group chat.

Me:Hey. I just got summoned to see Gilmore before school.

Me:Any clue what it could be about?

Max:Um. Not really.

Me:They didn’t ask you to come in?

Max:Nope.

Scarlett:Me neither. Sorry, girl.

Me:Will you be at school today, Scar?

Scarlett:Yeah. I’m okay. Really.

Me:I thought maybe it was about—

Me:Ugh. Never mind.

Me:I’ll go find out what they want.

Max:I can sense your anxiety rising with every word you type.

Max:It’ll be fine, Daph. Whatever it is.

I slip my phone into my blazer pocket and wipe my sweaty palms on my red-and-black plaid uniform skirt. I inhale a deep, calming breath, then blow it out slowly. Time to figure this out. I pull my book bag across the center console, sling it over my shoulder, and step from the car.

All the way up the walk and into the building, my mind scatters, diving off in a million different directions. What could they possibly want?

Pushing the door to the main office open, I look around. The place is practically deserted this early in the morning. The big counter stretches across the room, but none of the secretaries usually seated behind it during the day have arrived yet. With a shrug, I decide to peek around the corner because I have no clue if I’m supposed to go directly to the headmaster’s office or not.

A brief glimpse down the hallway toward the administrators’ offices has my heart jumping up into my throat. A large figure clad in our school uniform sits hunched over on the bench outside of Headmaster Gilmore’s office. His forearms rest on his thick thighs, his big hands dangling between his long legs. His head is dropped, chin to chest, so I can’t see his face, but I’d know those broad shoulders anywhere.

Micah Robertson.

He’s the talented tight end for our football team. A Rose—one of the elite at this school. His family helped found Rosehaven Academy three generations ago. That alone makes him untouchable. Almost invincible. Throw in his jock status and insanely hot good looks and it all adds up to a constant line of girls just waiting for him to notice them.

Speaking of being noticed, I stand stock-still for several seconds, my throat becoming increasingly dry, hoping Micah hasn’t seen me standing here. Maybe I can turn around and leave, wait outside until he’s done with whatever business he has here this morning. Because I’m not one of those girls who hopes he’ll look my way. I’ll never be. I used to think—

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