Page 65 of Ruthless Rose

Chapter 36

I’ve been actively ignoring Micah’s attempts to contact me since the brief exchange we’d had Saturday morning in the lunchroom. At the time, I’d been speechless. Not ready to talk about anything. More than two days later, I’m still cranky and upset about all of it. It’s for the best that Micah and I are apart. At least, that’s what I keep trying to convince myself of. Deep down, I’m sad. I don’t want him to leave me alone. I want him to get Alora to back off like he promised.

Unless maybe he really doesn’t care about me at all?

And here I go again, full circle. I’ve been on this same loop of damaging thinking for the last two days.

I’ve got AP Calc first, so I have some time to hang out in the hall with Scarlett, Xander, and Max before the bell. They all have the same class together—Mrs. Harden’s English 12. I’d love to be in the same class with all of them but there’s a whole slew of other people in there that I’d rather not be around, including both Alora and Micah. I’ll stick to my nerdy AP Lit class.

Looking up and down the hall, I tell myself a blatant lie. I’m not looking for Micah. Nope, I’m not. And yet, my eyes scan every person who comes around the corner, searching for the broad shoulders I’d been perched on top of at the party.

When the tenth person isn’t him, I allow my eyes to drift, noting the costumes students have chosen to wear in honor of Spirit Week. I can tell this is going to be super fun already. Half of the student population is dressed for Decade Day, including Max, who surprised us all by showing up like a reject from Miami Vice. He’s been the only person to put a smile on my face this morning.

Nothing else has been remotely amusing. Not Mrs. Jayson tracking me down and asking why I’d left the homecoming committee supplies in the lunchroom, and definitely not Alora’s bitchy smirk when she’d passed me in the hall, asking if I’d been scared when she shook the ladder. That girl has a lot of nerve.

Max pokes me in the side, dragging me from my thoughts. “I don’t get it. Alora was seriously messing with the ladder and made you fall?”

“She was shaking it and laughing, and when I tried to get down, she shoved it.” I clamp my lips shut. I don’t want to talk about it.

Xander rubs his hand over his cheek. “Micah was losing his shit when he came back to the locker room. He said you wouldn’t outright admit that Alora knocked over the ladder, but he could tell that’s what happened. And … he really wants to talk things through with you.”

My face crumples. “He promised he’d talk to Alora. I know he’s torn up about it and looking to make things right, but”—my shoulders lift to my ears before they fall—“I’m already beyond embarrassed about what happened at the party. And I’m just so tired of being the topic of conversation for half the school. I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t even want to tutor Micah in the first place. I didn’t ask for any of this to happen. I don’t want any of it.” I end on a huff.

Xander raises his hands. “Look, I’m just telling you what I saw with my own two eyes in the locker room. Micah isn’t fazed by much, but this was different.” He lets out a big sigh. “As for the party, you didn’t get to witness him fly off the handle with Alora. He laid into her like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

I roll my eyes, frowning. “That’s probably why she attacked me Saturday morning.”

“She’s a vindictive little bitch.” Max grits his teeth, shaking his head.

Scarlett wets her lip. “Daph, can we back up a second? To when you said you don’t want any of it. Tell me honestly—you’re saying you would take back every single moment with Micah if you could?”

Her question burns deep within my soul. I wouIdn’t take back a single second. I bite my lip, eyes flicking among my friends. I take a deep breath, wondering if I should admit how deeply Micah has buried himself in my heart.

The PA system interrupts, screeching and clicking. Headmaster Gilmore’s voice fills the halls. “It’s homecoming week, students. We want you to have fun, but let me remind you that your costumes for the week must align with school dress code policies.”

Scarlett snickers beside me, temporarily distracted from our earlier conversation. “Who wants to tell those girls dressed up as Madonna over there that the miniskirts they’re wearing are about six inches too short?”

Xander’s brows raise as he peeks over at the girls she’s referring to. Scarlett elbows him in the stomach, but he recovers and wraps an arm around her shoulder, kissing her temple. He murmurs near her ear, “I still like my girl in her schoolgirl uniform best.”

I probably wasn’t meant to overhear that, but I do. And it kind of makes me miss Micah’s filthy mouth and makes me sad over our current circumstances. Nothing Alora did is his fault. He hasn’t done anything to hurt me, except give me the space I asked him to. I’m such an idiot.

The PA screeches again, and Max winces. “You’d think with the money our parents donate they’d get that fixed.”

“And now, Mrs. Jayson, teacher advisor to the homecoming committee, has a special announcement for you.”

“Good morning, Rosehaven! I’m excited to announce the homecoming king and queen nominees for this year. For our king: Xander Grey, Chris Langford, Beau Danbrook, Lachlan McKinley, Greg Smythe, Micah Robertson, Ryan Lang, and Shayne Crawford. Congratulations, gentlemen. And for our queen …” Mrs. Jayson pauses dramatically.

I roll my eyes. Whoever thought crowning two people king and queen of a dance was a good idea should be shot. It’s an idiotic tradition.

Screech. Click.Mrs. Jayson audibly clears her throat into the microphone. “Excuse me. For our queen nominees, we have Alora Berridge, Scarlett Miller, Aria Warrington, Sarah Worley, Danica Seeger, Farrah Kendrick, Elise Tomlinson, and Daphne Davis!”

Scarlett had snorted with laughter as her name was called, and we’d all smiled, but when mine is called too, our whole group freezes.

Xander’s voice is a low rumble. “How the hell did that happen?”

Scarlett’s eyes widen and she smacks his arm. “Xander! Daphne has as much right to be up there as any of those girls.”

“I only meant it’s nothing more than a popularity contest, and Daphne, no offense, but given how you’ve just spent this morning reiterating to us that you don’t want any sort of attention, well, you don’t strike me as the kind of girl who’d like this.”

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