Page 5 of We Will Reign

CHAPTER2

RILEY

The party isin full swing and while I’d love to enjoy it, Scar and I got the shit job of preparing the snack table. Who even eats snacks at a keg party?

I pop a chip in my mouth, then another.

Okay. Maybe the snack table is a good idea.

I steal a glance at Scar, who’s looking behind me. “Is he still there?” I ask her and she returns with a subtle nod.

“Yup.”

My heart skips a few beats before jumping into an up-tempo rhythm. I’m not surprised. Ridge Foster is always watching me. We’re over a month into our first semester here and he’s had his eyes on me since I stepped out of my parents’ car. We’ve never talked, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know him through unspoken words. I’ve learned to read his facial expressions, his body language, and the way he completely shuts out everyone around him when I’m in his presence.

I’ve concluded that Ridge is either plotting my demise, or he’s falling madly in love with me. I vote the former, considering he’s watched me long enough to hurt me, or garner enough information that could destroy me, if he wanted.

Scar dumps another bag of chips into the large crystal bowl, then tosses the empty bag into a box of trash. Hand resting on the table full of snacks, her eyebrows lift. “If you don’t say something to that creep soon, I will, Riley. This is getting out of control.”

Scar, my best friend and roommate, knows I’ve been under Ridge’s watchful eye. What she doesn’t know is the extent of his stalking. As far as she’s concerned, he just keeps his eyes on me when I’m around. She doesn’t know he’s stood outside and looked up at our dorm window more nights than I can count. But the truth is, Ridge doesn’t scare me. In fact, I’m grossly enamored by him. Does that make me crazy, too? Maybe it does.

I dump the case of beer into the cooler and move the ice around, making sure each can is covered, then I change the conversation because the topic of Ridge makes me anxious, in a way that Scar wouldn’t understand. “This party is such bullshit. Why should we have to be little bitches to the upperclassmen?” I lift my head from where I’m kneeling, while attempting to hide my skivvies in this hot as sin, gold dress. Looking sexy can be so uncomfortable. A few more drinks and I doubt I’ll even care what’s on display.My anxiety was in high gear so I had an early start and I’m not regretting it.

“You’re deflecting.” Scar raises her brows, her lips pressed tightly into a firm line.

She knows me too well, but I don’t give up my quest to talk about something else. I smash the box, collapsing it, then toss it into the box of garbage where all the remnants of our hard work is. “Is this gonna go on all year? I mean, these girls who boss us around have to know how torturous it is. They were freshmen once, too.”

Scar bobs her head from shoulder to shoulder and sings, “Deflect, deflect, deflect.”

Nudging my shoulder against her bare leg, I laugh before standing up. “Just let it go. If I thought for a second that guy was a threat, you know I’d be screaming for help.”

“If you say so.” She sighs heavily. “I’m going to get more bottled water, then that should be it. Hopefully, we can enjoy this night a little.”

Scar leaves, taking the trash box with her. I watch as she walks away, wishing I had it as easy as she does. The only thing Scar has to worry about is which one of her boyfriends will share her bed that night—yes, she has three, and color me jealous.

As for me, I’m as single as a Pringle with the weight of the world on my shoulders because I have a duty to uphold as a Guardian.Although, I have yet to even do anything as a Guardian. I watch for any odd behavior that might seem suspicious but nothing has really caught my eye. Maybe I’m just too preoccupied with my own life to worry about what everyone else is doing.

A thunderous smack sends a vibration through my body and my heart flees from my chest as I jump back, knocking into the snack table. I clasp my chest and take in a deep breath when I realize it was just a door slamming shut.

For someone who is supposed to protect the students at this school, I am the most cowardly Guardian in existence. In my defense, I’ve endured more than my predecessors. There are events in my life that I wish I could just forget. If there was a way to erase those days from my memory, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, my actions are now part of me and all I can do is learn to embrace the girl inside of me who, in a split second, took the life of another person.

What I did doesn’t mean I succeeded as a Guardian—it means I failed because I reacted and my actions could cost me everything if the truth ever came out. Guardians don’t kill. We protect.

The Society—The Blue Bloods—is comprised of different delegations meant to serve, protect, and honor our members. My family comes from a long line of Guardians—protectors, or watchers, rather—and it’s in my blood to monitor all members and report any undue findings to The Elders. I know nothing about the tasks and assignments of other students. It’s all hush-hush. Sworn secrets. However, I do know that female members, who are not Guardians, don’t carry the same weight as the male members.

Truth be told, I don’t want this role. I’m terrible at it. There’s no doubt in my mind I will fail this series of tests over the next four years and I’ll be the first Cross to tarnish our family name as Guardians. And if that happens, it happens. I don’t even care anymore. I’ve got my own shit to deal with and don’t have the energy to snoop around, putting my nose in other people’s business just to tattle on them to The Elders.

All I want is to have a normal college experience. Drink too much. Lose my virginity, and do the walk of shame a few mornings after a few one-night stands with guys whose names I don’t even know. I want to be numb to the rules of The Society. I wanna fuck up and have some regret then pick my head up and keep moving forward because I am so damn tired of trying to be the perfect daughter my parents expect me to be.

Swimming in pity, dark days ahead. Screaming for mercy from the thoughts in my head.

Poetry gets me through the hard times. When I’m feeling an immense amount of pressure, I make up random shit in my head. When I’m in my bed and negativity swims through my mind, I write until it’s all out on paper.

Sometimes it helps; other times, it sends me to a different outlet. Much like now. My hand goes right into the cooler full of Jell-O shots. I grab a handful and drop them onto the table. With the top popped off one, I tip my head back, letting the cold, alcohol-infused gelatin slide down my throat. I don’t even allow my tongue to get a taste, I just feed my stomach the alcohol it needs to tell my brain to shut the hell up.

I wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, I was happy. Now, I’m just the remnants of my mistakes. A broken girl who cannot heal.

Dropping the little plastic container on the table, I grab another and open it, then another. They go down fast and do the job rather quickly, warming my insides. It won’t be long until the alcohol mixes with the three straight vodka shots I had when I arrived.

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