Page 23 of Her Devil

IVY

“Have fun, see you tonight,” Tamsin calls as I slide the door closed, the rest of the girls repeating the sentiment as I attempt to shut them all out.

Leaning back against the wood, I close my eyes and breathe out slowly, counting to ten. I knew sharing my space with other people was going to take a minute to figure out, to adjust, and it is. It’ll be fine, soon, hopefully.

A light flickers on in the building opposite, a reminder that we’re not out here alone as I hurry my steps to the car.

It’s just so constant. The people. The noise. And it’s not bad, there’s no fighting and arguing, no things being thrown at each other yet, they’re just around. All. The. Time. I might end up in the gym just to get some peace and quiet. Maybe.

At least I get this one class on my own. Apparently, nobody else was interested in advanced biology, but that works out well for me. Drizzle permeates the fog that rolls between the buildings as I head down the driveway, the thick trees blocking out the worst of it as I keep to the middle of the road, hoping there’s no one coming the other way.

Parking is straightforward as I jump out, pulling my coat hood up before climbing out, attempting to keep out the worst of the wet weather as I make my way to the right building, coffee in hand.

The dry air hits me with force as I come through the glass doors, closing them quickly behind me before making my way to the labs. This building is gorgeous. It was special enough last night with it’s kitsch charm, but I take the time to appreciate the fresh flowers scattered around as I manoeuvre my way through the winding hallway, locating the right room and letting myself in.

“Good afternoon.” The tutor smiles from behind his desk. “Grab a seat, we’ve got ten minutes before I start.”

“Good afternoon,” I reply easily, the shackles of other people’s expectations falling away as he turns back to his book and I look around the room.

“I’ll be back shortly,” he says, addressing the rest of the class before turning back to me. “I’d better top up the caffeine before we get started, thanks for the reminder.”

He gestures to my travel mug before slipping out of the doorway behind me. I find a seat over the far side of the room by the expansive windows. One of these days, warm sunlight will stream through here and make this one of the best seats in the house. Today, it’s grey and miserable, but one day it’ll be better.

Dropping the books on the desk, I pull out my pens and notebook, slide onto the stool and look around. Unsurprisingly, there’s only one other girl in here, and she’s got her nose well and truly in her phone, completely avoiding everyone else in the room. Just as I’m considering whether I should move closer to her, solidarity and all that, movement to my left catches my eye.

“Ivy Rose, you realise this is anadvancedclass, right?” Spencer’s condescending smirk irritates me more than usual as he pulls out the stool beside me. “Maybe I should join you… give you a hand.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I reply, plastering a saccharine-sweet smile on my face.

I’ve no idea why this would be a surprise to him, he’s more than aware of what I want to do and where I want to be. It was one of the reasons we split up, after all, me refusing to be the docile stay at home barbie-doll he was looking for. I’m sure he’ll have his pick of those one day, and I hope to heaven she has a good doctor willing to prescribe her all the drugs she’ll need to get through it.

“We should catch up. It’s been too long.” He continues the conversation like I didn’t just rebuff him. I’m reasonably sure it was clear last night I have no desire to be anywhere near him, and I certainly don’t want to spend hours together every week in class. But having a one-sided conversation isn’t unusual as he ignores everything I think.

“Honestly, I’m fine. Thank you. Go join your friends, I’m sure they’re missing you already.” Being direct never works with him, but I can’t help but attempt to assert some kind of authority here. It’s like he has selective hearing and tunes out anything that isn’t what he wants to hear.

“I’ll grab my books,” he declares, placing his hands flat on the desk.

“I think the lady said no.” The words rumble on the back of a growl, and as I follow the direction they came from, I come face-to-face with none other than Leo, an awareness twirling around my stomach. He places his bag heavily on the desk, just inches from Spencer’s fingers. “You’re in my seat.” His dark gaze moves, pinning Spencer with an irritated look.

“Leopold,” Spencer squeaks out, visibly paling as he pulls his fingers back quickly. “I didn’t realise you were in this class.”

Turning in my seat, I can’t help the amusement that covers my features. Never in my life have I seen the self-satisfied look fall off Spencer’s smug face so fast, fear replacing it, as a smile creeps over my own.

“You okay there?” I ask as Spencer stands, taking a step back before knocking into the bench behind him in his bid to escape.

“Of course. Fine. Everything’s just great.” He over-corrects himself, knocking a book off the edge of the desk and fumbling to catch it, but it tumbles through his hands, spinning and landing at Leo’s feet.

The smile that breaks free is resplendent as his panicked gaze flicks from the book to Leo’s face and back again. The two of them stand there, looking at the book. Leo with agitation, and Spencer with fear. It's hilarious.

Spencer goes to pick it up, his hand reaching out before Leo moves and Spencer darts back again, bumping into the table.

“Move,” Leo growls again, glaring at him.

I watch Spencer scurry across the room and back to the safety of his friends as Leo picks up the book, dropping it back on the table behind me.

“You’re going to have to teach me how to do that,” I comment idly as he takes his books from his bag, grabbing a tablet out too.

“Sorry, am I okay to join you?” he asks, pointing to the seat beside mine, tablet in hand. Like he just realised he barged in here and declared ‘MINE’ all over me.

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