Just a few more days, I told myself repeatedly. And this will all be over.
A group of Alpha Gamma jocks were gathered in a group down the hall ahead of us, talking and laughing with one another. I recognized a few of them and groaned because I knew Jace would stop to talk to them.
“I’m going to go ahead to class,” I informed Jace, pulling away from his grip. “I have some work that I didn’t finish last night that I need to turn in.”
Jace grabbed hold of my arm before I could walk away, his eyes ahead on the pack of jerks. “It can wait for a minute. Come say hi to the fellas with me.”
“Actually, it can’t.” I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. “I’m on the verge of falling a grade if I don’t get this assignment turned in on time.” Of course I was lying. Surprisingly enough, and despite my situation, I was actually excelling in all of my classes, sitting on an A minus average. “Please let go of me.”
Jace grinned at me and tugged me along, ignoring my request. “Stop whining. It will only be a minute. We have to make a show of our relationship, remember?”
“Making a show and enduring harassment are two different things,” I replied. “Your frat brothers are complete assholes. I don’t want to talk to them.”
“No, they’re not,” Jace said. “They’re cool. You should learn to lighten up a little.”
“And you should learn that no means no,” I growled.
Rather than respond, Jace pulled me down the hallway to his friends.
“’Sup, Jace?” one of the guys asked. Like Jace, he was a gym rat. All of the guys were. In fact, there was so much testosterone surrounding me that I was afraid I might grow balls. But their bulging muscles didn’t impress me. Whenever I looked at a guy at NSU, I compared him to Stefan, and so far, no one had matched up to him.
“What's up, dude?” Jace replied, clasping hands with the guy and then with the rest of the group. I fidgeted nervously as all of their eyes fell on me, feeling like a piece of meat surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves. “What are you punks up to?”
“Nothing much. Just hoping that dumb ass investigation shit is finally over.” The brunette nodded at me. “You hit that yet?”
Grinning, Jace draped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “Nope. She won’t put out.”
“That’s a shame,” said one of the other guys. “She’s such a hot piece of ass.”
To supposedly want to save their fraternity, they sure had a terrible way of showing it. I guess they knew I had to endure it, and as long as no one else heard them, they were going to berate me.
Crossing my arms angrily across my breasts, I averted my gaze, my cheeks burning, uncomfortable from all the lewd stares. This was exactly the crap I was fed up with.
“What’s up with that?” the cut, dark-haired jock asked me directly. “There’s not a chick I know who wouldn’t want to be Jace’s girl.”
That’s because they’re all sluts without an iota of self-worth, I thought.
When I remained silent, he added, “Maybe you should get your dad to marry her mom and then she'll sleep with you.”
An angry lump formed in my throat and I found it hard to swallow back a biting comeback. There was nothing to be gained by saying anything to these guys.
Jace laughed and sneered at me. “Maybe I should. What do you say about that, Bella, huh? If I become your bro, will you want to fuck me then?”
“You know what?” I hissed, finally fed up, my hands trembling from rage. “Fuck you. Fuck all of you! I hope your fucking frat house gets shut down and you all go to hell!”
All the guys burst out in laughter, but I was done caring. I jerked away from Jace and began to move away. Then Jace tried to grab me but I broke into a sprint.
“Get back here, Bella!”
“Fuck off!” I yelled, hoping he didn’t give chase as I tried to keep my balance in my heels. Even in normal shoes, I wouldn’t have had a chance of outrunning him, but damn it if I wasn’t going to try.
I couldn’t bear another moment in that asshole’s presence.
My heart pounding in my ears, I rushed down the hallway, not daring to look back. People were stopping and staring at me as I stumbled down the hall in my heels, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away—away from Jace and his buddies, away from all the drama.
I rounded a corner and gasped as I ran into hard flesh.
“Stefan,” I sobbed, filled with relief, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I can’t take it anymore.”
Stefan wrapped his arms around me and I immediately felt a sense of solace. I was in the arms of my protector. If Jace followed me down the hall, I knew that Stefan would deal with him. “Calm down, Bella. What's wrong? Did Jace put his hands on you?” Stefan’s eyes burned with a dark, murderous rage.