“Who is Javier Morgan? And why wouldn’t I want to end up like him?” I don’t know that I want to ask this question, but I can’t help myself. If I’m going to survive whatever hell the students at Trinity Prep have planned out for me then I need to make sure that I know exactly what’s coming my way.
Quinn chuckles and my stomach twists at the sound. It’s just not fair that everything about him makes my body feel like it’s on fire. I can barely get through a conversation with him without thinking about him pinning me up against the wall and taking whatever he wants from me.
“Javier Morgan was a student here, Abigail, a long time ago. Long before you or I even thought about coming to Trinity Prep, in fact. He’s the first and only other student who had open season declared on him, and he didn’t come out of it in one piece. You think that you can do any better?”
“You killed him?” Horror cools my body and I feel like my heart actually starts pumping slower. My blood feels thick and uncomfortable.
“Did you not listen?” Quinn asks, with a sigh. “He was here long before you and I were. So, no, I did not kill Javier Morgan. He’s more like a warning that you need to heed. Now, what you do with this information is totally up to you, but if I were you, I’d leave.”
“Then why did you tell Mr. Stanfield that I should be given a chance? If you think that I should leave then why even try to keep me here? Do you want me to die?” Instinctively, I take a step back, but my back is against the doors to the cafeteria. There’s literally nowhere for me to go.
Quinn sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “Of course I don’t want you to die, that’s fucked up, Abigail. But I do love a good game. If you leave, then where’s the fun of even being here for my senior year? But if you stay…well, if you stay then you and I can play this fun little game.”
“But I might die,” I snap back, moving out of the way when he reaches out to brush my cheek again. I want to feel his hands on me, dammit, but I also know that it’s stupid.
“You might die,” he agrees. “But I have a feeling that you’re stronger than that, am I right? You may be strong enough to survive open season, but if not, then there’s no hard feelings, ok? I have hope, though, Abigail. I think that you may be stronger than you think, and if I’m right, then this year is about to get a lot more interesting.”
“That’s easy for you to say! Nobody’s trying to drive you out of the school!” I’m yelling, but I don’t care if everyone in Trinity Prep hears what I have to say. This place is fucked up and I’m really thinking now that I never should have come.
“That’s the beauty of it, Abigail. Nobody dares to drive me out of the school. Remember when I told you that I’m the fucking god? It’s true. Nobody will stand up to me and nobody is going to stop me, not even the teachers. You want to stay here and try to take my internship from me? You want to refuse to give me the thing that I won in our bet? Then you’re going to stay, you stupid cunt. You’re going to stay and you’re going to fight for your life. I’m tired of being nice. You exhaust me.” There’s nothing kind or caring about his smile.
“I don’t want to fight you or fight for my life! I just want to go to classes and be normal! Why won’t you make this stop?” I don’t want to beg, I don’t want to plead. I need answers, and I have no idea how I’m going to get them if he refuses to give them to me. He’s the only person who can answer the questions that I have, and my biggest fear right now is that he’s going to turn and walk away from me.
“Why would I make it stop when it is literally the most fun that I’ve had since coming here? You have no idea what it’s like to have your life completely planned out for you, do you?” When I shake my head in response, he grips my chin and holds it so that I’m staring him in the face. “I do. My entire life has been planned out for me, and now I finally have a little control. What do you think that you would do if you had some control, hm?”
“I guess that I’d stay at school and ruin the chances that you had of landing the internship.” I don’t know if it’s the wrong thing to say or not, but I don’t care. He can’t get away with this shit for any longer.
Like my skin is burning him, he drops his hand from my chin, but then he reaches out and slaps me so hard that my head spins to the side. My cheek tingles but I won’t let myself reach up to touch it. I won’t let him see that I’m weak.
“Then you better hope that you’re a stronger person than Javier Morgan, Abigail. He thought that he would stay, too, and he didn’t even have it as bad as you.”
“Why not? Why didn’t he have it as bad?” I hate him. I hate Quinn, but he has the answers that I need. I only hope that he’ll bite and talk to me instead of storming off down the hall.
“Because, you stupid cunt, Javier Morgan wasn’t fighting me.”
It takes me a minute to understand
