Page 8 of The Revenge

I draw my gaze to her face before gently shaking my head. “I know. I just… I’m exhausted, and I’m not sure there isn’t a part of me that doesn’t hurt. I need a shower and sleep, and then I’ll figure out what I’m doing next.”

Penny doesn’t say anything as I extract myself from under the covers and make my way to her bathroom. Under the hot water, I examine my body, watching as the forming bruises that cover me start to blend into the red my skin turns under water that’s almost too hot to handle.

Using Penny’s body scrub, I attack my skin until some of the freshly forming scabs are rubbed away, and blood joins the peach scented bubbles. Only then do I sink to the floor and wrap my arms around me as I allow the shower to wash away everything.

Giving up isn’t weak, and I know that.

After Syn released my sex tape, I’d planned to leave James Keyingham University. I’d only gone back to Denali House to get the camera I’d hidden in Syn’s room to see if I could finally get his password. I’d wanted to leave this place with my own incriminating tape.

Being here and putting up with all I had done wouldn’t have been so bad if I was actually leaving with a way to free Cole.

But leaving with nothing at all feels soul-crushing.

“They’re cancelling this week’s finals,” Penny says, reading from her phone screen. “Well, cancelled for the Elite. They will receive apassing grade of compassion, whatever that means. Everyone else can defer their exams to next semester, if needed.”

I have no idea what the right thing is to say, or even if there is a right thing. Instead, I just nod.

“Members of the Elite aren’t expected to stay on campus, and they’re bringing in grief counselors for those that need them.” Penny lowers her phone. “They’ve not mentioned you. They’re just saying it’s suicide.”

Somehow, I slept through the whole night without waking once until Penny’s alarm went off a little while ago. Even though the curtains are open, the room is lit with Penny’s bedside lamps because dark clouds are blocking what little light the sunrise should be giving us.

There’s a dull ache that seems to have spread all through my body. Except for my jaw and cheek, which send shooting pains when I speak. When I checked the mirror earlier, the area surrounding my eye socket had turned purple. Thankfully, it isn’t swollen, and I’m still able to see properly.

“Scattered snow showers, but nothing as bad as the weekend, and they’ve finished clearing the road down to town, so I can get a car here for us when you’re ready to leave… Tori?”

My throat shares the same dull ache as everywhere else until I swallow. I’m sure it’s not the case, but it feels like when I swallow, it gets stuck where the very visible thick, red welt lies. My voice is stronger than last night, even if it is still raspy, but it’s easier to speak in a whisper.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving,” I tell her. “But it doesn’t sound like you’re getting exempt from any exams, so you might as well stay and get them done. That way they’re not lingering over you over the winter break.”

Pursing her lips, Penny looks over at the exam schedule she’s printed and pinned to the wall by her desk. “I’m not letting you leave by yourself. It’s just a law exam.”

If she wasn’t wanting to be a future Supreme Court Justice, then maybe it would be just another exam. Even if it’s an undergrad freshman class, it’s still important.

But I know there’s nothing I can say that will sway her decision to take me back to my mom’s apartment in Jersey. “It looks like that’s the only one you have today, so go do it. Have the car collect us later this afternoon,” I suggest. “I can stay here until you’re done.”

It takes Penny a moment of staring at the schedule before she concedes. “You need to put a chair in front of the door and don’t let anyone in except me. Especially not Synclair, Royal, or Gemini.”

I told Penny everything I could when I told her what happened to me, but when I was falling asleep, I remembered something else.

When I asked Declan why he was trying to kill me, he told me that Syn wanted me dead.

There doesn’t seem much point in telling her this extra bit of information. She’s just going to worry unnecessarily and insist we go to the police. If I thought it would do any good, I’d go straight to the police right now, but Officer Sullivan’s response yesterday makes me think, at best, he’d just tell me that it’s my word against a dead person’s. Again.

Penny’s condition comes from Royal turning up at her door after Syn released the video.

“They don’t care anymore. If they did, they would have been here last night.” I stand and reach for my coat. “Let’s get breakfast before it gets busy.”

Penny has been hanging onto the things I didn’t take with me into Denali House. There’s not much, but it’s nice to be inmy own clothes, even if I’m the only one not wearing the college uniform.

True to their word, the college has now cleared all the paths to the dining hall, and the crunch beneath our feet comes from the thick layer of salt that’s been spread over the stone. Even with the announcement that most exams are still going ahead, the campus is busier than I’m expecting. Inside the dining hall, there’s a decent crowd of people, but the atmosphere is much more subdued than normal. Chatter is at a minimum, and wherever I look, people look tired.

Despite how tender my face feels, Penny has worked some magic. Red lipstick—for color correcting the bruise—and a thick layer of foundation, which feels too unnatural for me, but the combination of both is making the bruise almost invisible. She’s loaned me a silk scarf for my throat, and everything else is hidden beneath my clothes. It’s far from perfect, but I was hoping I would be able to eat breakfast without too many stares.

The top table that Syn, Royal, and Gemini usually sit at is empty. I’m glad. We take a seat at a table in the only corner that’s hard to see from there if they do decide to appear. My plate is piled high with soft, scrambled eggs, which take little effort to eat. It still hurts to swallow them, so I’m picking at them as I listen to Penny tell me for the fourth time that she’s coming straight back to her room after her exam is over.

She’s almost finished her breakfast when her phone rings. She pulls it out of her pocket and grimaces as she looks at the screen. “It’s Bubbe.”

“Go talk to your grandmother. I’m still eating.”

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