Page 50 of Swallow Your Sorries

“Breaking someone’s phone is exactly something Gant would do,” Aria says finally to Stassi.

“Regardless, Gant doesn’t believe her. So what does it matter?”

“B-but I never got a chance to explain any of that to him. When the email went out, I got scared and ran away. If I can speak to him, maybe he’ll understand. Accident or not, I know it was a shitty thing to do. He probably took all the blame, especially from his father...I have to find a way to make this right.”

The tiny bit of hope that blooms in my chest withers and dies as Aria snorts and Stassi shakes her head like I’ve said the most ridiculous thing ever.

“The Untouchable boys are the mostunreasonablesons of bitches you’ll ever meet,” Aria says. “And it’s not just Gant you have to worry about. If Gant has a vendetta against you, they all do, but it’s not for the same reasons as Gant. Well, not entirely. They hate you because you took him away from them.”

“Gant hasn’t been the same since the accident. Since his fixation on you started,” Stassi explains. “If Gant needs to ruin you as his own personal therapy to get better, they see nothing wrong with it.”

“Zero sympathy,” Aria says. “Your apology won’t mean jack shit to anyone unless Gant accepts it and calls his dogs off.”

“And he won’t accept it,” Stassi says. “Not yet. If ever.”

I swallow. “Then what do I do in the meantime?”

“Let him break you,” Aria says, and a hiss escapes my lips.

“That’snotan option.”

“She means, let himthinkhe’s broken you first,” Stassi chimes in. “A simple apology now won’t turn him off go. You have to suffer first, so for now, do nothing.”

I’d done nothing with Jarett my entire life. If I do nothing, how can I expect anything to change?

“I can’t just be a sitting duck,” I say, brows wrinkled. “I’m sure if I can just talk to him, we can sort this all out.”

Aria looks at me like I’m Miss Dumb Bitch Universe. “He put his fucking boot on your head. He pissed and spit in your face.”

As if I needed reminding.

“Do you want a repeat of what just happened in the auditorium? He’ll humiliate you all over again.” Stassi shudders. “I don’t even want to see Beaussip’s article tomorrow.”

“Do you know who runs it?” I ask miserably. I’m assuming that’s another person I’ll need to steer clear of for now.

“I have an idea. That bitch Rin,” Aria says before glaring at Stassi. “I can’t believe you let her into our room.”

Stassi rolls her eyes. “No one knows for sure, but we all have our theories. Regardless, Beaussip should be the least of your worries right now. The way I see it, you have two options. One, avoid Gant like the plague for a few weeks until he shimmers down—”

“She can’t do that,” Aria says, crossing to her side of the room. “I’ve seen both of their schedules. They’re nearly identical. Gant’s made sure of it.”

“When did you have time to see their schedules today?” Stassi raises a brow.

“Never mind that. When I saw them, I didn’t know what he was doing at the time. Now I know he was plotting.”

Another tremor racks me. All I want is to dance. How did everything go so wrong in the span of a few hours?

“What’s option two?” I ask Stassi.

“It’s not too late to leave,” she says sympathetically.

Leave.Despite everything, leaving hadn’t crossed my mind. Gant Auclair can’t be worse than my future if I go back home, right? My old school no longer has a dance program. If I return to the apartment with Mum, the only future I can envision on my horizon would be graveyard shifts at the deli.

“Ican’tleave,” I rasp. “Look, I may seem like an idiot for staying, but it’s just one year. After high school life goes on, but my life, without Beaulieu’s diploma, is bleak. I can’t expect to get into a good university dance program without it. Even if Gant hates me. Even if he got me here in an unconventional way, he still made my dream come true.”

There’s always a silver lining, right?

“So that he can turn it into a nightmare,” Aria says incredulously before shaking her head at Stassi. “She’s in shock. She doesn’tgetit.”

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