Page 5 of Filthy Elites

His smile broadens. “Me too.”

Great. That means he can harass me duringandafter school.

The bells rings, ending this torturous conversation.

I get up first. “Well, Jason. It’s been real, and it’s been fun, but I can’t say it’s been real fun.”

ChapterThree

Nicola/Isabelle

When the firstschool day is finally over, I’m destroyed mentally and physically. The stress of navigating a new place and avoiding giving too much information about myself was exhausting. I could have done without Jason’s attention.

My fainting episode didn’t go unnoticed. I bet that Jason taking me to the nurse’s office also helped get the rumor mill going. I heard all types of theories, from anorexia to being knocked up. Since those stories are nowhere close to the truth, I don’t mind them. I’m sure by the end of the week it will be forgotten.

I must keep my distance from Jason, though. The last thing I need is to be pulled into his orbit.

Once I enter my dorm room, I let out a breath of relief. I can finally relax. I’m one of the lucky few who doesn’t have a roommate, and that’s thanks to my parents’ friendship with the headmaster, who they have known since they were in high school. He’s the only person in Triton Cove who knows Isabelle Maldonaro is still alive.

After the nurse’s behavior and Jason’s claim that he could uncover all my secrets, I’m not that happy that the headmaster knows my true identity. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that Jason never gets hold of that information.

I take off my clothes as I walk to the en suite bathroom, another perk I bet not many students have. The first thing I do is remove my contact lenses. My eyes are dry and burning like a mother. This is the worst part of my disguise. I wish I hadn’t worn them today. Now I’m stuck.

My parents insisted it was necessary because my natural eye color is too unique. Not many people in the world have violet eyes like Elizabeth Taylor. I didn’t know the lenses would be so uncomfortable.

Next step is to remove the heavy makeup. I never wore much before, but now I need to hide my freckles. When I’m done peeling off all the layers of my disguise, it’s like a weight has been removed from my shoulders. I’m finally myself. Okay, my hair is not naturally this dark, but at least it suits me. And I’ve had time to get used to my new nose.

Knowing that I have a ton of catching up to do, thanks to the week of classes I missed, I hop into the shower so I can snuggle up in bed and do my homework after.

My plan goes up in flames and I almost have a heart attack when I walk out of the bathroom and find Jason chilling on my bed with his hands linked behind his head.

I let out a scream and almost lose the towel wrapped around my body. Panic sets in and I begin to hyperventilate.

“Jesus, what’s wrong with you?” He jumps out of bed and walks over.

Clutching my towel, I glare at the asshole. “What’s… wrong… withme?”

He places his hands on my arms as if he wants to help me stay upright. “Just breathe.”

I’d push him off if I wasn’t busy trying to draw air into my lungs. I’m wheezing, and it’s embarrassing as hell. Although, I shouldn’t feel this way when he’s the one responsible for my panic attack.

His thumbs make small circles over my skin. It’s a soothing motion that does things to my body. I hold his stare, grateful that his eyes are nothing like Juan’s. It doesn’t look like Jason is breathing as he watches me. But his eyes seem to burn with fury for a moment, contradicting what his hands are doing to me.

It takes me a minute to recover the ability to breathe properly. When I do, I step away from him.

“You… how…”

The emotion shining in his gaze vanishes, and he shrugs. “I knocked. You didn’t answer it, so I used my master key.”

“You have amaster key?” I shriek.

“Are you going to repeat everything I say?”

I’m feeling dizzy, so I make a beeline to my bed and sit down. “What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t simply barge into somebody’s room.”

“I was worried. Youdidfaint earlier.” He gives me an innocent smile.

Worried my ass.

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