Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series) (9 page)

I couldn’t say she was wrong about that.

Most of the time, Garrett was with him. I didn’t get him. He wasn’t in college anymore, and he told me he worked full time at the ranch. So why was he on campus? And always with Jonah?

The professor passed the sheet of paper where we had to sign our groups. Phoebe and I nodded to each other, confirming we were working on this together.

The sheet got to Jonah first. He scribbled something on the paper, and then passed it along to the student behind him.

“Hey,” I called him. “Why didn’t you pass it to me?”

He flashed me one of his smug grins. “Because you’re already signed up.”

“No, I’m not. You didn’t give me the damn paper.”

“Don’t worry, Brazilian girl. We’re doing it together.”

“What? No! I’m working on the project with Phoebe.”

“I figured as much and put her in our group too.”

Instead of helping me, Phoebe sank in her seat and pretended she didn’t know what we were talking about.

“No. No.” I stood and went after the sheet of paper, but before I could get to it, the professor took it back.

“Something wrong, Miss Fernandes?”

“Um.” I slowly moved back to my seat. “Yes, well. Mr. Hudson added himself to my group without consulting my partner and me. We would like to remove him.”

“Ouch,” Jonah muttered.

The professor looked at the paper, then back at Jonah and me. “Well, Mr. Hudson is repeating this class. I guess he could use some help from you and Miss Erickson.”

I sat and stared at Jonah. “You’re repeating this class?”

He shrugged. “What? Last semester was my first semester as the president of The Bat. I had too many parties to attend, no time for studying.”

I shook my head. “But he could endanger our project,” I protested.

“Then I suggest you accept this challenge, Miss Fernandes.” The professor set the paper on his table. “I won’t accept any changes to the groups, and I expect a full report of your essay topics and how you’ll approach it by next Tuesday.” I opened my mouth to argue more, but he kept going. “Now, open your books to chapter eight.”

I glanced at Jonah, who still held that conceited grin. “So annoying.”

He shrugged. “Most girls say that before they fall at my feet.”

Meu Deus
, I needed a mountain of patience or I would strangle him before we even started this goddamn project.

***

Since I had nothing better to do, I forced myself to study. I was deep into a poetic English essay when my bedroom door opened with a loud creak.

“Here she is,” Molly said, entering the room.

Behind her, Audrey stepped forward. Eyes narrowed, she put her hands on her hips and stared at me. “We need to talk.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “What did I do now?”

She glared at me. “Why are you after my boyfriend?”

“Your boyfriend? I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

“Don’t play games with me, slut.”

Anger bloomed in my chest and I stood. “Okay, Audrey, I’m not in the mood for this.”

“Why are you after Jonah?”

“Jonah is your boyfriend?” So that was the weird vibe I had noticed at the mixer. There really was something between them.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. “Not anymore. But we’re working on getting back together.”

Which meant she was working to make him take her back. Okay, now everything else made sense.

“I don’t want anything to do with Jonah. He’s all yours.”

“Then why did you insist on working on a history project with him?”

“
Meu Deus
, woman. I didn’t insist. I even argued with the professor, trying to get out of the group. I don’t want to do anything with him.”

She flipped her blond hair. I swear, if one more girl did that while staring me down, I would punch her fake nose and put her in her place.

“Do me a favor, stay away from him. He’s mine, and if he so much as looks at you again, I’m blaming you.”

“You can have him.”

“Apparently, he doesn’t seem to acknowledge that yet. Besides, you’re the one throwing yourself at my boyfriend.”

“I’m not! You can have all of him, only for you. I don’t care. I don’t want him.”

“Then stop throwing yourself at him. There’s only so much a guy can take from a girl offering herself so freely.”

That was the thing. She was afraid that, if I were really into him, he would never say no to me and they would never have another chance.

I shook my head. “Get out, Audrey.”

“I’m not done with you, bitch,” Audrey hissed.

“But I’m done with you.” I pushed her out the door and closed the door in her face. For good measure, I turned the lock.

She pounded on the wood. “Bitch! We’re not done! Open this damn door!”

I leaned on the door and faced open-mouthed Molly. “What? Do you want to join your friend?”

“I can’t believe I liked you at first.” Molly grabbed a small bag from under her bag and tossed a change of clothes and her books in there. She strolled to the door. “I’ll ask to change roommates tomorrow.”

I shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

Molly opened the door, and Audrey’s screams sounded louder for a second, until Molly closed the door again. I had never intended to be this bitchy with my roommate, but she started it and I wasn’t going to back down.

In fact, I was tired of backing down.

I closed my eyes and channeled my anger. I let out a long breath, imagining my anger and frustration escaping with it. Not that it really worked, but I liked to believe it did.

I was tired, but too agitated. I reached for my phone on my nightstand and scrolled through my contact list. Gabriela, Guilherme, Hannah, Hilary, Leo, Leticia, Molly, Pedro, Phoebe, Ricardo. I wanted to tell someone how I was feeling, what I was going through. How confused I felt, and how any action I took seemed like a hundred steps in the wrong direction. But nobody would understand. Besides, most of them were far away, and the ones closer to me were too busy.

Moreover, I felt weak asking for help.

Once more, I closed my eyes and breathed, clearing my mind. If I were riding, there wouldn’t be
trying
. My mind would be clear already.

I dropped the phone and turned to my desk. Since I wouldn’t be sleeping because of my nerves, I had better make them useful. I researched topics for the history project. The sooner we did this, the sooner I would be rid of Jonah. And Audrey.

Chapter Eight

A few girls were gathered in the common room on the first level of my dorm building. There was always someone there, and Thursday evening wasn’t any different. Lounging on the worn couches, reading, studying, drinking—because here it didn’t need to be the weekend for students to party and drink.

As soon as I stepped through the front doors, they stopped talking and looked at me. I knew that look. They appraised me, and scanned every inch of me. They thought they were superior to me, and they wouldn’t be caught near me even if paid a thousand bucks.

Grande coisa
.

I didn’t look their way, I didn’t rush my steps, and I didn’t change my expression. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of knowing how much they bothered me.

I climbed the two flights of stairs and put my key in my dorm room. It didn’t turn. What the hell? I took it out and insert it again, jiggled it a little, but it didn’t work.

A sliver of light came from under the door and I heard shuffling from inside.

“Molly?” I asked. As I expected, she didn’t answer. “Molly, I can’t open the door. Did you leave your key on the lock?”

She would have had to leave her key twisted in the lock so I couldn’t insert mine. It was on purpose. She didn’t answer. As far as I knew, she had asked to change roommates yesterday, but they told her that if it were possible, it wouldn’t be immediate.

I rested my head on the door. “I know you’re mad at me, but please, unlock the door. You can go back to ignoring me and pretending I don’t exist the next second. Please.”

I heard a chair being dragged and the light went off.

“Molly!” I punched the door.

And she still ignored me.

I groaned and marched out the building. This time, parading in front of the girls in the common room was harder, but I made it.

Once out the building, I stopped and took a deep breath, willing my nerves to calm down. I knew I could go to student housing and complain about this, but I wasn’t ready for that. In Molly’s eyes, I would look weak, and she certainly would love to tell Audrey. No, I wouldn’t go running and asking for help. Not yet.

But where could I go? I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the time. Phoebe was still in class so I couldn’t go to her room, or somewhere with her. I hated going places alone these days. Which was ridiculous. I had never cared about what anyone thought before. Why did I care about it now? This was ridiculous.

I took another long breath and strolled to the coffee shop. It was crowded, as usual, but the line moved quickly and soon I had my drink in hand. A small table in a corner vacated as I walked by it. I sat down and pulled my iPad from my bag. I would spend the time browsing the internet, maybe updating Facebook or Skypeing with Leticia. She would understand and she wouldn’t tell me to go back to my parents’ like my brothers or Hannah would.

I hoped Molly moved that key soon.

Out of nowhere, a guy sat across the table from me. He leaned over the table, a confident smile on his lips. “Hello there. You’re Bia, right? The Brazilian girl.” He nodded his head, as if we were sharing a secret. I gaped at him. “Tell me, do you have a Brazilian wax under those jeans of yours?”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I would love to see it.”

I slapped his face.

There was a low “oooh” all around. I tried to resist it, but it was stronger than me. I looked around and saw
everyone
staring at me. Including Audrey and Sarah, the two princesses seated at the tall bar wrapping around the back wall. They giggled.

“What was that for, bitch?” the guy asked.

Shaking my head, I wrapped my arms around my stuff and stood, grabbing my half-full cappuccino. I approached Audrey and Sarah.

“Poor Butch,” Audrey said, still smiling. “When we told him you were Brazilian, he was so eager to meet you.”

I took the lid off the to-go cup and dumped my drink over her head.

Audrey gasped and froze, while Sarah put her hand over her mouth to hide her giggle—great friend—and the rest of the students laughed.

“You’re the bitch, Audrey.”

I marched away from her.

“I’ll get you for this!” she yelled.

I paused at the door and gave her my best come-and-get-it smile. “I’m so afraid.”

***

Dumping my drink over Audrey’s head had felt good, empowering. I almost skipped out of the coffee shop and whistled on my way to my dorm. I felt more like myself than when I first arrived here.

The normal me would go out almost every weekend, drink two or three shots of whiskey, dance, laugh, gossip. The normal me would have tons of friends and maybe one or two guys that I was interested in. The normal me loved boys and missed kissing them; the normal me wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make out with a hot guy. The normal me would walk around campus singing and looking like a fun girl. The normal me was the girl everyone wanted to do projects with because, besides being fun, she was also intelligent.

But I couldn’t be the normal me. Not right now.

I wasn’t afraid of Audrey or Sarah, or any of the girls from the sororities. I just didn’t want to give them another reason to spread more lies, to stretch the ones out there. If I went out, they would say I was on the hunt. If I was seen kissing a guy, they would think I had already slept with him—and a couple of others. I knew how a bad reputation could ruin everything, and I didn’t want to have a bad one attached to my name.
Bem
, a worse one.

So, when Phoebe asked me to go with her to a bar Friday evening, it hurt me to say no.

“How do I look?” Phoebe asked, whirling around in the middle of her dorm. It was like mine; however, her roommate actually seemed nice.

We had spent the last hour getting her ready. She looked fantastic in a short jean skirt, red blouse with a moderate cleavage, and black sandals. I helped her flatiron her hair and put on her makeup.

“You look great. Ready to break a few hearts.”

A red tint spread through her cheeks. “Only one will do.”

“Kevin will agree with me.”

She smiled. Finally, after two weeks of meeting almost every evening at the library, the guy had worked up the nerve to ask her out. He was going to meet her at one of the bars off campus. She was nervous about arriving alone, hence why she wanted me to go.