Chapter Three

Two days later

Athena

The eleventh-grade students were out on the soccer field for P.E., split into two groups: boys and girls. The boys were actually playing soccer, while the girls tossed around a rugby ball. As usual, I planned to sit this one out, but the new P.E. teacher, the handsome Mr. Damon Nielsen—whom all the girls were swooning over—called me out and made me join in, so I did.

The previous teacher, Mrs. Duke, never cared whether I participated or not. In fact, she barely noticed if I even showed up, so I typically stayed on the sidelines, watching everyone else play. But even without joining in, I didn't always escape the games unscathed.

"Mr. Damon, does she really have to join us?" Scarlett asked, flashing him her best puppy-dog eyes.

"Yes, Scarlett," Mr. Damon replied with a smile. "She has to."

"Fine," Scarlett grumbled, throwing me a withering glare before returning to her loyal followers. I knew all the girls in school were on Scarlett's side, so they’d do whatever it took to get me out of the game.

We formed a circle, and the game soon began. At first, they ignored me completely, refusing to let me touch the ball. But I decided to take things into my own hands.

When the ball was thrown toward the girl next to me, I jumped in and intercepted it. In my rush, I accidentally elbowed her, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" I gasped, my eyes widening in horror as the ball slipped from my hands. "I'm really sorry!" I tried to help her up, but she angrily slapped my hand away.

"Are you okay, June?" Mr. Damon asked as he approached. He helped her up from the ground.

"I'm fine, sir," June answered, managing a smile.

"What were you trying to do, Athena? It wasn't your turn," Mr. Damon said, his tone firm. "You could have really hurt her."

"I'm sorry, sir," I mumbled, bowing my head in embarrassment. I wanted to explain what they were doing, but I wisely kept my mouth shut—it’d be my word against theirs.

"Don’t do that again," he warned as he walked away.

When the ball landed in Jasmine Sutherland's hands, I knew I was in trouble. June Palmer was her cousin, and both were part of Scarlett's inner circle. In their world, if you messed with one, you messed with them all.

My attention was momentarily diverted when a shout from the boys made me glance in their direction. I saw them dancing around the field—except for Eros Belmonte, of course. It looked like his team, the opposing side, had won the match.

"Athena!" Jasmine suddenly called out. "Catch!"

I turned just in time to see the ball hurtling toward me, but before I could dodge it, it slammed straight into my face, knocking me off my feet. Dazed and slightly disoriented, my ears ringing, I looked up to find the girls surrounding me with smug grins on their faces.

I slowly sat up, feeling something wet trickling down my nose. When I touched it, I realized it was blood. Lots of it, dripping steadily onto my shirt.

"Aww, the poor girl is bleeding," Jasmine cooed, feigning sympathy before her expression twisted into a cruel smirk. "That's what you get for hurting my cousin."

I expected Mr. Damon to come over and ask what was wrong, just like he had when I accidentally shoved June, but he was too busy talking to Eros on the other side of the field.

Tears welled up in my eyes as the realization hit me—I had fooled myself into thinking Mr. Damon was different. All the teachers at this school were the same.

I managed to get to my feet and stumbled through the crowd, ignoring the laughter that followed me as I made my way back to the school. I didn’t even bother with the infirmary. Instead, I pushed open the door to the girls’ restroom and locked it behind me.

I turned on the faucet, washing the blood from my nose and watching it swirl down the drain. Once I was sure the bleeding had slowed, I stuffed tissues into my nostrils to stop it completely. I wasn’t sure how long I stayed there, but when I finally stepped out, the field was empty.

I quickly changed into my uniform in the restroom, then hurried to my locker to grab my English books. I shoved my bloodstained P.E. uniform into my backpack, slammed the locker door shut, and rushed to English Literature.

My heart pounded as I heard Mrs. Lawrence’s voice from inside the classroom. I took a deep breath, put on my brave face, and stepped in. Fifteen pairs of eyes, including Mrs. Lawrence’s, turned toward me, making me feel self-conscious.

I noticed Eros sitting at the back again, next to the empty seat I knew was meant for me. I couldn’t help but wonder what his intentions were.

"Um... I'm sorry I'm late, Mrs. Lawrence," I apologized. "I got injured during P.E., so I went to the infirmary—"

"I don't care if you had your head bashed in by a baseball bat, Athena," Mrs. Lawrence cut me off, her voice dripping with contempt. "You know the rules: if you're even a minute late to my class, I won’t let you in. And you're over ten minutes late."

"I..." I began, but she didn’t let me finish.

"You're disrupting my class, Carter. Get lost," Mrs. Lawrence ordered, turning her back on me.

The room buzzed with murmurs as the students reacted to her using my former surname. I sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the familiar ache in my chest. I had fooled myself into thinking that becoming a Sanderson would somehow make life easier.

But it hadn’t—it had made things worse. So much worse that my teacher, who was supposed to at least pretend to care, didn’t give a damn whether I had died from my injury or not.

"I'm sorry," I muttered under my breath, turning toward the door. I was just about to leave when someone I never expected spoke up.

"I believe she gave you a reasonable explanation for why she's late, Mrs. Lawrence," Eros said.

The room fell silent, and everyone turned to stare at him in shock. Even Mrs. Lawrence was stunned. It wasn’t every day that the Ice Prince, Eros Belmonte, stood up to a teacher—least of all for the school pariah, me.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Lawrence gaped at him, utterly surprised. "What did you just say?"

"I’d prefer not to repeat myself," Eros responded curtly. "But isn’t it in the school rule book that no teacher is allowed to bar a student from entering the classroom if they have a justifiable reason for being late?"

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, even as I pinched myself and felt the sting. Eros Belmonte was standing up for me, chastising Mrs. Lawrence because of me.

I should’ve felt grateful, maybe even relieved, but I wasn’t. If anything, I wished he hadn’t spoken up. I wished he’d just let me leave quietly.

Mrs. Lawrence opened her mouth but no words came out. She closed it again, knowing he was right. After all, Emerald Crest Academy had been founded by Eros’ grandmother, Danetta Baez-Belmonte, which made him practically the owner of the school.

The rulebook was clear: no teacher could deny a student entry to class if they had a justifiable reason for being late. If the reason wasn’t valid, it meant detention.

Mrs. Lawrence glanced at me, her eyes full of disdain, though her lips twisted into a fake smile. "Consider me duly chastised, Eros. You may take your seat, Athena," she said.

I muttered my thanks and hurried to my seat, but, as usual, someone stuck out their leg. I tripped, hitting the floor with a thud, and the class erupted in laughter.

"Are you okay?" Charlie sneered, turning to look at me. "Sorry, I didn’t see you coming. I had to stretch my leg."

I got to my feet, dusted myself off, and made my way to my seat. I pulled out my chair and sat down, retrieving the textbook we were using this term, along with my notebook and pencil case. I dropped my backpack on the floor beside my feet.

As I opened my pencil case to take out a pen, I realized my hands were shaking—no, my whole body was trembling. And I knew it wasn’t just from the fall. It was because of Eros. I was scared to think of what that meant, but even more terrified of what the consequences of his actions would be.

As soon as the bell rang for the next period, I quickly stuffed my things into my backpack, slung it over my shoulder, and bolted out of the classroom like my life depended on it. History was next—another class I shared with Eros, though thankfully we weren’t seatmates.

I passed the storage room, lost in thought, when suddenly a hand shot out and yanked me inside. I let out a short scream, but it died in my throat as soon as I saw who it was. Blake Lawrence—Mrs. Lawrence’s giant of a daughter and a senior. My throat instantly went dry.

Blake wasn’t feared as much as Eros, but she was notorious for her brutal punches, and most people did their best to stay out of her way. Now that she had singled me out, I knew I was doomed. It would take a miracle for me to walk out of here in one piece.

"So, you’re the little gnat that Eros Belmonte helped out," she said, sizing me up with a cold glare. "I could crush you like a bug if I wanted to."

"I didn’t… Please, you have to believe me. I’m just as shocked as you are," I stammered. "I didn’t ask him to do it."

"Of course you didn’t," Blake scoffed. "But he insulted my mother in front of her entire class, and since I can’t punish him, I’ll take it out on you."

"No, please... don't..." My voice trembled as her fist slammed into my gut, knocking the wind out of me and sending me to my knees. Another blow sent me sprawling on the ground, and as she left the room, she intentionally stepped on my fingers with her shoes.

I knew without a doubt that she'd broken my fingers; they hurt like hell, but I couldn't even cry. Gritting my teeth against the pain in my abdomen and fingers, I managed to get to my feet and exited the room, cradling my left hand with my right. This time, I headed to the infirmary, realizing this was something I couldn't handle on my own.