CHAPTER 9 : Unwanted Attention

Scarlett's POV

The sunlight dragged me slowly into consciousness, but it was the shrill buzzing of my phone that truly woke me. I patted the mattress blindly, my eyes squeezed shut as I burrowed my face into the pillow. My head throbbed with the sluggish, heavy ache of someone being pulled out of a drunken stupor.

When I finally located the phone, it stopped ringing, only to start up again a second later. I groaned and pressed it to my ear.

"Lettie, where are you? I’ve been worried sick since last night!" Mia’s voice shrieked through the speaker.

I opened my mouth to mumble that I was in my room, but my eyes finally focused. I sat up. A few feet away stood the broad, muscular back of a guy in a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

I rubbed my eyes, praying it was a hallucination. It wasn't.

"Fuck. Where the fuck am I?" I murmured, the phone slipping slightly from my grip.

Then, it hit me. I recognized the sleek, minimalist furniture. I was in the exact same bedroom I had sneaked into just days ago. The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water.

At the sound of my voice, he turned around.

"You’re awake." Adrian’s voice was calm, utterly unbothered.

Panic spiked in my chest. 'Did I blow my cover? Did I say something stupid?' I scrambled through my blurry memories, desperately trying to retrace my steps. When the hazy memory of me crying on the curb and him putting me in his car surfaced, my panic shifted. I hadn't blown my cover, but I had completely ruined my opportunity, risked my life, and jeopardized my family's debt, all because of one stupid shot of alcohol.

A heavy, jagged sigh of relief escaped me. But then I noticed my jacket. It was folded neatly on the edge of the bed. I had been wearing it when I blacked out.

A new kind of terror washed over me. I looked down at myself, checking my clothes, and then snapped my eyes back to him. He was just standing there, watching me with an unreadable expression.

"Am I supposed to say something?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused as to why I was staring at him like a cornered animal.

He followed my gaze to the jacket. "I didn't touch you," he stated, his voice laced with a cool, composed arrogance. "I'm not that kind of guy."

I didn't even bother responding. I scrambled out of the bed, snatched my jacket, and bolted through the bedroom door. I needed to get out of his space before I completely lost my mind. I needed to figure out if I had slipped up while under the influence of whatever that drink was, and I silently vowed never to go near alcohol again. Plus, it was already 7:15, and I had an 8:00 AM class.

I dashed out of his house, sprinting all the way back to the dorms.

When I burst into the room, Mia was already dressed and pacing. I ignored her, stalking straight to my side of the room, my jaw clenched.

"Where were you? I called you all night and it wouldn't go through!"

"You promised to watch me," I snapped, tossing my jacket onto the bed.

"Yeah, and I asked you to wait for me!"

"You asked someone under the influence of alcohol to sit still and wait?" I spun around, throwing my hands up in frustration.

The room fell dead silent. I huffed out a breath, grabbed my towel, and turned toward the bathroom.

"Lettie..." Mia’s voice was small. I paused at the door. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you out there, especially knowing I forced you to take that shot."

I closed my eyes. What could I really do? Holding a grudge wouldn't turn back time, and I didn't have the emotional energy to stay angry at her when I was the one keeping massive, dangerous secrets.

"It's okay," I said quietly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine." I rushed through my shower and started throwing on my clothes for class.

"So... where were you all night?" Mia asked, her curiosity clearly getting the better of her. "Did you hook up with someone?"

"What? No!" I yanked my shirt over my head. "I was at Adrian's."

"Adrian? Like, Adrian Whitlock? The captain?" Her eyes went wide. "Wow, you've got big taste, girl."

"No! I don't even know how I got there. I guess he picked me up while I was dragging my reputation through the mud because my friend, who promised to watch me, was probably off exchanging heat with a guy she just met." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Wait," Mia narrowed her eyes. "How do you know it’s his house? You're always clueless about stuff like that. Did he tell you?"

I froze. Crap. To the rest of the world, I had never met this guy before last night.

"I... well..." I scrambled for a less suspicious explanation. "I was there. And it was just him. So it’s his house. Logic?"

I immediately went on the offensive to divert her attention. "What about you? Where did you go?"

Mia smirked, easily distracted. "To get my ass whooped in bed. Gosh, he was good."

"Eww." I wrinkled my nose in dramatic disgust.

"He took my number, and I think he'll—" She stopped mid-sentence, her phone buzzing in her hand. She glanced at the screen, and her playful expression completely vanished.

"Oh, this is not good," she breathed. "You need to see this."

I walked over. She turned the screen toward me.

It was a picture of me, looking like a total mess, rushing out of Adrian’s front door. It had been taken less than an hour ago. It was posted on the Ravenwood gossip page with a blaring headline:

HOCKEY CAPTAIN ADRIAN WHITLOCK TAKES A GIRL HOME FROM A PARTY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.

It had only been up for ten minutes, but there were already hundreds of comments.

"This is a massive misunderstanding," I said, my stomach dropping.

"Nobody cares," Mia warned, pulling the phone back. "I strongly advise you to stay indoors today. Let things cool off."

"Why would I hide in my room over a fake rumor?"

"There are two big blogs at this school," Mia explained, her tone completely serious. "They usually hate each other, but this particular one is famous for breaking true stories. At least seventy percent of the campus already believes it. And his fangirls? They will come for you."

"I'm already dressed, and I hate being late," I grabbed my bag. "I'm going to class. Are you coming, or are you scared?"

"Scared? No. Sticking by my friend in times of trouble is the least I can do," she shot back, though she still looked uneasy.

"It will die down in a few days," I muttered as we stepped out of the dorm.

"I really don't think so, but we'll see."

We hadn't even made it fully across the quad when a girl walking in the opposite direction suddenly veered into my path. She slammed her shoulder hard into mine.

The paper cup in her hand crushed, sending scalding hot coffee directly onto my chest.

I gasped as the liquid soaked through my shirt, the intense heat sinking straight into the tender, just healed ribs. A sharp, stinging pain radiated through my side, making me flinch hard.

"Oh, so sorry," the girl said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I didn't mean to."

"It's fine," I gritted out, immediately pulling the wet fabric away from my skin so it wouldn't burn me further. Mia quickly pulled out a tissue, helping me dab at the mess.

The girl took a few steps away, then turned back, looked me dead in the eye, and flipped me the middle finger.

Mia’s jaw dropped. "Did you see that?"

"Wait... so that was intentional?" I asked, staring after the girl in disbelief.

"I told you, Lettie. You wouldn't listen!" Mia grabbed my arm. "This is because of Adrian. If we haven't even made it to the academic buildings and this is already happening, what do you think is going to happen in the lecture halls? Just stay back. Please. At least for today.”