Chapter 4.

Chapter 4.

Darcy 

“What the fuck?” Someone in the crowd muttered. Then I became painfully aware that we were in public.

I noticed Killian subtly clenching his fists. Was he going to hit me?

“Apologise to your girl bro.” Someone yelled out before laughing.

Girl? They thought I was a puck bunny?!

“Hey, that's Grayson’s daughter.” Someone else whispered.

“Apologise Captain. I like having a hockey team.” Someone else jeered.

Another guy laughed. “Apologise before her dad buys Easton.”

Soon, the people around us, who were obviously drunk, started laughing. 

Killian’s eyes darkened and his jaw flexed. He walked forward until there was barely an inch of space between us. Then he leaned down.

“I’m going to make you regret this a hundred times over.” He snarled in my ear. “And your Daddy will not be able to stop it.”

He brushed past me and disappeared into the crowd.

My stomach dropped. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking either. Fuck, I was actually scared.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I brought it out and saw a text from Dad.

DAD: DARCY. I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE PLANNING. DON’T PAY SOME MAN TO PRETEND TO BE YOUR BOYFRIEND.

Great. Just great. As if today hadn’t been shitty enough. Of course Dad knew. He was Alpha Grayson. Nothing I did stayed private for long.

I had another message from Sunny.

SUNNY: CHASE ISN’T GOING TO THE VICTORY PARTY BUT I FOUND SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE US. WE’RE OUT FRONT, WHERE ARE YOU?

Victory party? Killian would be there then.

ME: I’M NOT FEELING TOO WELL SO I’M GOING TO BED. SEE YOU LATER.

I put my phone back in my pocket and went back to my room.

Sunny didn’t come back that night. She spent the night at a friend’s place.

I checked my phone and saw that I had two hours till my History lecture, one of the classes I have with Killian. The image of him pummelling that hockey player flashed in my mind and I shivered immediately.

“No, no, no.” I shook my head. “He wouldn’t.” I repeated that to myself for the entire morning, even when I pulled out my laptop to try to write. My mind couldn’t focus.

With a deep sigh, I slammed my laptop shut and left the room. A walk and some fresh air should calm me down.

It did not.

I was jittery and I kept glancing around, scared I’d run into Killian. I was walking through the quad when someone tapped my shoulder.

“Hey.”

I jumped but the person gripped my arms and held me in place. I looked down and it was Sunny.

“What’s gotten you so worked up?” She asked with worry etched on her face.

“Nothing. It’s…” I hesitated as I pulled away. “Someone’s threatening me.”

“What?” Sunny raised her brows. “Who? Is that why you didn’t follow me to the party?”

My silence only confirmed that. Sunny stepped closer and asked firmly,  “Who was it?”

“It was Killian.” I exhaled and closed my eyes. “After I lost you in the crowd I ran into him. We got into a small fight and I ended up slapping him.”

“Did he hit you?” Sunny frowned.

“No, he just... said he’d make me regret it.” I sighed. “I hate to admit it but I’m actually scared. We run into each other a lot. What if he tries something?”

Sunny put her hand on her chin and looked down. “I think you should go to the Student’s Affairs Office and report him.” She finally said. “I don’t know what kind of person he is but to be safe, you should get them to give him a warning.”

“You’re right.” I said, suddenly getting angry. He was the one who brought up my mother and threatened me. Why should I have to be the one moving around in fear? 

“I’ll do it.” I said. “I’ll do it right now.”

***

In the Administration building, the woman behind the desk looked up when I said his name. “Killian Callahan?” She sounded annoyed.

I frowned. “You know him?”

She let out a  breath. “Unfortunately. Athletes like him tend to forget that talent doesn’t put them above university policies. What happened this time?”

I explained everything. The argument, the slap and his threat. When I finished, she folded her hands on the desk.

“A threat is serious, Miss Grayson, but without physical harm, it becomes difficult to take action.”

“You can’t even give a warning?” I said incredulously.

“If we did then we’d give warnings for every little thing.” She rolled her eyes.

“Are you saying he has to hurt me before you do something?” My voice came out harsh and she frowned.

“Not exactly.” She took off her glasses. “But when he threatened you, did he at least grab you? Shake you around a bit?” She tilted her head to the side. “He at least did that much, didn’t he Miss Grayson?”

“Yes.” I swallowed. The second the words left my mouth, I was a liar.

“I thought so.” She nodded and started to type. “Did it leave a bruise?”

I shook my head stiffly. There was still time to take it back. But I remembered the look in his eyes and my mouth went dry. Maybe a little warning might get him off my back.

When she finished, she printed  the document and slid it across the desk. “Read through this carefully,” she said. “If everything is accurate, sign at the bottom.”

My eyes fell to the page. Killian Callahan. Physical assault.

When she handed me a pen I took it and signed on the line right next to my name.

“Thank you for coming forward, Miss Grayson.” She put her glasses back on. “We’ll make sure to give him a sound warning.” She looked satisfied.

***

Reporting Killian seemed to work. I stopped seeing him whenever I’d go to the rink outside of practice hours. The only thing that wasn’t working was finding a fake boyfriend. It was shocking how quickly my savings dwindled. Before I knew it, my meals consisted of cheap ramen and bottled water.  I hadn’t had a vanilla latte in days.

Dad wasn’t letting up either, no matter how much I whined about starving to death. 

I rolled on my bed as I tried to ignore my stomach growling. I glanced at the last cup of ramen on my desk and quickly tore away my eyes. The trick to eating small portions is to eat right before bed so you don’t get hungry. I still had over 5 hours before bedtime. I couldn’t spend it here. I got up, picked my skates then headed straight for the ice rink. I didn’t leave until well after the sun went down, which I was starting to regret because someone was definitely following me.

I exhaled shakily and started to speed walk back to Adler. Then I heard the sound of heavy footsteps picking up speed.

Shit!

I was too weak to shift and no one  was around either.

“Darcy stop.”

I didn’t slow down for even a second. My heart was thundering against my ribs.

“Darcy!” The voice got closer. Suddenly, a tattooed hand grabbed me then spun me around to face him.

The first thing I saw was the glint of an eyebrow piercing. Then dirty blond hair. It was Devon, Killian’s best friend. I couldn’t stop my face from contorting into a mask of irritation. I can’t believe he scared me like that.

“What do you want?” I narrowed my eyes on him.

“To talk.” He glared back. “I want to see just how much of a spoiled Daddy’s girl you are.”

“Since you have nothing important to talk about...” I pushed his hand away. “... I’ll be on my way.”

“You really have no regard for the lives you ruin, do you?” he scoffed.

“ I haven’t ruined anybody’s life.” 

“And Killian? What about the report you sent?”

“A little warning never hurts anyone .” I crossed my arms

Warning?” He sneered. “His scholarship is under review for bad behaviour because you lied about him physically assaulting you!”

A knot began to form in my chest.

“Killian is on a scholarship?” I mumbled.

Devon suddenly grabbed my wrist. “You know damn well he didn’t touch you. But isn’t it strange? Alpha Grayson’s daughter slaps someone then her victim gets punished. You’re a real piece of work.”

“I… I didn’t know he was on a scholarship.” I spoke slowly, guilt seeping in.

“So if he’s not, it makes it easy to lie?” Devon raised his chin.

“ I didn’t mean to!”  I blurted. “The lady at the desk. She said…” I trailed off when I realized that she didn’t force me.

Goddess! I knew this would come back to bite me in the ass.

“But you still did it.” Devon snarled.  “ He’s at his wit’s end...He can’t afford the tuition.” 

Then I remembered something and my face contorted into a grimace. “Oh please. He drives a freaking Hellcat.” I tried to free my wrist from his hand and he held on tighter.

“It was a gift. Besides this is a sports scholarship. He has to go pro. This could ruin that for him.”

My shoulders slumped then I exhaled. I really fucked up.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to.” I apologised.

“I’m not the one you should be apologising to.” Devon finally let go of me. “Killian has been taking it rough. He’d do just about anything to keep his scholarship. Sorry isn’t going to cut it. You’ll have to withdraw the report before it gets processed.” 

Sure I heard everything Devon said, but just a single phrase kept on repeating itself in my head.

He’d do anything to keep his scholarship.

No, that’s way too crazy. But if we’re both desperate it’ll work.

“Darcy, are you listening to me?” Devon frowned.

I looked up and mustered the most innocent face I could. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve realized the effect of my actions and you’re right, I should apologise in person. Can you take me to where Killian is?” 

For a second, Devon looked at me like I had grown two heads. Then he frowned and said, “ I’m too busy for that but I can give you his address.”

I smiled sweetly.

It wasn’t selfish. It was mutually beneficial.