The Foster Kid (GirlxGirl)

Chapter Thirty Seven

"You don't have to make a decision right this second," Jake immediately reassured me, seeing my expression. It was completely blank. I should have felt something, anything, but I didn't. I wasn't angry and I wasn't disappointed; I just felt empty.

Jake's hand tentatively brushed over my shoulder, lightly shaking me. "Beca...?"

I shifted my focus to him slowly. I didn't let Jake's sympathy or disappointment pass through me as I stared at him, or rather, through him. I remained completely emotionless. Standing up, I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and mumbled, "I have to go..."

His brow creased as he stood up too. "What? Beca, listen to me—"

I started shaking my head, turning away from him and walking with increasing speed toward the doors. My head hung low because I didn't want to meet anyone's eyes, which was counter productive because I practically ran right into a tall, gorgeous blonde woman with the softest touch in the world.

"Hey, hey, Beca... slow down, where are you going?"

"I don't know, I just have to get out of here," I said, trying to brush past her.

Dani blocked my path. "Okay, I get that, let me grab my bag and come with you. Please?"

I shook my head. "But I—"

"Please, Beca." She looked at me, and in that moment, I saw fear in her eyes. She was scared, and as I looked down at myself, I realized why. She saw how empty I felt inside. She thought I was going to do something stupid, whatever that might be.

So I nodded slowly, even though I wanted to be alone. She turned towards her seat but stopped short, finding Brian's attorney standing in front of her. His hands landed on her hips when she ran into him and a sly grin spread across his face. "Woah there, beautiful. Not so eager." He smirked, "I'm sure you liked what you saw up there but nobody finds desperation attractive."

My first thought was that we'd just been introduced to the biggest douchebag in the world. He and Brian suited each other perfectly. Dani scowled and stepped back. "Get your filthy ass hands off of me."

"My apologies," he said, shifting his focus to me. "I forgot you're only interested in students."

I watched Dani's eyes widen briefly before they narrowed and she tightened her fists. Brian's attorney flashed a smile. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." He brushed past Dani and whispered, "For now."

Dani turned and watched him back toward the doors. He spoke one last time, "But in my opinion, you're far too precious to be wasting yourself on a girl like her."

Then he disappeared.

Dani's eyes shifted to mine and she shook her head. "Hey don't listen to him, okay?"

"I want to go."

She nodded, keeping her gaze on me as she backed up and grabbed her bag off of her chair. I started walking, knowing the press would be outside to shove their microphones in my face and she probably shouldn't be next to me.

"Rebecca! How are you—"

"Knowing that Brian—"

"How do you feel knowing that—"

I finally got fed up with being silent and I grabbed one of the microphones. "How do I feel? How do I feel? I feel that the world we have created for ourselves is disgusting. I don't want to live in a world where people like Brian Harrison are being defended. That's how I feel."

I shoved the microphone back into the woman's hand, pushing through them and starting down the sidewalk. I'd certainly found my emotions. My chest felt like it was constricting, the walls around my lungs quickly caving in. Now I was angry and to make matters worse, I couldn't breathe. It probably didn't help that at that point, I was running. A vehicle rolled up beside me after a while, and I didn't have to look up to know who it was. I didn't want to talk to her but I also didn't want to argue, so I silently got in the passenger seat and wrapped my arms around my knees.