BLUE BLOOD

17 | including hers

"You weren't exactly discreet about it," he replied, amused, opening the door to the passenger seat for me.

I slid in and took a moment to take in the car. Last time he had his sleek, inconspicuous black Mercedes. "New car?"

"It's hardly new," Avery's arm went around my headrest as he looked backwards, pulling out of the driveway. "One of the few cars I own."

"Few," I mumbled, knowing the number was probably close to twenty. "This will draw a lot of attention."

He paused before offering me a crooked smile. He hated attention. "That is the point."

I sighed, fishing out my second phone for the first time in days. My personal phone was for my family, Pierre, and a few important people like our family's personal lawyer and private investigator. This phone was for everything else.

The moment it powered on, thousands of messages started popping up. Avery watched me as I stared at my phone in confusion, waiting a whole five minutes for it to stop.

Then, we were silent.

"She gave my number away," I groaned, breaking the silence. Avery started laughing, which made me even more exasperated.

"Who?" Avery seemed relaxed, resting one hand on the wheel, the other behind my seat. He was acting as if we weren't taking an eight hour exam later today.

"Camila," I gritted my teeth, wishing I hadn't even spoken to her anymore. "Thank god I didn't give her my personal number."

"Which did you give me?" Avery had a twinkle in his eyes.

"My personal number," I grumbled. I hesitated to give it to him but it was the number I used most. "Don't flatter yourself. It was more convenient."

"Sure," Avery smirked. "If it makes you feel better, I gave you mine too."

I ignored him and grabbed my spare phone, scrolling through the messages until I found the one I was most interested in.

Camila. The very bottom message.

The night of the party, she had texted:

What the hell was that? You didn't tell me you were dating Avery Dragomir??? Where are you going with him?

Then, an hour later, she had said:

Someone said you were invited to the private party with the blue bloods. What the fuck? Why didn't you bring me?

Two hours later:

You were spotted leaving with him. Bitch pick up.

Then, her last message was:

I cannot believe you. You're a liar and a slut. It's one thing to keep dating Avery Dragomir a secret but being a Du Sang? I told Gloria everything I knew about you and I don't feel guilty. You deserve all the hate that's coming to you, whore.

I didn't know how long I was blinking at the screen but Avery gently reached over and took the phone away. I snapped out of my daze and stared up at him, feeling confused and guilty and cold.

"Hey," he said, softly, "I know you'll kick my ass if I ask if you're okay but know that there will always be people like that."

I avoided his gaze. "I know."

"Vesper."

"Yeah?" I tried to keep the biting tone out of me.

Avery wasn't bothered in the slightest. "We should go."

I blinked again, realizing that Avery had long ago parked in front of the Academy and that we weren't moving. "Sorry. Yeah, let's do that."

As I grabbed my bag and straightened my uniform, Avery took off his shades and intertwined our fingers, as if he knew I wasn't mentally here. I let him hold my hand because I was starting to realize that I would be lost if he wasn't here.