Chloe had tried to spend the day taking notes on her various classes. The classes tried to force in advanced algorithms, college-level physics, AP literature, and physical education all before lunch. The stack of index cards was starting to make a lot of sense. Despite Chloe's best, she couldn't get out of her mind Mrs. Sara Apple's relation to Elizabeth.
Why hadn't Dominic told her that he had an aunt working at Darkwood?
This question plagued her so much that it had prevented her from appreciating the fact Prince went out of his way to actually be seen with her . . . in public.
When lunch rolled around, Chloe made it her mission to seek out Dominic. He hadn't been in any of her classes and she hadn't seen him since their last encounter a few days ago. She waited with her tray in hand by the register where the students would place their meal orders.
The twins made their best effort to convince Chloe to join them and the other 'Seven' club members at their table for lunch. She politely told them she would sit with them next time.
A stunning petite girl with long brown hair, ombre blond tips and enviable lips moved to stand in front of Chloe. She held a bottle of an expensive brand of sparkling water in her hand. The girl had a quartet of friends who waited anxiously behind her.
The girl folded her arms and cast Chloe a dirty look.
"He's sick you know," the girl's voice sounded annoyed.
Chloe glanced around; just to be sure this wasn't a case of mistaken identity. "Excuse me?"
The girl humored Chloe with a fake smile. "Don't play dumb, I'm talking about Dominic Huntsman. He wasn't feeling well enough already and he went looking for you out in the cold the other morning, only God knows why. He asked me and several of the students if we'd seen you. What business could some newbie little Money Misfit need with a Climber?"
At this point, Chloe remembered her vow to herself, she would make her mother proud. It was obvious this girl was a Climber, she couldn't be Elite because her uniform was still dark-blue.
Chloe raised her head to try and look as daunting as the girl before her. "Look, I'm only Dominic's friend, okay? If you're his girlfriend or something, I'm not trying to take him from you."
The angelic smile on the girls' face was such a contrast to the horrible attitude she possessed. The title of 'girlfriend' seemed to make her eyes glow.
"Watch yourself in the future, Chloe White. We have eyes on you. Dominic is mine and mine alone. Don't aim for the stars with your hands, they are too far for you to reach," she said.
The girl turned to join her friends and they left together to find a table. Chloe wasn't even sure what had just taken place. At her old school in Cairo, there weren't really social groups or bullies, just people you either were or weren't friends with.
She longed for that kind of simplicity again.
【BUZZ. BUZZ. 】
Chloe's phone was annoying her again. She wondered if it was Abigail expecting the daily update to relay back to Henry. She flipped the screen on and saw a messaged from Dominic.
【Couldn't make it to class. 】
No kidding, she thought.
She felt just the slightest inkling of guilt; the girl had said Dominic got sick waiting for her. The guilt wasn't going away. Why did she feel so bad? Dominic was the one who kept information from her, she had every right to be mad at him and stay mad at him.
But with every second that passed her feelings started to soften until she told the woman at the register. "Can I have an order of the onion soup to go, please?"
The boys' dormitory for the Climber students was so different from the shared dormitory building the Scholarship and Money Misfit girls had. It looked more like a large Victorian frat house. Luckily, it was quiet for the most part; everyone was at lunch.
Chloe carried a small takeaway bag with the onion soup. She remembered her mother's advice that onions and garlic had a special property that made them good for people with illnesses. She wasn't positive if that had any truth to it—or if onion soup with French bread and melted Swiss cheese would be what the doctors ordered—but she knew it couldn't hurt.
She stopped in front of a door marked as room #112; Sanford claimed it was Dominic's room and she didn't question how he obtained this information.
She tapped lightly against the door.
Inside the room, she heard feet shuffle and a clatter that sounded like something small being knocked over. A few moments later the lock clicked and the door opened.
Dominic stood holding the door open while wearing a pair of black pajamas pants and nothing else. His chest and hair looked sweaty from a fever.
Sick or not, he was without a shirt, so Chloe tried to look at anything except his bare, attractively defined chest.
At first he looked indifferent, but when he realized it was Chloe standing at his door his disposition changed.
"Am I so irresistible that you feel the need to sneak up to my bedroom before class to get your fix?" His voice sounded a little weak when he joked.
Chloe lifted up the bag of soup to Dominic's face, but wouldn't look him in the eyes. "I heard you were sick and you weren't at lunch so . . . whatever, just take the soup."
Dominic was genuinely surprised. He took a hold of the bag and opened it to spy the contents inside. "Onions? I don't like onions."
Chloe waved her hand around, but still avoided eye contact. "Then just, you know, take the onions out and drink the soup. It's supposed to help you get over your cold."
There was a sound of boys laughing in the hallway. The noise caused Dominic to quickly tug Chloe into his room and shut the door closed.
She had her back against the door in utter shock as Dominic gestured with his finger against his lips for her to be quiet. Her senses felt alert. He was close, so very close. She knew that his hair smelled like conditioner and his skin smelled faintly of body wash like maybe he'd just taken a cold shower.
"You'll get yourself a demerit if anyone reports seeing you here. Girls can't visit the boys' dorms during school hours," he whispered too closely.
Once he was certain the boys were gone, Dominic eased up and walked over to his bed and sat on it. He patted the corner to indicate for Chloe to join him. She felt relaxed now that they had more distance between them.
It was broad daylight, and she knew she'd have to leave for a class soon, but she would spare a moment. So she joined him.
Dominic seemed much more tired and vulnerable. "How did you know I was ill?"
"I found out from your girlfriend, I didn't catch her name. She was mad at me because she said you spent all morning looking for me or something, and then you got sick." Chloe didn't even realize how fast she was talking. Maybe it was because she was sitting on a bed with a shirtless boy.
Dominic laughed before he coughed a few times. "You must have run into Adrianna. That girl has been chasing after me for months now. She isn't my girlfriend, she's just a girl with a crush who's taking things much too far."
Chloe smoothed down the front of her skirt against her thick navy-blue thigh-highs. "I don't care about who she is to you; I care about who Mrs. Sara Apple is to you."
His hand lifted to his head as a sudden migraine affected him. "Mrs. Apple is still teaching here? I heard she moved to Spain to teach English as a foreign language at some expensive private school. She wasn't even supposed to be here."
That made her feel a little better, that meant Dominic didn't know his 'aunt' was still at Darkwood.
"Does she know about you?" She asked.
"No, she's the reason why I was vaguely okay with being shipped off to Darkwood. I thought she and I being at the same place would give more information about my mum. You know what it means if she canceled her move to stay here, right?" Dominic looked at Chloe like he was expecting her to figure out the answer.
Chloe sighed. "I was always bad at trivia; you're going to just have to tell it to me straight."
"She must have spoken with Elizabeth and for some reason she decided to change her plans and stay to keep an eye on you. Which means Elizabeth is using the 'Poisoned Apple'." He explained with a weak voice.
Sara was essentially a spy. A faculty member on Elizabeth's side meant bad news for Chloe. She wondered what Elizabeth had over Sara that was so terrible that she felt the need to abandon her life plans and continue to stay at the dismal Darkwood boarding school.
She would have to be extra careful now; she had both Adrianna and Sara to avoid.
"Why would Elizabeth go to those kinds of extremes?" Chloe asked, but she felt something heavy on her shoulder.
Dominic had fallen asleep with his head rested against her. Maybe it was because of his fever, or his lack of strength while sick. Chloe gazed a bit at Dominic's features. He looked so peaceful when he slept. It was almost kind of adorable.
She gently tried to angle Dominic from his sitting position to lie back against the bed, and then she lifted each of his legs to pull them up as well.
Against the nightstand, there was a small white bag with medicine inside. Chloe assumed it was from the school's resident doctor. It looked unopened.
Why hadn't he taken anything for his fever?
Chloe lifted the medicine box and read the side instructions. It even came with a little spoon. She twisted off the cap with a few clicks and poured out the recommended dosage carefully onto the spoon.
Gently with one hand she lifted up Dominic's head and tried to encourage him to wake just a little. "Dominic, just take this and you can go back to sleep."
His eyes barely opened, but his body responded enough to help assist her in taking down the medicine. Once he swallowed the liquid he lowered his head back against his pillow.
Chloe sighed.
This was the problem with boarding school. When Chloe was sick—back before the accident—her mother would make her warm water with lemon and honey. She remembered her mother's cold washcloths on the forehead for fevers, and garlic, cayenne lemonade to fight off cold germs. She had been cared for and loved whenever she was sick.
Dominic was used to this life; being in a room with a prescription unopened on the nightstand.
She glanced at her phone, class would be starting soon. If she was late for class without an excuse she'd get a demerit for certain. But what was more important to her? Being on time for class or helping a friend who was clearly sick and in need?
Chloe didn't have to think on it too hard, the latter was more important. She went into Dominic's bathroom and retrieved a cloth along with a bowl and filled it with cold tap water. Carefully she dabbed his forehead with the cool cloth and then his neck and his collarbone. His skin gave off so much heat.
She felt Dominic fingers grip feebly onto the corner of her skirt. His eyes still weren't fully opened and he breathed deeply through his parted lips.
"You're still here," he exhaled the words.
She dabbed the cloth against the side of his face and smiled softly at him. "I got you sick, you got me a demerit; I'd say we're even now."
Chloe continued to try and lower his temperature, but she felt his eyes stare at her the whole time. His fingers were still hooked against the edge of her skirt.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She finally asked.
Dominic tried to smile with what little energy he could muster.
"Because . . . I am developing a crush on you, White."