That night, Alexander stayed with me again. I didn't think he wanted to be alone. This time, however, he didn't turn into a kitten. Alexander held me until I fell asleep and he was gone by the time I woke to my alarm.
All of a sudden, my phone went off. It vibrated across my nightstand none stop. Frowning, I picked it up. Message after message appeared. They were all from the fan club. How did they get my number? It was probably Alexander who gave it to them. Either way, there was no time to worry about that now.
I scrolled through twenty messages before I reached the first one. It took seconds for me to catch up with the most recent. From what I gathered, the public wasn't happy and I was being blamed.
A numbness washed over me. I shouldn't have been panicking but, I didn't have the energy anymore. What was panicking going to give me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I knew, didn't I? People were going to believe what they wanted. They were going to blame someone and why not me? According to them, my involvement broke the engagement.
"Nothing I can do about it," I told myself.
But despite all my efforts, I had no motivation to get ready. I did the minimum and managed a quick shower. Didn't bother to dry my hair. Mom had to check up on me to make sure I hadn't fallen asleep again. She kicked Dad and me out with some breakfast.
Neither of them said anything about the news. Or maybe they hadn't heard. Either way, I was grateful for it. I knew I was going to hear enough about it at school.
"Doing alright, kiddo?" Dad asked.
We joined the drop-off line. It was moving slower than usual.
"I - don't even know," I sighed. "I'm so tired of everything."
"Want to quit school and live in your room?" he asked.
I managed a smile. "Yes. Having celebrity status is hard work."
"I can drive you back home if you like."
"No, it's okay," I told him. "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer tomorrow."
"Sure thing kiddo."
I waved at my dad as he drove away. Adjusting my backpack, I made my way to the building, practically dragging my feet and staring at the ground.
My moment of being alone was quickly shattered. I heard my name on everyone's lips. Some of them even pointed at me. Sighing, I walked past them and towards my locker. However, everyone else had something else in mind.
A crowd met me halfway down the hallway. It was lead by the girls.
"What's going on?" I asked Brissa.
"Didn't you get our messages?" she asked.
"Yeah, about that," I began.
"There's no time," Sandra interrupted. "We need to move like yesterday."
I frowned. "What?"
"The vampires are going after you," Amber explained.
I looked around the hallway. For the most part, there were only humans here. Even the crowd of ten people or so were humans as well.
"Are they part of the fan club too?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah," Kerrie replied. "They've helped make posters and moderate our forum."
"That's not the point," Brissa interjected. "Rin, I don't think you understand what's going."
I pushed past them. "I'm going to be late for class."
"You've just caused a war!" Brissa blurted out.
Silence fell over the hallway. I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. Everyone stared at us, waiting to see who would speak.
I managed a shrug. "That's just blame being tossed around," I told her. "Princess Cassidy made her own decision. If anyone thinks that I could have influenced her then they're mistaken."
"Don't block the hallway," Mr. Flora said. "Get a move on or you'll be late."
Grateful for the distraction, I made my way to my locker. As I opened it, a dozen notes fell to the floor. I looked at them, contemplating whether or not I should pick them up. Technically, I would be littering if I did so, I picked them. To say I wasn't curious would be lying but I also didn't want to know what they said. Death threats were probably the nicest thing I'd read.
It doesn't matter, I thought to myself. These are people's opinions and I don't care about them. So, why shouldn't I read them? Maybe I'll make myself laugh.
I grabbed all the letters and went into the girl's restroom. Was I skipping class? Yes. Did I care? No. My brain and my body weren't ready for today.
Against my better judgment, I locked myself into the furthest stall and opened every last note. The bell rang before I finished. There were fifteen notes in total.
'Kill yourself.'
My vision blurred. "Too much work," I croaked out.
'Traitor. Humans are better dating material than vampires."
"Humans can't shift into kittens," I whispered.
'Get off your high horse dumb b*tch.'
"I've never ridden a horse," I heard myself say.
My hand trembled as I opened another note.
'Good for you.'
I blinked rapidly trying to clear my vision.
"Good for me," I echoed. "Good for me." The words tasted strange.
'How can you sleep at night when you've destroyed a relationship?'
The truth of the matter was, I slept fairly well. Alexander and Cassidy mentioned it themselves. There wasn't much of a relationship. Or maybe I was just defending myself but I was allowed to do that, right?
'How dare you throw around shade like that? Who do you think you are? You're not that special.'
Taking a deep breath, I wiped my eyes.
"I'm Rin Elizabeth Borek and I am special because you're writing hate mail to me."
"Miss Borek?"
I jumped. The last thing I expected was to hear Ms. Kim's voice in the restroom. I shoved all the notes inside my bag before stepping out of the stall.
"I'm not feeling well," I told her. "I'll head to class now. Sorry."
"Mr. Adams is always available if you need to talk," she said.
"I know," I replied. "I'll talk to him if I need to. Thanks."
"Let me take you to class."
We walked in silence. I dragged my feet. I shouldn't have known better than to skip at the beginning of class. Now everyone had an excuse to look at me.
Let them, a little part of my brain said. Let them stare. I can't read their minds.
"Just so you know, we've been in contact with Mr. Keys," Ms. Kim told me. "No information will be leaked on our part. Restrictions will be placed on sharing any information with your picture."
"Thanks," I muttered. "It must be a hassle."
"I assure you, it isn't," she said. "While I can't speak on my personal beliefs, know that you'll be safe here at school. If there is anyone who is not following our school values will be dealt with."
"I-I'll let the office know if that happens."
We stopped in front of the classroom. I bit my lip. Maybe I should show her the notes? I thought back to the incidents with Micah. Some of it could have been prevented if I'd said something, to begin with.
"Ms. Kim?"
"Yes?"
"Here."
Before I could change my mind, I grabbed all the notes and gave them to her.
"I found these in my locker."
She took them and scanned them over. "Thank you for bringing these to my attention," she said. "These will be dealt with." She motioned me to follow her. "I think some time away from your classmates will help. I have an extra room you can work in."
A smile managed to appear on my face. "Lead on."