Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Amy

Nick’s jaw clenches. “He’s been lying to you from the beginning of this competition, and I have proof.”

A light goes out in my head. For a moment, everything is dark and cloudy. A voice whispers, “~You knew this was coming. Why are you so hurt? You’re a fool, Amy.”~

“I knew it.” My words float through the air, disembodied, as if they were whispered by a ghost.

“Smart girl,” Nick says. “You were always smart. I’d never trust Harper after what she did to you.”

His words jerk me out of my daze. “What do you mean?”

He frowns. “You went from being part of the family to basically a stranger overnight. I knew it was all her. You would never abandon our family like that. Not when we were going through something so hard.”

My throat grows tight. “No, I wouldn’t.”

He nods, his expression growing pained. “She tried to blame you for it. She said you didn’t give a shit that our dad was dead, and that her being sad all the time annoyed you.”

My heart jumps into my throat. “That’s not true.”

He smiles faintly. “I know. I never believed her.”

I let out a long sigh. The weight of six years is finally starting to melt away. I can’t say that I’ve thought about Nick very often over the years. Still, it’s a balm to hear that he sees me as blameless.

Why have I harbored a small measure of guilt when it comes to Harper? I would have been friends with her forever if she hadn’t cut me out. But maybe she really believes what she told Nick. Maybe I didn’t say the right things when their dad died, and she really thought I found her grief annoying. It sounds crazy, because I cared about her and her family, but people in deep pain aren’t always rational.

“So what’s Tristan’s plan?” I ask Nick, recalling the reason he brought me here.

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure exactly, but I know he filled out your application for the game. And he made sure the admins picked you. He told me that point-blank.”

I nod. “I know he did. I suspect he’s trying to humiliate me.”

“I’m thinking he might be too. After your five-minute date, we were all teasing him at the frat. We said you were his favorite. He was acting all cocky about it, like he usually does, and he said… Fuck, this might hurt your feelings.”

I wave a hand, though my throat grows tight. I can only hope it’s not too cruel.

“He said shy nerds are crazy in bed, and he’ll be fucking you by the end of the game. He said we’ll all hear you screaming and calling him God from his bedroom. He has a betting pool going, and it’s up to five K now. A few of the other guys said they’ll sleep with you before he does.”

I grimace. “They’re all fucking disgusting.”

“They are. I wasn’t the only person to speak up for you. Some of the other guys think it’s out of line, but that’s not even the only thing Tristan’s done.” His eyes cloud over. “I found… I should have told you this before. I found…something a year ago.”

My pulse races. “What did you find?”

He lets out a breath. “I found pictures of you. Lots of them.”

My stomach drops to the floor. “What do you mean pictures? Where did you find them?”

“On his laptop. He has tons of pictures of you from high school. And after. I don’t know where he got them. I think he might have taken some of them, like a creep.”

A tingling heat prickles over my skin. “They aren’t… He doesn’t have naked pics or anything, does he?”

“Oh, no.” Nick shakes his head sharply. “But he has so fucking many of them, Amy. The sheer volume was staggering.”

I jerk back. “Like how many?”

His eyes grow unfocused. “I scrolled through all of them. The idiot left them pulled up on his laptop, and his password is 11111. There had to be hundreds.”

My stomach hollows out. It’s time to ask Nick the burning question. “What do you think he’s planning to do with the pictures?”

“I have no idea. Maybe nothing. He might just…have a crush on you or something, but I still wouldn’t trust him. Not with the bet going on.”

“No,” I say immediately. “He’s played pranks on me before, and I’ve suspected from the very beginning that he’s planning something spectacular for the game. I think he wants to embarrass me again. Maybe at the closing ceremony when he makes his choice. The pictures… He might have been gathering them to find something he can use.”

“Well, he doesn’t have anything on you yet,” Nick says, his voice growing louder. “At least not from what I saw. Don’t give him anything, do you hear me? Don’t tell him anything he might use against you.”

A chill runs down my spine. Nick is generally a warm, easygoing guy. Or at least he was when we were kids. What could possibly have happened to warrant this kind of anger toward Tristan?

“What happened between you two to make you turn on him?” I ask.

His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m not turning on him. I’m just letting him face the consequences of his actions. He can’t… I’m not going to let him interfere in people’s lives anymore, like he’s God.”

Could this be about Serena? She told me Nick broke up with her because of Tristan’s and Harper’s intervention.

Maybe it was really just Tristan.

“Whatever he’s up to,” Nick says, “remember Tristan is always thinking about himself. This isn’t about you. My guess is he doesn’t like that you blow him off. I could see it on your first date. He was trying to charm you, and you gave him nothing. He didn’t like it. He’s not used to it.”

I let out a long sigh. “Honestly, Nick. I think he wants me to fall for him. I think his ultimate plan is to have me crazy about him and thinking he’s going to choose me, and then he’ll pull the rug from under my feet.”

He smiles. “He won’t be able to do that. You hate him.”

I want to agree that I hate him. The fact that I can’t shows just how much Tristan has gotten to me already. How could I have been such a fool? I’ve known this from the very beginning.

His stupid speech tonight. I fell for it even when I knew it was fake.

I take a deep breath through my nose and release it slowly out of my mouth. I need to come up with a plan. Some more spectacular way to get revenge. Cold indifference isn’t enough.

I need to humiliate him before he gets the chance to humiliate me. But how? He hardly ever gets embarrassed. He didn’t even care that I caught him masturbating. Didn’t worry about the consequences if I told anyone. This man is invulnerable in many ways. Nick is right that he’s a god, and everyone else on this campus who worships him only reinforces it.

What if I did the opposite of worship him? What if I got as close to him as possible and showed him by my actions that I don’t think much of him?

I’ll sleep with him.

I’ll sleep with him and make him think he has me where he wants me.

Then I’ll drop the bomb.

~That was mediocre sex, Tris, sorry. I don’t think I could stomach doing it again.~

My stomach flips over. Tristan would lose his mind. It would shatter his ego. Shy, nerdy Amelia Harrington thinks Tristan Wolfe is bad in bed.

He’d probably always think of me. I’d be the one girl he could never have.

Sleeping with him will only be my grand finale. Up until then, I’ll show him a different girl than the one he thinks he has eating out of the palm of his hand. I’ll get a makeover, a temporary one of course. I’ll start acting sexy and flirting with guys. He’ll start to wonder if he ever really knew me.

Then I’ll go for the jugular.

Sleep with him, ditch him, and cringe afterward.

It’ll mean saying goodbye to any chance at the ten K scholarship, and I’ll have to live with that.

My stomach roils at the thought of losing something that could mean fewer years paying off my student loans. But really, what are the odds that he’s actually going to give it to me? Probably slim to none. If his ultimate plan is to humiliate me, he’ll probably choose someone else at the end of the game— all while watching my face the whole time as he makes his pick with that cruel smirk. Just like the day Harper read my fanfic.

No, I won’t let him do it. I’ll say goodbye to the small possibility that he’s going to give me that scholarship and get my revenge instead.

“I need your help, Nick,” I find myself saying.

His eyes flash. “Anything. I meant it when I said I want to make amends.”

I frown. “For what?”

“For not having your back. You were my friend, too. I want to be your friend now. Tell me what I can do for you, and it’s done. I don’t care if it pisses Tristan off.”

Exhilaration pumps through my veins. Nick really can help me, as close as he is to Tristan.

“Invite me to all the frat parties,” I say, “and introduce me to guys who might be interested in me.” My cheeks burn. What a humiliating request to someone like Nick, who hangs out with all the “hot people” in the Greek scene, including Tristan.

What if he can’t find anyone?

It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I’m determined to follow through with this plan.

Nick raises an eyebrow. “You got it. I’ll make sure you’re on the approved guest list for every party. Tristan put you on the blacklist after the game started.”

My skin heats. “I’m sorry, what?”

He huffs. “Yeah, I think he did it because he doesn’t want you catching on to whatever he’s up to. It’s not a problem though, because I can get you off it. I’m closer to the pledges than he is, and the third and fourth years made them the door bitches. I’ll at least get you into our parties, though I can’t promise that Tristan will let you stay.”

“God, he’s awful.”

Nick smirks. “He’s going to hate it if guys start going after you. He wants them all to think he owns you. We’ll prove him wrong. I’ll find dozens of guys to go after you.”

My eyes roll. “I have no need for flattery. If any of the guys only want me because Tristan’s pretending to want me, I don’t really care. They’re a means to an end for me.”

Nick laughs. “Man, I missed you. I always loved how blunt you are.”

My heart squeezes. I missed him too. There was so much history between me and their family, and it felt like it vanished almost overnight.

“I really appreciate that you’re helping me out, Nikki,” I say, his childhood nickname rolling off my tongue.

“Hey, no problem.” He grins back at me. “It’ll be an easy job. Plenty of guys will be happy to date you.” A mischievous glint alights his eyes. “And Tristan is going to lose his mind.”

I scoff. “Tristan won’t ~really~ care. Not about me. It’s all about his ego.”

His voice grows hushed. “He absolutely will. I don’t understand his obsession with you. I don’t know why he singles you out and acts like such a dick, but trust me, he will care. He’ll care a lot.”

Rage simmers under my skin. Tristan was really starting to charm me.

Never again.

“Then it’s settled,” I say. “I’ll make him regret ever crossing paths with me.”

Nick smiles. “That’s my girl.” His face suddenly grows serious. “I noticed you became friends with Serena…”

I fight the smile rising to my lips. “I have. I really like her. She’s a genuinely caring person.”

His expression clouds over. “She is. Maybe…” He scratches the back of his head. “We should plan everything. Maybe make a list of guys for you to flirt with. Serena could… She should join us.”

I grin. “I’d love that.”

This odd change in Nick must be the result of losing Serena. Maybe he cared for me when we were young, but our friendship couldn’t have inspired this level of ire. Not after all these years.

But a broken heart could have.

Serena deserves to see that he’s pining for her, even if she won’t forgive him for bending to Tristan’s will.

He nods once. “How about tomorrow? I’ll come to your dorm at six o’clock. I’ll walk you to the party afterward.”

“Let’s do it.” I smile. “Let’s take Tristan down.”