Chapter 97 Maybe the ghost likes losers. Enjoy your night
Katherine lets out a loud gasp. Defeated, I look up and meet Liam’s eyes across the room. He is looking back at me with a cold stare, his face impossible to read.
Rossi lets go of him and walks right at me, as people quickly get out of her way. She stops a few feet away, taller than me in her high heels. She looks down at me, her mouth twisted into a mean smile.
“This is not the place for people like you. You should quit now and leave Liam alone,” she says, her voice low so only I can hear.
I look right back into her eyes. “I got my spot here fair and square. You can not make me leave. And it is none of your business anyway.”
She gives a short, nasty laugh. “How? With your sad little grades? You got in because Liam’s father made some calls and wrote a big check to the school. Do you have any pride? Using his family like that?”
My face gets hot under her words. Some part of me knows she is right. But I am already in this fight, and I can not back down now. So I just keep staring at her, saying nothing.
She narrows her eyes at me, then suddenly turns to Katherine and the other girls. “What were you all talking about before?”
They have no clue what is happening. Katherine stammers, “We were talking about the homecoming party. And going shopping together…”
“Perfect,” Rossi says with a fake sweet tone, giving me a little push. “Then you have to take Sophie with you. She does not have anything nice to wear. The poor thing just got thrown out by her own father. She has nowhere to go. If it were not for Mr. Thorne, she would probably be living on the street right now.”
My eyes open wide in shock as she keeps talking. How the fuck does she know all this? Right, it must be Liam. How could he?
Katherine still looks confused. “I do not understand. Sophie, do you know Mr. Thorne?”
“Oh, you have not told them yet?” Rossi speaks before I can. “She is Mr. Thorne’s stepdaughter. And Liam’s…”
“Rossi!” Liam cuts her off, his voice hard.
Rossi stops and turns to look at him. She suddenly seems a little nervous, like she is worried he might lose his temper.
“What? I am just introducing her to everyone,” she says, defending herself.
Liam walks over to us, his mouth set in a tight line. I glare at him, promising myself that nothing he does right now will make me forgive him.
But he does not say a single word to stand up for me. Without even glancing my way, he takes Rossi’s hand and says in a rough voice, “The tour is about to start.”
Right then, a middle-aged man walks into the room and speaks to the group. “Alright, students. Everyone gather around. Welcome to today’s school tour. My name is Rob. I will be your guide. We also have two of our top students joining us today, Liam and Rossi. Ask any questions you have, and enjoy yourselves!”
The students follow him as he moves outside. I can still feel people looking at me with suspicion from every side. Thanks to Rossi, she has ruined school for me before it has even begun.
Rob shows us around. This school is unbelievably big. It even has its own swimming pool, a running track, a fencing room, and a gym with every kind of equipment. The library is said to be hundreds of years old, with a huge collection of books.
People have been purposely ignoring me the whole time. Clearly, they do not want to get on the wrong side of things. Liam and Rossi, on the other hand, get everyone’s full attention. People keep pushing their way closer just to be near them. Rossi seems to love it, while Liam is clearly not happy. He keeps his hands in his pockets the whole time, and he even looks annoyed when someone tries to talk to him.
When Rob says the observatory is the last stop, I let out a long sigh. Thank God. I can not wait for this to be over. I drag my feet, following the group into the building without any energy, but suddenly I feel a hard pull on my elbow, and I am shoved into a small, dark room.
Liam closes the door behind him, looking down at me with cold eyes.
“Why are you ignoring me?” he asks out of nowhere.
I almost laugh out loud. “Is this a joke? After you kiss me without asking and tell everyone what a sad little charity case I am, you think we can just be friends?”
He does not react to my questions. Instead, he takes a step forward, making the space between us very small. The light in here is weak, and I can barely see his face, only hear his heavy breathing.
His next question completely throws me.
“You liked that kiss the other night. Did you not?”
My heart starts pounding hard in my chest. Why is he asking me this? Does he know something?
Thankfully it is dark, so he can not see that my ears are burning red.
“No,” I say, my voice stiff.
He lets out a low laugh, like he is making fun of me for lying. “You are really bad at this.”
He reaches out and takes hold of my arm. When I do not pull away, his hand moves up and finally rests on the back of my neck. His long fingers tangle in my hair, his thumb rubbing slow circles on my skin, sending a shiver straight down my back.
Then he lowers his head. Now I can see his eyes clearly. Those beautiful green eyes are filled with so many strong, deep feelings it is almost scary.
“Soph…” he says, his voice almost a whisper. “I need to tell you something. I…”
I shove him hard in the chest. He is not ready for it, and he stumbles to the side. His back hits a shelf against the wall with a heavy thud.
I am breathing hard, clenching my fists so tight my nails cut into my palms. I do not know if this is another part of his game. But I will not let him play with me like this.
A few seconds later, he looks up at me again. The fire in his eyes is gone, replaced by nothing but ice.
“I get it,” he says, his voice dark. “It is because of that Alex guy, is it not?”
I have no idea what he is talking about. “Liam Thorne, are you crazy?! You are my brother, for God’s sake! That kiss was already one huge mistake. We can still act like nothing happened if you would just please leave me alone!”
His voice is louder than mine. “Bullshit! I have never had a fucking sister! Stop calling me your brother!”
I take a shaky breath as he runs his hands through his hair and snaps, “Fine. If you want to be the Thorne princess, go ahead. Let us see how long you last in this school.”
He gives me one last deadly look and storms out, slamming the door behind him.
I drop to the floor because my legs will not hold me up anymore. My head is a complete mess. Seriously, why is he acting this way? Why is he treating me like garbage?
His last words stick with me. I sit alone on the cold floor, thinking. Maybe this has something to do with his money? I know people call my mom a gold-digger behind her back, so I always try to keep my distance from the Thorne family. I do not want anything to do with their wealth.
So is it possible that Liam is worried I will try to take his inheritance?
I rub my face, frustrated. How can I make him understand I do not care about his money at all? I just want to keep quiet and get through my last year of school. Is that too much to ask?
Then I hear the sound of high heels coming toward the room. I get up fast, and the door flies open. Rossi is there with three other girls behind her.
“What?” I say sharply. I have had enough of Rossi and her drama.
“I saw Liam leaving this room a minute ago.” Rossi walks in with that nasty smile on her face. “Why can not you just leave him alone? Or do you want to be just like your mother? Marry into a rich family and fix your pathetic little life for good?”
I want to hit her, but two of the girls jump at me and grab my arms and shoulders. I kick one of them in the shin, and she cries out in pain. Rossi yanks my hair back with one hand and presses her long fingernail into my cheek.
“Let this be a lesson to you,” she says, smiling, her eyes shining in a dangerous way. “If you promise to behave, I might let you make it through the year. Deal?”
Then she reaches into my pocket and takes my phone. “I will be keeping this for you. Girls?”
The other girls push me down onto the floor, then follow Rossi out and slam the door shut. I scramble up and throw myself at the door, but it is already locked from the outside.
Rossi looks back at me through the little window and lets out a mean laugh. “Oh, and they say this observatory is haunted. But who knows? Maybe the ghost likes losers. Enjoy your night.”