Bad Rep (45 page)

Riley and Gracie finally caught up with me and they went down to the ground beside me.  “Maysie.  That was awful!”  Gracie said in a horrified voice.  I couldn't look at her.  I was so ashamed and embarrassed.  Riley snapped in front of my face. 

“Damn it, Mays.  Don't you dare curl up into a ball and take this!  Screw those jerks!  Who cares what they think?!  I say we go find the rest of those posters and then track down whoever did this and rip them a new asshole,” Riley growled. 

Gracie made a noise of discomfort.  “I'm not sure about the asshole ripping thing, but I definitely think we should find the rest of those posters,” she agreed.  She shared a look with Riley who was in full on militant mode. 

“Come on, Maysie!” Riley said, getting to her feet and pulling on my hand. 

I yanked my hand away.  “Just stop it!” I yelled.  Riley and Gracie stared at me and I could tell Riley wanted to shake me.  I held up my hand.  “I appreciate it, I really do.  But we tear the posters down and then what?”  I looked at Gracie.  “We know exactly who is responsible for this.”  Gracie's fisted her hands at her side. 

“Those bitches,” she breathed out.

I shook my head.  “So yeah, let's go tear them down and they'll just find some other way to humiliate me.  Gracie, I really think I need to withdraw from Chi Delta,” I said firmly.  Riley was nodding as Gracie was shaking her head emphatically. 

“This is freaking ridiculous!  You need to confront them!  They can't black ball you like this!  I think  you should file a complaint with the Panhellenic Council.  They can't get away with this!” Gracie fumed.  I felt the small flare of my self-righteous rage starting to simmer in my belly.  Gracie was right.  Fuck this shit.  I couldn't sit here crying in the grass while Olivia and Milla systematically ruined my life.  Enough was enough. 

I got to my feet.  “Let's go find the rest of those posters.” I said with an edge to my voice that surprised even me.  Gracie pumped her fist into the air while Riley gave out a loud whoop. 

“Let's go!”  Riley called out, dashing across the quad.  And I raced off behind her, determined to take my life in my own hands.

Chapter Twenty-Five

My new found sense of empowerment lasted a whole thirty minutes.  We were only able to find three other posters.  They had been strategically placed in areas that got the highest amount of traffic.  It made me want to punch something every time we found one.  People were milling about, laughing at that stupid picture and then their laughter would become louder and more pointed when I quickly tore the poster down. 

It was draining, having a target on your back.  It was hard to keep your chin up when you had so many people tearing you down.  Riley, Gracie and I gave up trying to find the other posters after an hour of searching.  Riley wanted to keep going but I protested.  What was the point anyway?  My anger had gone from a simmer to a full blown forest fire level blaze.

And that's how I found  myself storming my way toward the Greek quad.  One of the posters crunched up in my hand and I'm sure steam was coming from my ears.  Gracie trailed after me, practically running so she could keep up.  Riley had continued the search after I declared I needed to settle things immediately. 

“
As much fun as seeing Olivia and Milla get their asses handed to them, I made a vow to never step foot into a Greek house.  And even potential blood shed won't make me.  So call me when you're done.” Riley had said simply before heading off to scour the rest of campus.

I threw open the door to the Chi Delta house and the sisters looked up at me in surprise.  “Where are Milla and Olivia?” I asked in lieu of a greeting.  Vivian was in the kitchen and came out to find me, red faced and breathing heavily.  She looked from me to Gracie, who looked a mixture of pissed and worried.

“What's going on?” Vivian asked.  Not meeting her eyes, I held the poster out for her to take.  I was still looking around the downstairs.  “Crap,” Vivian whispered, folding the picture back up.  I started for the stairs. 

Vivian caught my arm.  “Girl, you need to settle for a moment.”  I glared at her and she lifted her hand from my sleeve in a placating gesture.

“I'm all for you giving the bitch sisters a piece of your mind.  But you need to do it when you're calm and rational.  Not when you're ready to take their heads off.  They're more likely to trip you up.  Don't give them a reason to throw you out of here.  Come on,” Vivian reasoned.  But I didn't care anymore.  I was sick of playing victim to their cruel games.  I was confronting this now, before I lost my nerve.

So, I ignored Vivian and marched up the steps.  Olivia's room was the largest in the house and situated at the end of the hallway.  The door was open and I could see her, Milla, and two other senior sisters, Jadyn and Cici, inside. 

Olivia looked up when I flew through her door.  She seemed shocked at first but then her face smoothed out to a smirk.  She looked gorgeous as always.  Her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a pair of skinny jeans that fit her like a damn glove.  Her too-perky-to- be-real chest was accentuated by a tight green sweater. 

I hated how pretty she was.  I hated that she was popular and self-assured.  I hated the crazy long history she had with the love of my life.  And I hated that she had a song written for her.  A beautiful song. 

I don't know what came over me, but I lunged for her.  Next thing I knew I had a fist full of her luscious, dark hair and I was pulling with all of my might.  I hooked my leg behind her ankles and swept her down to the floor.  I was on top of her, ripping at her hair and clawing at her face.  “Get the fuck off of me, psycho!” she shrieked, pushing at me and flailing about. 

But my anger must have given me super powers because I held on, taking out chunks of her hair as I pulled.  “You are a NASTY, CRUEL, HATEFUL BITCH!” I screamed in her face. 

Suddenly I was being pulled off of Olivia.  I kicked out and tried to hit at her again.  Vivian had me around the waist and was dragging me into the hallway.  Milla had a hold of Olivia who started to run after me.  “I'm gonna kick your ass, you man stealing whore!” she yelled.  Milla and Cici held her by her arms, while Vivian and Gracie held me. 

“I can't steal what doesn't want to stay,
Olivia!
” I yelled back, smirking at her.  Olivia growled and wrenched out of Milla and Cici's grip.  She came at me, her fingers swiping close to my face.  I kicked up and my feet landed firmly in her chest, sending her sprawling to the floor. 

I heard Jadyn and Cici scream and reach for our president, who was having a hard time getting to her feet.  “How dare you come into the house, into
my
room and attack me!  You are through!” Olivia threatened, breathing heavily. 

I pulled the poster out of my back pocket and held it up in front of her face.  “Well, I could report you to the Panhellenic Council for harassment!  Then we'll see who's through.”  Even through my anger I saw Olivia's confusion as she looked at the mortifying picture.  She looked as though she had never seen it before.  Then my anger faltered.  If she didn't do it, who did?

But that moment quickly vanished as Olivia laughed at the picture.  “My god!  You're pissed because someone put pictures of your skanky ass all over campus?  Are you surprised people see you this way?  After what happened with Jordan?”  She looked at me in disgust.  I blinked, feeling like an immature fool. 

“Maysie, I've had it with your drama and all of the bullshit that goes with you.  We're having a special meeting tonight.  This has to be dealt with immediately,” Olivia's words rang out with authority.  And I felt as though I were being summoned to the principal's office.  I felt Gracie grip my arm beside me and I really appreciated her presence at that moment. 

“7:30, Maysie,” Olivia said shortly, still trying to get her breath.  Milla openly laughed at me, enjoying this way too much.  Olivia and the other girls shoved passed me and went downstairs.  I was shaking, the adrenaline in my system was going crazy.

“I can't believe I just did that,” I said in a hushed whisper.  Vivian and Gracie were quiet. 

“I'm going to get kicked out.  I physically assaulted the freaking president!”  My voice hitched as I realized the huge hole I had just dug for myself.  Vivian put a comforting hand on my shoulder. 

“That was pretty righteous, Mays,” she said with a chuckle.  I looked at her in disbelief.  I couldn't believe how tickled she seemed by the whole thing. 

“Glad you think this is funny,” I bit out. 

Vivian covered her grinning mouth with a hand.  “I'm sorry, Maysie.  But if you knew how many times I fantasized about doing that.” Her laughter broke through and I could only gape at her in shock as my life swirled down the toilet.  Gracie shot her a look and then grabbed my hand. 

“Let's get you home, Mays.”  She took me out the back door of the house.  Vivian followed us as Gracie led me to her car. 

“What happens now?” I asked, my voice deadened by the free fall I found myself in. 

“Well, most likely you'll have a mediation with Olivia and then the sisterhood has to vote whether to suspend you.”  Well, that's what I had expected.  Even though I no longer felt Chi Delta was where I needed to be, I didn't like the decision being made for me.  Call it stupid pride or whatever, but I didn't take a loss of control lightly.

“That's just freaking dandy,” I muttered, propping my feet up on Gracie's dashboard and resting my forehead on my knees.

“We'll have your back, sweetie.  I promise,” Gracie told me, turning out onto the main road by the campus.  My phone buzzed in my bag and I reached down to find it. 

Pulling it out I saw I had two missed texts.  The first one was from twenty minutes ago. 

I'm heading into work.  Leave the door unlocked for me tonight, because I'm comin' for you.

My stomach clenched up painfully after reading Jordan's text.  I couldn't even smile at his message.  I felt like my life had hit fast forward in the last half an hour.  The girl who would have giggled at Jordan Levitt thinking about her was on vacation. 

I deleted the first text and ran my finger over the second one. 

Where are you?  I tried calling. 

I turned off my phone.  I should call him, but I couldn't deal with him.  With
us. 
Our relationship had been built on dishonesty and secrets.  Right now, with my recent rumble with Olivia fresh in my mind, I knew that wasn't a particularly good thing. 

Gracie and Vivian got me home, deposited me on the couch with a bag of chocolate chip cookies and the TiVo remote before leaving.  They promised they'd be back at 7:00 to take me to the house.  They would have stayed but they each had an early evening class.  Riley was still on campus and would be there for a while longer.  So I was alone. 

Alone with my less than pleasant thoughts and even worse feelings.  My phone rang beside me.  It was Motorhead's Ace of Spades, Jordan's ring tone.  I had laughed at the inside joke when he programmed it a few weeks ago, remembering how he liked to make my eardrums bleed with that particular song.  Now I just wanted it to stop.  I hit ignore and focused on the television.  The noise didn't penetrate and all I could do was obsess over tonight's meeting. 

Riley came home a couple of hours later.  She tried to talk to me but I wasn't much up for conversation.  She quickly discovered I wasn't going to answer beyond monosyllabic responses. I got ready for the meeting with the grimness of someone going into battle.  Ace of Spades rang out a few more times.  But I continued to ignore it.  I would have to talk to Jordan eventually.  But right then I wasn't sure what I exactly wanted to say. 

Part of me wanted to unload everything.  I knew he'd listen.  He'd hear me out without trying to give me ridiculous advice.  He'd be everything I needed him to be.  But I didn't really know what I actually needed him to be. 

I didn't know anything.

Gracie and Vivian came and got me, just as they said they would.  Riley said something supportive but I didn't really hear her.  We drove to the meeting in silence.  Walking into the Chi Delta house was almost like the first time I went inside.  The nerves, the clammy hands, the apprehension.  But this time there wasn't the excited anxiousness and instead I just felt sick.