As Summer checked her map again, I saw some others doing the same. We weren’t the only lost freshmen. The thought was a little comforting.
“Yeah.” Summer nodded before folding the paper up and sliding it into her folder. “That’s my building. Where’s your classroom?”
“In Ives. Room three-twelve.”
Her forehead wrinkled, and she pulled the sheet back out. “Okay.” She stopped. Her finger started to point, but she turned until it was aiming at the building right behind us. “This is your stop.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” She checked once more. “Ives. That’s what my map says, so this is it unless there are two Ives buildings.”
I was about to say good-bye and head inside when Park Sebastian stepped in front of me, blocking me. A smug smirk was on his face beneath his black sunglasses. His gelled hair was combed to the side. As he stood there, holding a book and a couple of notebooks in his hand, he looked like he stepped right from a college magazine shoot. His shirt hung from his wide shoulders, not too tight, and fell to his trim waist. He had on frayed cargo shorts, but they seemed like they’d been frayed on purpose.
I didn’t think. I said the first thing on my mind, “You look like a douche.” I pointed to his shorts. “That’s trendy? If you’re hoping to look poor, you’re sucking at it. Your whole demeanor screams entitled rich prick.”
Summer gasped quietly beside me, but she coughed, trying to cover up her laughter.
Sebastian’s smug smile didn’t move. It began to spread, and he lifted his sunglasses. He started to take them off as I felt a presence beside me. Logan stepped in front of me. He was dressed in a T-shirt and similar cargo pants, but I kept my mouth shut about him. Logan could pull it off, looking like a rich bad boy who didn’t give a shit. Then again, I knew Logan. That probably helped, but standing next to him, Sebastian looked even more like a poser.
Summer glanced nervously at me.
I shook my head. It was during the day. There were lots of witnesses around. We’d be fine. Nothing bad would happen.
Logan started. “Thought we told you to stay away from Sam.”
It wasn’t a question.
Sebastian moved back a step, letting his sunglasses fall back in place. He gestured to the building behind him. “I’m going to class, Kade. You’re going to start a fight because of that?”
“You’re in her way.” Logan’s hand slipped behind him, and his bag slid down his shoulder and his arm until the strap was hanging over his wrist. He held his fingers toward me. His bag slipped even further, and he motioned for me.
I took the bag from him and slid it over my shoulder. Maybe this was going to last longer than the few minutes I’d originally thought. I bit my lip, casting a concerned look to Summer. She didn’t seem like she was going anywhere. A fascinated expression was on her face as she gazed first at Logan, to Sebastian, and back to Logan again.
“Again, I was just going to class.”
Logan didn’t move.
Neither did Sebastian.
Summer kept glancing between the two and to me. When she saw I was holding Logan’s bag, her eyes got wide. I wanted to reassure her, but the truth was that I had no idea what was going to happen.
I kept remembering what Logan said the previous night. Call him, not Mason.
Mason couldn’t get in trouble.
As if Logan knew the train of my thoughts, he shifted on his feet. My gaze jerked up and trailed past him, past Sebastian, and landed on Mason.
He was coming from the building where my class was located with my cell phone in his hand. A scowl was on his face, and his jaw locked in place. I swallowed tightly. Logan moved backward, stepping into me. I adjusted, knowing that he was herding me even more away from Sebastian.
I started to go to the side. I wanted to go to Mason, but Logan’s arm swept me back. He caught me around the waist. He held me in place, right behind him. A memory flashed in my mind of another time when Mason had done the same motion for the same reason.
“Mom.”
“Don’t!” Her head snapped back up, and her eyes were wild. “You always said, we’d be gone. He wouldn’t marry me, and you were right. He won’t. It’s over. Finito. Finished.”
I stepped around Mason, but he moved with me. When I started to get closer to her, he moved another inch. He was blocking me. He didn’t want me close to her, so I stayed put.
I folded my arms. “Mom, you’re drunk. Everything will be better in the morning. I promise.”
Park Sebastian wasn’t my mother. I didn’t have years of terror built inside me because of him. My mind was made up. I wasn’t helpless, so I shoved Logan’s arm down. Mason’s gaze caught mine, and he narrowed his eyes. I caught the warning there, even before anything was said. It didn’t matter. I would not let him get hurt because of me. I would not allow myself to be his Achilles’ heel. Sebastian needed to learn that, so I started forward.
Logan caught me again, but I sidestepped him. He went to the right to block me. I feinted left. Because of the movement, I was now face-to-face with Sebastian. Logan groaned a little bit, but I tuned him out.
“Sam.”
I shrugged off Logan’s hold.
“Sebastian.” Mason’s tone stopped everything. He was quiet but foreboding.
Sebastian, who hadn’t realized Mason was right behind him, straightened abruptly. He kept his glasses on, but his jaw clenched, and he moved to the side so he wasn’t surrounded on both sides anymore. Mason adjusted, coming to stand next to me. Logan circled to stand on his other side. We were now a unified front while Summer crossed her arms. Her head kept going back and forth between us and Sebastian. I didn’t dare look over to see what she was thinking. She was getting a good view as it was.