Chapter 7.

Ivy

 I haven't heard from Aria since yesterday, Freya seems to be on her best behavior too. She seems so lost without Aria leading her around.

I really don't care though, I'm just glad that they've finally decided to leave me alone.

I head into the nearest cafe that's just a few blocks around the campus to get some coffee since that's all I can afford at the moment.

I'm sure by now the owner of the place would have known me just by my shadow since I come here quite often.

But I'd have to admit, they make really good coffee.

The bell above the door jingles and the melody fills my ears pleasantly as I step into the small building.

I order my usual and take a seat at the edge of the back. I plug in my headphones and put my songs on shuffle.

A nagging feeling that I'm being watched begins to creep up on me and I turn towards the direction where the energy is coming from.

I catch a girl removing her gaze from my direction just in time to know she was staring.

I furrow my brows feeling discomfort but I shrug it off.

I'll just get the coffee and leave.

Something about the feeling intensifies and I catch a group of people giggling and recording me.

I take off my headphones and the first thing my ears catch is “whore” from a person sitting right behind me which is followed by a flash of light.

They were taking pictures.

All of them.

“She's the girl sleeping with Professor Caden” I hear someone say

“I heard her mom's sleeping with him too”

“Smile for the picture”

I get up as fast as I can and leave the cafe

“Ma'am your coffee!”

As I sprint away from there my phone dings multiple times.

I take it out of my bag and I check what might be going on and find that I've been added to a group chat.

With my face as the group icon.

The gossip club.

I tap the group chat and multiple messages flood into my phone.

Every message is a picture of me.

From this morning.

What is all this?!

“So this is the whore?” Someone responds

“I can't believe the professor actually fucks her, she's not even pretty”

“Anyone got her nudes yet?”

I'm utterly horrified by what I'm reading. I begin to hyperventilate.

A picture drops and it's a picture of me right now.

My eyes widen in shock.

I need to get out of here.

Everyone seems like a predator now, it could be anyone.

I hear every laughter and every whisper.

“It's her”

“It's the slut”

I walk faster till I'm totally out of the school premises completely.

I hail a cab and throw all my money at him as soon as he gets to my house.

My phone is blaring with messages and I run into my room slamming the door behind me.

My phone dings again, making me gasp.

I look at the screen and a message appears.

“I've got you where I want you slut!”

Who could be doing this, and why?

I clutch my necklace nervously trying to think but my mind goes to two people.

Aria and Freya.

They're the only ones interested in making my life hell. It must be them.

My ringtone blares through the phone and I pick up my phone slowly, answering the call.

“I hope this teaches you to never touch my man” comes Aria from the other end.

She hangs up before I can even speak.

“Hello?”

I tap the caller ID but I'm restricted from reaching her from the other end.

I bite my nail as my mind races on what to do.

What should I do? What should I do?

I can't let her have her way this time.

A thought comes to mind and I grab my phone immediately going to take screenshots of the group message and report her to the authorities.

But the group chat is gone.

Everything.

Like it never existed.

What?!

How?!

I search frantically through my chats to be sure I haven't skipped it somehow but I can't find anything.

I throw my phone on the floor in frustration and the screen goes flying out on impact.

I scream and kick the wall.

I'm so tired of everything.

I wipe the running tears off my cheeks with my sleeve trying to pull myself together but the tears won't stop gushing out and before I know it I'm on the floor wailing in frustration.

Why is this happening to me?

I don't deserve this!

At times like this I wish my dad was here.

He'd know what to do.

He always does.

My alarm clock blares furiously making me jump but the sharp pain on the left side of my neck makes me instantly regret it.

I slowly get up from the cold floor feeling dizzy with my head hurting.

I probably passed out without realizing.

“What time is it?”

My door swings open and I slowly turn towards it to find mom looking furious.

“What did you do?”

What?

I haven't felt this shitty and looked like it at the same time.

Mom and I sit right across the dean who clears his throat as he sits down behind his desk.

He takes off his concave glasses and runs his eyes before placing them on his table.

“Miss Carter, it has come to my notice that you have been involved in delinquent acts of assault towards a lecturer of this institution”

“What are you talking about sir?”

“Yes, what are you talking about?” Chips in my mom

“I'm talking about this” he says, bringing out a piece of paper from his drawer before handing it over to me but my mom grabs it, giving me a side eye before she reads what's on the paper herself.

She gasps clutching her Van Cleef dupe with eyes looking like they were going to pop right out of her head.

My head spins with anxiety that comes solely from not knowing what's in the paper.

She looks at the dean totally speechless and then looks back at me who in turns looks at her totally wide eyed with expectancy.

I take the paper out of her hand and read what's inside but my heart stops beating for a second once I read the first line.

It read;

Oh Caden from the moment I first laid eyes on you I knew I wanted to suck that big dick of yours.

You're everything a woman needs. I want to scream your name in the classrooms. We can do it in your office too, I don't mind.

I'll do anything to get you inside me, even if it's just once.

Please respond to this letter or I'll shoot myself.

                                    Your secret whore,Ivy.”

“I didn't write this! Why would I write this?!”

“Oh really then who did?” He asks

“Aria did!”

“Do you have anything to prove that?”

“Well no” I reply deflating until I remember what happened yesterday.

“Yesterday I was added to a group chat where I was harassed by fellow students, she even called me!”

“Right,” he says, “and can I see this group chat?” He asks.

I deflate again.

“I don't have a phone anymore” I mutter.

“What's that? Please speak up”

“I don't have a phone anymore, I kind of broke it yesterday so I can't show you anything but it doesn't even matter because she deleted the group chat” I ramble on.

He sighs deeply and I immediately know he doesn't believe me.

“So you have no evidence to either prove your innocence or who the culprit really is” he says putting on his glasses.

“No”

“And you don't feel any of these um feelings for him?” He asks with a straight face.

My mouth goes dry.

“Um”

“Well, do you?” Mom chips in, suddenly coming out of the shock.

“The thing is, well , yes”

He exhales.

“You'll definitely have to be punished for this, I'm sorry Ivy but this is a big offense” he says.

I slouch further as I ball my hands into fists.

“But because you've been a good student up until now, I'll let you go with two weeks worth of suspension”

“Suspension?” I ask “But it wasn't me!”

“Of course,” he says “ You may leave”

I stomp out of the office and into the hallway sniffling.

Eyes follow me till I'm out of the building. I hear Aria laugh behind me but I don't care.

I just want to go home.

The past two weeks flew by so fast. But it wasn't bad either.

I got a part time job as a waitress in a rodeo club. They made us wear short dresses as our uniforms but I didn't really care much.

Most of the men were gentlemen but the rest were utterly disgusting but one thing is for sure. They darn well knew how to tip.

So well that I got a new phone by the end of my first week of working there.

I haven't logged back into the school information group chat though, I'm not mentally ready to have to do anything with them.

I'm finally back in this dreaded building, I pay little to no attention to class.

I just want to go home.

I don't even know why I came back here.

By the time our lectures are over I'm the first one out the door.

I plug in my headphones and drown out the noise and stares I'm getting from everyone in the hallway.

Before I know it I'm out of the premises.

I check my watch and see that I have two hours before my shift.

“That's enough time to do homework”

I catch a movement at my side and I find some guy with a hoodie walking far behind me.

I shrug and continue walking down until I catch another figure and I turn to find four more guys wearing black hoodies as well.

Warning bells ring in my ear and I begin to walk faster but I can feel that they're catching up.

My walking turns into sprints as I run as fast as my legs can take me.

I run into the woods diverting them away from the path to my house as I jump over logs of wood and fallen branches.

I turn back for a brief second and see that they're close behind me.

I reach an old tunnel and run straight into it hoping to escape from them.

I hold my mouth scared they'd hear my breathing.

Suddenly something grabs my leg and pulls me with so much force I come flying out with nothing to hold on to.

“Got her boys!” calls out the one who has a hold of me.

He pulls her hoodie back revealing his face and sandy blonde hair.

“This should be fun” he smirks

I freeze as my heart beat increases.

“Let's see if this pussy of yours can actually do wonders”

“My turn next” one says

My eyes immediately gets dewy and my whole body starts to shake.

I close my eyes waiting for it to happen.

I hear the engine of a car speed towards us and then cracking bones followed by a loud scream.

My eyes jolt open and I find my assaulter on the floor bleeding from his nose.

The rest are nowhere to be found.

A black familiar looking car halts inches away from me and the mystery driver kills the engine.

I'm too shaken to fully grasp anything and my limbs feel too heavy to run.

Please don't hurt me!

The door opens and a man with a baseball cap comes out and picks me up before I can even say a word.

“Are you alright, did they hurt you?” Comes the most beautiful honey voice to ever fill my senses.

Caden.

I stare at him, suddenly forgetting how to speak.

He exhales

“You're going to be okay, I'll take you to safety”

He places me gently into the passenger seat and closes the door, he then gets on the driver's seat and drives off, navigating his way into the road.

“Is your house close by?” He asks.

My voice still hasn't found its way back to me and I can only point in the direction where my house is.

I continue to give him directions by pointing till we reach my house.

By the time we get to our driveway I notice that my legs are still shaking.

The door opens and he scoops me easily and goes over to our front door before setting me down gently.

“Can you make it inside?” He asks and I nod in response.

“Thank you” I manage to say

His eyes glints like they usually do but I can barely read into what it is.

“You don't have to thank me for doing my job”