All About Me (3 page)

“
What is wrong with you, Oliver? You told me that you called off that bet. Why are you behaving like a total arsehole?
”

“
It
’
s complicated. Just tell me, how is she? She hasn
’
t left Braxton or anything like that?
”
I ask, clutching my fingers, because I
’
m scared, fucking terrified that she
’
ll be gone before I have a chance to tell her how I feel.

Jacob exhales, twisting his lips and tensing his jaw. He probably wants to punch me again; I bet that Dora told him to do it.

“
I
’
m your friend, Oliver, but I promised Dora that I
’
d keep you away from India and, trust me, I don
’
t want to hit you again, but I
’
ll do it if you force me to.
”

“
We both know that if I want to talk to her, no one will stop me,
”
I reply, shrugging. Thomas is starting the class, so Jacob doesn
’
t have a chance to tell me how he is planning to keep me away. We met in Braxton and we always got on all right. I don
’
t want to screw up our friendship.

The lecture is boring and I can
’
t concentrate, so I leave five minutes before the bell rings, hoping to catch India after her criminal law class. Jacob confirmed that she hasn
’
t left, so maybe there is a slim chance I can convince her to give me five minutes alone. I don
’
t know if Jacob will anticipate my next move, so I
’
m a little surprised when he strolls a few minutes later from around the corner
—
Jacob is in love and he will do anything to keep Dora happy.

I make a split-second decision and disappear before people start appearing in the corridor. When I walk through the right wing to get to my next class, I hear people whispering about the video, talking about me. Normally I
’
m used to stares and attention, but today I feel like I
’
m walking on a thin line. Jacob follows me everywhere, which means that India is on campus. She is carrying on with her life as she is supposed to. There is a plan forming in my head and during lunchtime I manage to pull a few guys to one side and give them a few quid in exchange for a small favour. Then I head to another class and leave earlier than everyone else.

I know India
’
s schedule: she normally eats lunch at one o
’
clock in the afternoon when there are fewer people in the canteen. After all, she doesn
’
t like the attention. I wait a little while, then make Jacob follow me back there. He is protecting what
’
s mine, but this isn
’
t how it supposed to be. I
’
m her past, present and future. I lose Jacob for a bit and wait for India to sit down with her lunch. If I get lucky enough, I might be able to pull her away from the canteen and just have my big speech away from other people.

Fifteen minutes later, I hurry back. Unfortunately, Jacob is already waiting for me there, so I give a nod to a few of the guys that I tipped off earlier so I could keep him away from me. My heart skips a beat, knowing that my words have to come from the depth of my soul, the better part of me. People are staring; a few more eyes than I expect are glancing in my direction.

“
Oliver, you knew you would have to go through me first, before I let you go there,
”
Jacob says, folding his arms together and walking in front of me. I nod towards Aaron and his team again to take care of the problem. Before Jacob realises what is going on, three guys are on him, holding him in place.

“
Fucking pricks, let go of me
…”

I wipe the sudden surge of sweat off my forehead and walk into the canteen. Jacob
’
s scream fades when I spot India sitting a few tables away from the entrance with that idiot Evans, who has his eyes on her. There are way too many people in the room and as soon as I start walking, I feel as if everyone has stopped breathing all of a sudden. The tension rises; it
’
s like I can see it popping up everywhere.

It was a mistake India, a fucking
…
no, I
’
m not supposed to swear. As soon as I approach her table, she spots me. Evans gets up as soon as he notices me, but I shoot him my challenging look to put him into his place.

“
Hey, India, can I please talk to you?
”
I ask, but my voice sounds pathetic, weak. Dozens of people stop eating their food and stare straight at me, penetrating our private world with their nosy looks.
When India
’
s beautiful blue eyes fix on me, my insides clench.
The warmth and love that is normally in her eyes has disappeared. Now there is just pure hatred that burns me right down to the ground. Her body tenses and the muscles on her arms and chest contract. My heart has never thumped so wildly in my chest like it
’
s doing right now, and I want to take my cruelty back, seeing how much damage it has caused.
I
’
ve been so blind and so stupid but now I understand that maybe this is not going to be easy at all.

She gets up abruptly, her face white and tense. The silence all around us is so apparent that I think something is going to explode, ripping my heart out of my chest. For a few seconds she measures me, staring deep down into my soul, maybe convincing herself that she should listen
to what I have to say
. Then she slaps me hard and fast before I have a chance to react. Waves of snickers start exploding all over the canteen. My cheek burns, but I barely blink, forming the right words in my head.

“
Stay away from me, Morgan. I don
’
t want to waste my breath on you,
”
she snarls, poking me with her long finger.
 

“
Hey, Morgan, well done, mate! I wasn
’
t expecting you to win this bet after all, but, hey, the money is all yours. Five hundred quid for making her hate your guts!
”

The colour drains from my face and blood starts pounding in my ears when I see Sam next to me holding a white, thick envelope. India takes a step back, widening her eyes at me. I want to kill this motherfucker right here and now. The horror painted on India
’
s face is my nightmare. The hollow feeling in her eyes is making me nauseous. I stare at her, feeling as if the room is closing in on me. My emotional confession hasn
’
t worked out the way I thought it would.

“
I thought I could trust you, but in the end you
’
re just a twisted son of a bitch like your brother, who doesn
’
t care about anyone else
’
s feelings,
”
she snaps, shaking her head like she doesn
’
t believe in any of that. Her voice breaks.
“
From now on, you
’
re dead to me.
”

“
India, this isn
’
t like that. I told them
—”

I don
’
t get the chance to explain myself because there is movement in the back of the canteen. Then Jacob barges through, breathing hard. His brown eyes sweep the scene and then he spots me. I take a step towards India, but then Evans moves in front of her.

“
That was a nasty move, man. Just leave before you do any more damage,
”
Jacob says.
 
He has a red mark under his eye. Aaron and the rest of the guys barge in after him, but they just stand in the entrance staring at me, slightly baffled. I swear under my breath, ready to smash my fists into Evans
’
s face because he is holding my India.

“
India, listen to me! This isn
’
t what it looks like. I can explain!
”
I yell, but she doesn
’
t even look at me anymore. Jacob pushes me away from her while Sam follows after us. India vanishes shortly after that, holding Evans
’
s
hand, hurrying away to the other entrance. Jacob sends an unexpected punch to my gut, and for a split second I can
’
t catch my breath. Then I lose it and come back to him, slamming my fists into his face. Frustration boils in my mind, inflaming my anger, but a few seconds later someone pulls me away from him. Raw, instinctive emotions are overwhelm me. I can
’
t keep losing my temper like that. I need to wind down and stop behaving like some wild teenager.

“
Calm down, Olie. She
’
s gone; it
’
s over,
”
says a voice that I recognise as Aaron
’
s.

“
Fuck, I
’
m all right; just let go of me,
”
I snap, breathing hard.

Jacob glares at me, massaging his cheek.

“
I don
’
t want your cash, Sam. We discussed this before and I told you that I
’
d changed my mind, but you still showed up! James has pulled the video down, and I suggest anyone who already watched it forget about it. Pronto!
”
I shout, glancing around at everyone in the canteen, clenching my fists so hard
my fingers are numb.
 

“
I know that you told me to leave it, but look what this whole thing got you. You
’
re five hundred quid richer, Olie,
”
Sam says with his arrogant smirk.
“
How about another bet? I
’
ll double your money if you make her go out with you again?
”

Sam obviously has no idea what I
’
m talking about. I know that he is winding me up, but he just crossed the line. I throw myself at him with the pure desire of hurting him as deeply as I can. At the same time, Jacob lets go of me, screaming at me to calm down. My mind stops registering what
’
s going on.
Next thing I know, some catering stuff runs towards us and we
’
re separated. I fall back into despair knowing that India hates me so much that she
’
ll never forgive me.