Chapter 76: Sadie: Spare Me The Pity

SADIE

"Please, spare me the pity game." My hands lower to my sides, tightening into fists. "I have compassion. Just not for liars and fake friends."

"I didn’t lie," she counters, tears already streaming down her face.

"Then how do you explain Paige and Dixie following you on Instagram the same day we agreed to collaborate with the hockey team? Or Paige posting about our delayed shirts before the game even started?" My voice rises. "And how do you explain walking out of your dorm perfectly fine on Saturday, without those bandages on your arm or legs? I have photos of everything, but maybe there’s an explanation I’m missing. So tell us."

"This is crazy," Priya whispers, looking between us.

Sophie says nothing. Her jaw tightens while I wait, wishing I’d actually taken photos on Saturday. That part is a bluff, but the messages on Lola’s phone are real, along with everything we found before going to her dorm. She has to know another lie will only give her more to explain.

Or maybe I’ve given her too much credit. ℴℴ𝘮

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." She looks straight at me.

For a second, I can only stare. "What?"

"I’d like to leave." She gets up considerably faster than she sat down. "I can’t sit here and let you all do this to me after I nearly died."

She starts limping toward the door, and watching her attempt it again sends anger burning through me.

Before she reaches it, I catch her supposedly injured arm and pull her back.

She screams, and Nia rushes toward us. "Sadie, stop!"

Marcus follows right behind her as Sophie tries to wrench her arm out of my grip.

"Let go!"

I catch the edge of the bandage and pull. She twists toward me, grabbing at my hands while I tear at the wrapping, but I keep hold of it even when Nia reaches between us.

Marcus moves in from the other side, and I manage to pull another length free before Sophie plants both hands against me and shoves.

"Let go of me, bitch!"

We stagger apart, with Nia and Marcus between us. My breathing is heavy, and part of the torn bandage is still clenched in my hand. More hangs from Sophie’s arm, while the rest lies on the floor. She glares at me, standing without any of the difficulty she had getting to her chair.

I point at her legs. "Those seem to work fine, too. Did you forget you’re supposed to limp when you’re fighting?"

She takes a step toward me without limping this time. Marcus looks down at her legs, his eyes widening, but others have already worked it out. Their faces have gone from worried to disappointed, and a few look almost as angry as I feel.

"You just harassed me in front of everyone." She jabs a finger at me. "What’s your excuse for that? Are you going to have this much to say when I report you, or do you only get to run your mouth in Quiz Bowl?"

"Sophie, shut up," Nia snaps.

"Respectfully, stay out of it." Sophie glares at her before facing me. "Who the hell gave you permission to touch me?"

I throw down the bandage still clenched in my fist. My hand is shaking when I let it go, and I don’t fully understand why. I’m not scared of her. I think it’s something closer to shock at myself, at how fast I went from asking questions to grabbing another person’s arm in front of everyone I’m supposed to lead.

I shake my head, less at Sophie than at the version of myself that just did that.

"Was it worth it, Sophie?" I gesture around the room. "These people were defending you five minutes ago, and you sold them out for an Instagram follow. Or was there more? Did Paige and Dixie promise you could join their little group? Follow them around, carry their books, and get into their parties? What did they offer you that made being a bitch to everyone here seem worth it?"

"Why do you even care?" She fires back. "What does it have to do with you?"

"I’m the president of this club!"

"President," she repeats with a laugh. "Then tell me what Quiz Bowl has ever done for me. I barely get picked for tournaments, so what am I gaining?"

I look at her, waiting for her to hear herself, but she goes on.

"At least I can get somewhere with Paige and Dixie. Everyone’s on social media now, and you’re sitting here trying to revive a dying club. You had to get the hockey team involved just to make people care. Doesn’t that tell you something?"

"Then why are you still here?" I demand. "If Paige and Dixie have so much to offer and this club is so beneath you, why not quit? Or did they ask you to stay and keep passing them information? Is that what you came back for?"

My voice is louder now, but nobody tries to stop me.

"And don’t pretend we kept you out of the tournaments. We all take the same weekly quizzes, Sophie. Representatives are chosen based on scores and contributions. If you performed well, why wouldn’t you be picked? Who here has ever stopped you from earning your place?"

"And who are you to judge how good I am?" she screams. "Why are you even the president?"

"Because—"

"You know, Paige told me a funny story about you, Prez." Her mouth curves, and I feel my stomach tighten. "You act all high and mighty here but you used to scrub floors and eat out of garbage cans at her house. You even used to sleep in the base—"

I swing before she finishes, catching her across the cheek hard enough to turn her face. The slap cracks through the room, followed by gasps, and my palm is still stinging when she slowly turns back.

Her hand comes up to her cheek. She gawks at me, her eyes red and wide.

"You hit me," she whispers.

"And what are you going to do? Run to Paige?" I move closer, making her step back. "You know, she loves telling everyone I worked in her house. A whole year of cleaning up after her family, and somehow she thinks I should spend the rest of my life being ashamed of it."

My hands are trembling, but I keep going.

"But did she tell you I used to steal books from her library, too? That I kept reading, no matter how many times I scrubbed her bathroom? Or did she leave out the part where I won the scholarship she and her parents wanted for her more than anything!"

I press my hand against my chest. "The Sovereign Council Scholarship, Sophie. They choose one recipient every five years, and they chose me. In the past two decades, I’m the only one who isn’t a Lycan, didn’t go to a prestigious high school, and is an orphan. Funny how that part never makes it into her story!" My eyes stay on hers. "Did she tell you that’s why she hates me so much?"

Sophie blinks and swallows, her glare starting to falter.

Everything about the scholarship is on the college’s website, but the families who compete for it hardly need to check. Among the elite, having a child win the Sovereign Council Scholarship is something to bring up for years afterward. With only one recipient every five years, there’s plenty of time to make sure everyone hears about it.

I didn’t even know it existed until I moved into the Kincaid estate. The three recipients before me were Lycans, including Paige’s older brother, and I heard enough about his win to understand how badly she and her parents wanted hers.

Losing to the girl who cleaned their house wasn’t part of the plan.

I still remember her shock when she saw me at the exam center. Maybe she thought I’d take the exam and return to her house, where she could crush me under her boots for even trying. But I never went back to the estate.

"Surprised?" I ask Sophie. "You only hear the parts they want you to hear. I bet you think you’ll fit in with them, but they’re probably laughing at you behind your back, too."

"You should listen to her," a masculine voice adds from the doorway and I pause.

The room falls into silence, my pulse picking up.

There’s no reason for Ezra to be here, so for a second, I let myself believe I’ve heard someone who sounds like him. Then I look, and there he is by the door.

How long has he been standing there? How much did he hear?

My hand closes into a fist as he approaches. I watch him cross the room, still trying to understand where he found the nerve to barge in and insert himself into my club’s business.

"Looks like I walked into a fight," he says, stopping in front of me. "I didn’t mean to interrupt, but she needed to hear that."

His agreement makes me feel worse. For one ridiculous second, I want to tell Sophie she’s done nothing wrong, just so he and I don’t have to be on the same side of anything.

"What are you doing here?" I snap. "This meeting is strictly for Quiz Bowl. You’re not a member."

"Let’s talk outside," he says calmly.

I turn away and face the room. Everything is irritating me now, and knowing he’s standing behind me makes me want to peel my skin off. But one thing at a time, Sadie. My temper can only accommodate one idiot at a time.

"Personally, I’d love to kick you out, Sophie," I admit. "But according to the rules, everyone will get a vote on whether you stay on the team, and we’ll let you know the decision afterward. If you’d rather leave on your own, you’re free to do that."

She says nothing, so I turn to others.

"And if anyone else thinks they might do what she did, you can leave, too. I’d like to believe we’re here because we love what we do and want this club to grow."

They nod, but there’s still more I need them to understand.

"We might not be the best team, but I love the time I spend with you guys. I look forward to coming here every Wednesday. This club is a family to me, which is why..." The words become harder to get out. I’m angry, but underneath that, it hurts to have to explain this to someone I thought was part of that family. "I’m too angry to say much more right now. Just think about whether you want Sophie to stay before we vote on Wednesday."

I reach for my bag. "I’ll talk to you guys later."

Ezra follows me toward the door. I’m aware of him behind me the whole way out, but I keep walking. Only when we’re outside the building does his hand close around my arm, pulling me to a stop.