Alexander
I rub a hand across the back of my neck as I walk slowly up the path toward the boy’s dormitories, which are separate from the main building.
The idea is foreign and yet I can’t deny that the hatred I’d felt toward her has been slowly morphing and changing.
Over the years, it turned into something sinister. I wince as I remember when I took things too far in tenth grade and stabbed her in the leg.
My anger over my mother’s death and the way my father beat her was taken out on her, because she was the only outlet I had.
The Gurin Bratva was in my eyes the reason I was here, but it turns out I was very wrong.
Now, I don’t know how I feel about any of it.
Guilty, perhaps. As even if the Gurin Bratva had been the reason for my mother’s death, Natalya has always been an innocent in all of it.
And my attraction to her has been apparent for a number of years. At first it disgusted me, but now I’m starting to realize that perhaps both Rizzo and Eva are right.
I want Natalya in the most primal way and that is dangerous. Feelings can’t come into this. Not if I’m going to break her the way I always wanted to, but suddenly the prospect is less desirable than it’s ever been.
“Alexander!” Nik calls my name, jogging toward me. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
I shrug. “Sorry, had some business to deal with.”
He shakes his head. “Rosa just broke up with me.”
I raise a brow. “She broke up with you?” I ask, finding it hard to believe.
Rosa doesn’t have a backbone, so it is hard to imagine her standing up to Nik.
He nods. “Yeah, we weren’t having a fight or anything. She just turned around and told me it’s over.”
“About time,” I say.
His brow furrows. “What?”
“You’ve always been a fucking asshole to her, Nik. What did you expect?”
His jaw clenches and he looks like he wants to tear my head off. “I expect her to do as she’s told and shut the fuck up.”
I laugh. “Russians. You guys just don’t know how to treat a woman.”
“And you do?” Nik asks, looking skeptical.
“If I want a girl, I know how to treat her, yeah.” It’s a lie, because it’s becoming clear to me that despite my denial, I want Natalya. And I definitely haven’t treated her right.
“Whatever. You coming to dinner?”
I glance at the dorm building and then back toward the academy. Today, I kept my distance from Natalya.
Although I saw the way her shoulders dipped out of the corner of my eye when I walked past her without a glance in the corridor.
Does she want me to talk to her?
“Sure, I guess,” I say, even though I’m not hungry.
Nik walks by my side up to the main building and then into the cafeteria, which is still packed.
I swallow hard as my eyes are drawn like a fucking magnet to Natalya’s table. Where she is still sitting with Azira and Adrianna.
Tearing my eyes away from her, I grab a tray and get my food and then sit down at our usual table with my back facing her.
How the fuck am I going to deal with my little pet now that things have got so much more complicated?
“Can you believe Eva?” Jeanie asks, shaking her head. “That bitch is so fucking lucky.”
I raise a brow. “Lucky to be getting an old man’s cock?” I ask.
Nik and Aleks laugh at that.
Jeanie glares at me. “Older men always do it better, because they have experience and know what they’re doing.”
I shake my head. “I’ll show you experience,” I say, joking.
Jeanie’s cheeks flush. “Don’t be an asshole, Alexander.”
“Experience doesn’t only come from age,” Rizzo says, his eyes moving to Rosa, who is sitting opposite in silence.
She doesn’t look at Nik, who hasn’t stopped looking at her since he sat down.
Nik clears his throat. “Why the fuck are you sitting at this table, Rosa?”
She looks up suddenly, eyes wide. “I always sit here.”
“Yeah, because you were my girl, but you’re not anymore.” His jaw clenches, blue eyes burning with rage. “So fuck off.”
Anita and Kerry look like they want to say something, but if there is one thing I’ve learned about those two girls over the years, it’s that they are fucking spineless.
Rosa gives Jeanie one pleading look, but she just flicks her hair over her shoulder dismissively. And then the girl stands, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
I clench my jaw, since it’s not my place to step in.
Rizzo has his fists clenched on the table, eyes fixed on her, as she walks away. Once she’s out of earshot, he turns to Nik. “What the fuck was that all about?”
“Rosa broke things off with me.” He shrugs. “She can’t expect me to sit and eat with her after that. Disrespectful bitch.”
Rizzo grabs his collar, eyes narrowing. “Listen to me, you Russian piece of shit. You are the one with no respect. And what about the countless times you’ve dumped her since I’ve been at this fucking school?”
Nik yanks his hands off of him. “Cool it, man.” He shakes his head. “I just can’t be around her right now, alright?”
Rizzo seems to catch himself and nods, but I can see in his eyes he’s reeling.
I fear that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Rizzo’s defense of Rosa. He always has a look in his eye whenever he sees her.
The last thing we need is a love triangle in our group, especially as Nik isn’t exactly the forgiving type.