Chapter 2 Sit Down

LIONA

The nurse didn’t even look surprised.

“Again?”

Heat flooded my face as she pressed an ice pack against my nose.

Again.

Like this was normal.

Like students regularly walked into walls hard enough to bleed.

“I’m fine,” I muttered thickly, even though my nose still throbbed painfully.

The nurse gave me a look that clearly said she didn’t believe me, but she sighed anyway and stepped back.

“Try not to aggravate it further.”

Easy for her to say.

I nodded, clutching the ice pack against my face before slipping out of the infirmary.

The hallways were quieter now, most students already heading toward lunch. My stomach twisted unpleasantly.

Cafeteria time.

Great.

I walked there alone like always.

Not that I had much of a choice.

Making friends at Stoneleigh was almost impossible. Everyone already seemed sorted into invisible social ranks before the semester even started.

Rich kids. Legacy students. Athletes. Future CEOs.

And then there were scholarship students.

The ones people tolerated at best.

Mocked at worst.

Me?

I’d somehow managed to land in the worst category possible.

Target.

The massive cafeteria buzzed with conversation the second I stepped inside. Chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, sunlight pouring through the tall gothic windows while students crowded around polished tables laughing loudly like they didn’t have a single problem in the world.

Meanwhile, I stood there holding my tray like an idiot.

Every table was full.

Not actually full.

Just socially full.

Nobody would tell me to leave.

But the looks would.

My grip tightened slightly around the tray as I scanned the room for somewhere—anywhere—to sit.

Then I noticed him.

Ryder Russo.

He sat alone at the farthest corner of the cafeteria near the windows.

My spot.

Or at least the spot I’d been quietly claiming for the past two weeks because nobody else wanted it.

Oddly enough, nobody wanted the seats around him either.

Not a single student sat within several feet of his table.

It made no sense.

He didn’t look dangerous sitting there lazily in his uniform with one arm draped over the chair beside him.

Just unfairly handsome.

Broad shoulders.

Messy dark hair.

Strange bright-blue eyes.

He was definitely better looking than Damian Cross.

Not that I wanted to think that.

A quiet laugh suddenly erupted from a nearby table and my shoulders tensed instinctively.

I looked around again.

Still nowhere to sit.

My stomach sank.

God.

Fine.

Maybe if I sat far enough away from him, he wouldn’t care.

Balancing my tray carefully, I forced my legs to move.

The closer I got to Ryder’s table, the quieter the cafeteria seemed to become.

I could actually feel people staring.

Whispers spread softly across the room.

Oh God.

Why were they looking at me like that?

I reached the table and awkwardly slid into the seat at the far end, keeping as much distance between us as possible.

Ryder looked up slowly.

Those icy blue eyes landed on me instantly.

I froze.

Up close, he somehow looked even taller.

Sharper.

Like there was something cold underneath all that beauty.

His food sat untouched in front of him.

One elegant dark brow lifted slightly.

“I…” My voice caught embarrassingly fast. “I had nowhere else to sit.”

Smooth, Liona.

“I can leave,” I added quickly, already grabbing my tray.

Before I could stand, his deep voice cut through the air.

“Sit down.”

The command in it hit me like a physical thing.

I looked up in surprise.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Not quite a smile.

Definitely not friendly.

More like amusement.

“Eat,” he said lazily.

Around us, the cafeteria had gone almost unnaturally quiet.

I stared down at my food, suddenly very aware of every single movement I made.

The cafeteria slowly started buzzing again, conversations rising cautiously back to life, but I could still feel people watching us.

Watching me.

My nose throbbed every time I moved my face even slightly, sharp pulses of pain shooting through my head.

I pushed a fry around my tray halfheartedly before taking a bite I could barely taste.

Was this scholarship even worth it?

For one reckless second, I imagined packing my bags and leaving.

No more Stoneleigh.

No more Damian Cross.

No more humiliation.

But home was worse.

At least here, I had a chance at a future.

Back home, all I had were half siblings who hated me and a father who barely tolerated my existence.

No.

I couldn’t lose this opportunity.

Even if Stoneleigh was slowly destroying me.

I swallowed painfully and reached for my drink, only to pause.

I could still feel him looking at me.

Ryder Russo’s presence was impossible to ignore. It filled the entire table somehow.

The cedarwood-and-vanilla scent clinging to him wrapped around me every time I breathed in.

Clean.

Expensive.

Distracting.

Definitely rich-people cologne.

Trying not to look awkward, I glanced up.

Only to realize he wasn’t looking at me anymore.

He was staring behind me.

Completely still.

My stomach tightened slightly.

I frowned and glanced over my shoulder.

Nothing.

Just students talking and eating.

Nobody behind me looked remotely interesting.

Slowly, I turned back around.

Ryder was still staring past me.

Unblinking.

The expression on his face had changed too.

The lazy amusement was gone.

Now he looked… focused.

Intense.

Like he was tracking something.

A cold prickling sensation crawled across the back of my neck.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

Maybe he regretted letting me sit here.

Maybe he was silently waiting for me to leave.

Honestly, I should probably go before Damian saw this and decided to make my life even more miserable.

But before I could open my mouth, Ryder suddenly spoke.

“Do you always let them do that to you?”

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

I blinked at him.

“What?”

“The bruises,” he said lazily. “The bleeding and crying.”

Heat flooded my face instantly.

“I wasn’t crying.”

One dark brow lifted slightly.

Liar.

I looked down at my tray, mortified.

“You should hit Cross back next time.”

I nearly choked on my drink.

“Are you insane?”

A quiet smirk tugged at his mouth again.

For the first time since sitting down, he actually looked entertained.

And somehow that felt even more dangerous.