INTRODUCING THE COLLECTION
The new official couple is all over the news at Apollon Academy—the famous top-tier polo athlete holding hands with, and being more intimate than ever with, the top A-plus-plus student. Tytas Oskar snatched the championship for the Apollon polo team and snatched the ice-loner princess Letizia Serafinne's heart, holding both in his hands. Does that mean he is a prince of our academy?
"Geez—" I read the school newspaper. The headline is about Tytas winning the championship, and the second big, bold line is about me. There's a picture of the polo team members and Tytas holding the trophy, and a smaller picture of Tytas and me smiling before the game started.
That is how I smile? I look at my own face.
"Did you hear the news!?" Irin shouts as she rushes toward my table. I pop my eyes over the newspaper to look at her. "No—not this one," she says, folding the paper for me. She leans toward me and looks very serious. "About Vik—" she pauses.
I look at her intense expression, which makes me a bit nervous about what she is going to say, since yesterday ended abruptly—as usual—but yesterday was different.
"He's in the hospital, and he had a car accident last night," she says.
My eyes widen, and I almost gasp. "How bad?" I ask.
"I heard that he's still unconscious," she whispers.
I bite my bottom lip, and I hear footsteps entering the room. Felicia, with her blonde hair and puffy eyes, glares at me and walks past without saying anything before taking her seat. Irin looks at her and then shifts her eyes toward me.
"She must have been crying her eyes out," Irin whispers.
The nerves in my brain start to trigger my thoughts and provoke my curiosity—they must have fought after I left. I couldn't imagine what happened, but I could predict it bit by bit. I know nothing, and presuming things isn't the best idea.
"Tytas didn't say anything?"
I slowly shake my head. "Did you—say last night?" I ask.
"Yep. People said he went to the party—probably drank too much—"
"He was upset," I interrupt.
"Hm? Upset about what?" She asks.
I hold my tongue while having a war inside my head. I should tell her or maybe I shouldn't.
"Zia—" She glares at me. "You've kept a lot of secrets from me these days." She pouts her lips. "Am I not your best friend anymore?" she asks.
I keep quiet.
"Right, right—you don't trust me. After all those years I've been by your side, I couldn't be—"
"Okay—but not right here," I say.
Irin smirks at me, but after seeing my reaction, her smirk fades.
I think she senses something from my energy. Even though I'm good at staying calm and suppressing everything inside my stomach, she always knows when something is wrong.
"Tonight—at my house?" She suggests.
I nod.
The leather seat in Tytas's car is pretty comfortable for me now. He drives me to the hospital, insisting on escorting me to give me courage and support. I've been holding in my thoughts about last night—the night he came to me when Vik had a car accident. And he has kept his mouth shut as well.
"You will do great, Zia," Tytas says as he drives me to the hospital.
"Thank you for driving me," I say, holding my bag. He takes my hand, and I turn to him, wondering.
"This Friday night—will you have dinner with me—with my family?" He asks.
My eyes widen, and nothing comes out of my mouth. "At my house. My mum wants to invite you—my dad as well."
While he's asking and rubbing my hand, I'm still shocked. Not because it's the first time he has asked, but because it will be the first time I have to say yes, and they will acknowledge that we are together—together.
"Your dad?" I ask in surprise.
"He asked for you himself, and I also—really want you to join us. It would be wonderful to have you there—again," he says.
And how can I deny that? Shit.
"We'll make sure you have a lovely time. I promise." He raises my hand and kisses it.
"Formal?" I ask lightly.
He smiles so brightly. "Whatever you want." He leans closer beside my face. "It's a bit formal because you're the guest—but I want you to wear whatever you want," he says softly, holding my face, kissing me slowly on the cheek, and giving me a look.
"Is that a yes?"
I nod.
The line of his smile curls upward, and he kisses me on the lips, softly this time, before slowly pulling back. "I'll pick you up around seven thirty," he whispers. He is about to kiss me again, but I pull back before his tongue comes out.
I smile. "Thank you for the ride, Tytas," I say and leave the car with him.
The Apollon Hospital, the only hospital the town of Apollon has had since nineteen-something, is one of those pieces of history I'm not interested in reading about. It's big and grand, has almost everything you could need, and is the only place where the workers aren't locals—perhaps only two or three are. The doctors and nurses are outsiders, or high-ranking names on the lists—the professionals in each medical field. In my opinion, they were chosen to transfer here and accepted the offer to work in this small, privileged town because of the big bag of money. There aren't many locals or people in Apollon, so what could be better than this?
However, working with them, or at least under their names or authority, could support my portfolio even more, especially if I get a recommendation letter written by one of them.
One of the receptionists takes me on a tour of the front building and the main building—only some floors, only the sections that need to be introduced or that I'm at least allowed to see. While I look at the clean surroundings and modest decorations, which contrast with our town's style, she interviews me and asks random, general questions, such as what I'm interested in, my plans after graduation, and why I chose to volunteer in this field. Surprisingly, she doesn't ask me about my family. Before the tour-slash-interview ends, she offers me a position in another building—the patient building.
And, of course, I accept the offer with a smile on my face and screams inside my chest.
Usually, movie night switches between Irin's house and mine each weekend, but tonight is an urgent night—and not because she got a high-quality new-release movie before anyone else did. Irin's room is pretty big, even though she has her stuff all over the place. Irin turns the lights down, and then the light from her big-ass TV brightens our faces. It feels like I'm in the spotlight in an interrogation room. The sound of the drums at the beginning of the movie rises loudly and clearly, beating along with my chest. I sit with my back leaning against her comfy, puffy, big-ass cushion, like a giant nest for fragile baby-bird eggs, and I am one of the eggs about to crack under her intense aura.
"I'd rather you shoot me the questions—" I say.
She glares at me and then softens her eyes. She sighs tiredly through her mouth and nose, but her eyes remain soft. "Why did you say—Vik was upset?" she asks.
"Because—" I pause—the long fucking pause. I have to start from the beginning of the story. "You need to promise that you'll be patient while I'm telling you," I say as I look into her eyes.
"Yes," she says, and I look at her more deeply. "I'll try," she assures me.
I breathe in and then breathe out lightly but slowly. "I was the one who broke his hand—" I say, and her eyes widen. "That night, while I was running, Vik kidnapped me—" Her eyes are about to pop out even more. "He tried to rape me in his car."
"WHAT!!!!" She shouts at the highest pitch her throat can produce.
"But I was fine—he didn't—" I say.
"Didn't what!!!?" She shouts. I put my index finger over my lips because we're not the only ones in the house. "He didn't—you mean you didn't have sex with him?" She asks.
"No, we didn't. I was—" I hold my tongue as I think of the helmeted man. "I hit him with the mallet on his hand and face."
Irin's jaw drops and hangs there as she looks at me.
"And on the day of the big game, he was about—to go down on me and confessed his feelings," I say, and Irin's jaw drops even lower. "Felicia came, Tytas came, and everything got tangled, so I left."
"Ha—" She sounds like her brain is processing faster than her reaction—her jaw is still hanging open. I touch her jaw, and then she closes her mouth. "That's why you think he was upset..." she says, her voice fading. "He went to the party—drunk—and got into an accident?" She tries to process and predict what happened. "You went to the hospital today. Did you see him?" she asks.
I shake my head. "No," I say.
Then her eyes go big again. "WHAT THE FUCK! That bastard tried to rape you! THAT MOTHERFUCKER! Karma is a bitch, right!? It came for him fast! Hmph!" She can't stay still as she hits the pillows beside her after her thoughts finish processing. "Wait—did Tytas know?" She lowers her voice. "Does anyone else know?" she asks softly.
"After that—I told Tytas." I look at her. "I didn't tell my father or—anyone else," I say.
Her sweet sight drops, and then she hugs me. "Fuck," she says and hugs me tighter. "I'm sorry—I really am sorry," she says.
I hug her back.
She sighs and pulls her body away. "Tytas knows—then what happened next?" She asks lightly. "You and him seem even—closer from my perspective—from an outside perspective." She leans back against the soft cushion and shifts her eyes toward the movie we haven't paid any attention to.
"Speaking of the accident, no one saw it..." she says, wrapping her arms around my left arm. "And we heard the news two days later—the party was on Saturday night." She glances at me.
I listen to her quietly, following her hypothesis, and to be honest, there's a chance—the slightest chance—that it wasn't a typical car accident and that someone was behind it.
And only one person appears in my mind. He has been helping me—a lot—from behind his mask.
"How did you make up with him?" She asks. I look at her. "Tytas," she says, her eyes inspecting me.
"After dinner at your house—he came to mine," I say. She keeps her eyes on me, blinks slowly, and then turns toward the TV. "He wanted to make things right—I guess. I don't know. He apologized and wanted to be—"
"With you," she continues, shifting back into a proper position. "Hey, can I ask you something... Do you like him?" she asks, and then I nod. "Don't get me wrong, Zia, when I see you with him, you seem to like him, yes—but not as much as he likes you."
"What are you trying to say?" I ask softly.
She lightly shakes her head. "I'm concerned—worried. I love you, Zia. I want you to be happy and feel—happy. I can see—people can see—that he treats you very well, right?"
I nod. "He treats me like a princess—even when we're alone," I say, clearing her thoughts.
She smiles. "He's fallen for you so badly, hehe, which is good. I see a side of you I haven't seen before—lighter. If you're happy, then I'm glad."
"Speak," I say.
She swallows. "Someone who is into you that badly can turn into something—bad," she says. "Like Vik—he did something terrible and unforgivable."
Like the biker guy who follows me everywhere, creeping in the dark and watching me. But I'm not sure whether he's into me or obsessed with me anymore after that night. I haven't seen him since then.
"All I'm trying to say is, be careful, because I can't order you to break up with him when you haven't faced anything like that—yet. And he treats you so well, and you're happy—and I've also rooted for him from the beginning," she says, shifting her eyes to the side and then back to me. She holds both of my hands. "He's your first boyfriend ever, so I'm worried and excited for you at the same time. And I bet no one can serve—and provide for you like him. He can do anything—really, anything," she says and gives me a look.
I nod. I know what she is trying to say.
"So—he went down on you, huh?" She says. "Felicia must be wriggling and losing her shit, haha—hahaha." She laughs like a villain while watching the movie. "What is this movie even about?" she asks.
"I have no idea," I say.