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Pushing myself up to sit, I take them from her and swallow them down with water.

“I guess it’ll work then,” I admit. “I’m not happy with how proud the guys were about manipulating me.”

“If they try anything, you cut their dicks off,” Liliana says. Rachelle looks resigned, shrugging as she decides she’s right.

“They’ve been warned to stay away from you often enough, but they obviously decided not to,” Rachelle says. “Alastair’s dad sits on the board. They have a monthly meeting Monday. You better bet your ass I’ll be there.”

Hmm. Well, whatever it is these guys are trying to do isn’t going to be easy for them.

Getting up, I yawn, ready to turn to go to sleep.

“While you plan all the ways you’re going to ruin his day, I’m going to go faceplant into bed,” I say.

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Rachelle says.

“Night, girls,” I tell the toddlers who are still playing.

It's obnoxiously early still, but I can’t hang. I’m dragging ass. They wave as they continue to play, making me grin.

I’m walking with Rachelle after saying goodnight to everyone else, when something occurs to me.

“Crap, this is going to affect my ability to work, isn’t it?” I ask.

“I was just thinking about that,” Rachelle admits. “From my understanding, you’ll only have to be at the hockey games and any functions for the hockey players as their designated mascot. You won’t have to speak, but your job will be more to be excited and cheer when they score. You’ll also be hyping up the crowd as well.”

“Do I have to attend the away games?” I ask, wrinkling my nose.

“No,” she says firmly. “I’m going to put my foot down on that. There’s no way they can force you to attend them. You technically don’t have to work, you know.”

“I know, but I like to have my own money,” I explain, trying to be as nice as possible.

“So, I’ll have the guys hire someone part time, and you can help with anything that’s not getting done one day a week,” she says. “You can pick whatever day it is, but it can’t affect your overall wellbeing. We won’t even schedule it.”

“Rachelle, isn’t that favoritism?” I ask. I’m still chewing over what the guys said about my attendance at the school.

“It’s our club and shop,” she says, shrugging. “We should be able to hire whoever we want to. Your life is difficult enough without having to worry about applying to jobs. The students at school are also very determined to make sure your last year is as unpleasant as possible. They’re going to find you’re stronger than they know. You’re definitely stronger than I was at your age.”

“Most of it is a front,” I confess, chewing on the inside of my lip nervously.

“You carry it off well,” she says gently. “I made you an appointment with the new therapist. She’s vetted and seems like she could be a good fit. However, if she’s not, then we’ll move on, okay? There’s no reason to stay with a therapist that you’re not getting along with.”

“Okay,” I say, my eyelids feeling really heavy.

“If you get hungry, there’s going to be leftovers in the fridge. Feel free to heat some up,” she says. “Theo mentioned we should put some blackout curtains in here, so he put them up.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised.

“It’s hard to sleep if it’s bright outside,” Rachelle replies. “This way, you can nap or lay in the darkness if you have a headache. I’m hoping the new every day and emergency meds help though.”

“So do I,” I sigh.

“Here it is,” she says, pushing open the door. “It has a bathroom attached, your clothes are all hung up, and your meds are in the cabinet.”

“The kids shouldn’t come in here, right?” I worry.

“They can’t climb that high yet,” she says, smiling. “Try to remember to put your meds up in the cabinet when you’re done, and it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Thank you,” I say, knowing I’ll be paranoid about returning them to their rightful place.