The Class Reject: A Martyr in Maelstrom (Book III)

51 | The Beverly Thrills Hotel Pt.1

Miren didn't sleep much that night. Okay, she didn't sleep at all.

Instead, she thought about asking Ms. Cowdry for advice. Forget Jemma - something told her that she wouldn't entirely have Jemma's sympathy, that she'd offer a snarky, "Told you so." Then again, something also told her that Cowdry wouldn't be much better.

So when she got a random text twelve minutes before midnight (from Penelope of all people) she knew the world had officially gone to hell.

Pen-hell-ope: Why did you admit to everything? Were you trying to protect Artemis? Why?

Fuck you, thats why.

Allies had turned to adversaries. Adversaries had turned into reasonable human beings. But to say that Miren was done with this constant shitstorm that was her life would have been a severe understatement. She couldn't imagine a world where she would ever have peace, and she knew the reveal on Monday would be an atomic bomb.

Which is why she had to confront her feelings. Now. So she knocked on his door, pushing away all reservations from the previous few hours.

"Miren?"  Parker said perhaps too loudly. She put a finger to her lips, although part of her felt silly for doing so. They were thousands of miles away from Gloveria. And she was a thousand miles away from giving a fuck about anything anymore.

"Please let me in." When Parker hesitated, she moved past him, entering the hotel room.

"How did you know I was staying here? And aren't you leaving LA tomorrow?"

"The Radisson is the closest hotel to USC," she informed him, sizing up the small, but swanky space. Why she hadn't opted to come here earlier was an insult to her intelligence. "And we don't leave until late afternoon. Probably because half the students are drunk." She rolled her eyes. "Mr. Gales is a shitty supervisor."

"That may be, but that doesn't explain why you're here. At midnight." Parker folded his arms. "I don't want you getting in trouble because of me."

She smirked almost bitterly at him. "Don't flatter yourself. I just came here to shower. Naturally, communal living is incompatible with my circumstance."

"Something's wrong, I can tell," Parker pushed. "You don't have to give me any details, but is it bad? Are you in danger?"

"No." She shook her head. "And even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. Now I'm going to shower. Then I'm leaving. Okay?"

"Okay," Parker replied reluctantly. "But you should know that--"

It was too late; she had already sealed herself inside the bathroom, which was just as fancy as the rest of the room. She quickly stripped out of her female attire and hopped into the shower, practically moaning in relief when the pulses of hot water hit her body.

The shower was rejuvenating; she only wished it had the power to improve her clarity. One could easily say that she was in a love triangle, but she didn't know how much her heart was in it. Just because Parker (finally) woke up didn't mean she should jump into his arms. And just because Jeno liked Olive enough to dream about her, that didn't mean his feelings were real. 

Right?

She hissed as she pressed her hands against the marble tile, as if stabling her body would stable her thoughts. She took a deep breath, fighting the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. But she didn't know why she resisted; this was the perfect place for crying. Choking on a sob, she felt the shower water blend with her tears. Nevertheless, she didn't entirely know why she was crying. Or who she was crying for.