I suck in a long breath. “Have you ever thought maybe I don’t want to be on those pedestals anymore?”

Naomi laughs. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“I’m not joking, and I don’t have to prove myself to you or to anyone else.” I put down my pizza. “I’m done being the old Reina. I won’t go out of my way to be someone I’m not.”

Silence falls over the table as if I’ve spoken holy words.

“So…what?” Naomi narrows her eyes. “You fell once and now you’re abdicating the throne?”

I smile. “I don’t remember having any throne to abdicate. I lost my memories.”

“But we didn’t. None of us did.” The maliciousness in Naomi’s voice takes me by surprise.

“Nao…” Lucy trails off.

“No.” She shakes her head. “Memories on or off, you’re still a selfish bitch, Reina.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” My tone hardens.

“You’re leaving it all to Bree knowing exactly the type of freak she is. All you care about is getting yourself out of the spotlight.”

“Why do you care? Don’t you hate me?”

“I do, but the other girls look up to you for some reason. The least you can do is protect them from Bree’s fat-shaming remarks and dictatorship. Did you know she makes the less pretty ones go on insane diets and do individual workouts until they almost pass out from hunger and exhaustion? Did you know she’s having them do the male cheerleaders’ work? Of course you don’t. As I said, you only care about yourself.”

“Is that true?” I ask the girls.

Lucy winces before she and a few other girls bow their heads with pained expressions.

Oh.

I bite my lower lip so hard I’m surprised blood doesn’t come out. So this is what the others have been going through while I was hiding in my room and skipping watching them at practice.

While I was too engrossed in myself, the girls have been at Bree’s mercy—or lack thereof.

Old Reina might not have done much for these girls before, but that will change now.

I won’t sit back and watch as they’re being mistreated.

Straightening my spine, I meet Naomi’s gaze. “I’ll step up under one condition.”

She gives me a quizzical glance but says nothing.

“You need to forgive me, Naomi.”

Soft gasps echo from the girls as they watch us closely.

Her lips purse. “Why is that important?”

“It is to me.” My voice softens. “Don’t you want to protect the girls?”

“Why would you think I want to do that?” She maintains her signature glare, but I know she cares deep down or she wouldn’t have asked me to help them.

“Come on,” Lucy pleads.

“I need allies,” I coax.

“You must be out of your mind if you think you’ll have that in me.” Naomi flicks her silky black hair back. “I’m your enemy, Reina.”

“Well, you know what they say about keeping your enemies closer than your friends.”

“You’ve become such a freaking weirdo.” She rises to her feet. “So, are we doing this or what?”

I smile as I stand up with both Lucy and Naomi on either side of me. The rest of the girls and some boys follow suit, one by one.

“Let’s go get my place back,” I say with all my confidence.

Naomi leans in to whisper, “I’ll gut you if you return to your old bitchy self.”

I smirk. “Is that a promise?”

She shakes her head. “That blunt-force trauma really did a number on you.”

We stride toward the main table. Everyone in the cafeteria watches us closely, seeming to hold their breath.

Silence fills the space as everyone at the main table stops talking all at once.

I stand there, carrying my plate, straightening my shoulders.

Prescott offers an awkward smile. “Hey, Captain.”

Bree reprimands him with a look and presses her lips into a thin line.

Owen jumps up from his seat and grins at us. “Long time no see, Rei-Rei. Are you here for that offer?”

“I’m here for my place.” I meet Bree’s stare head-on. She has enough decency to stop rubbing her hand along Asher’s arm, but she doesn’t let him go.

I refuse to look him in the eye even though I feel him boring holes in my face. One look, one freaking glance and all the courage I’ve summoned might evaporate.

“Oh, what to do?” Bree asks with a honeyed voice. “The table doesn’t fit everyone.”

I lean over, plant my hand in front of her, and mimic her fake smile. “Then I guess you have to make room for the captain.”

Everyone at the table—and the entire cafeteria—grows silent, seemingly entranced by the duel.

This will either bury her or bury me.

And I haven’t returned from the dead to be buried.

“It’s okay!” Lucy rushes in. “I’m sure we can attach an extra table.”

“Hear that, Bree?” I tell her. “Go fetch the table.”

She doesn’t move, her face growing red with exertion. “Reina, you—”

I slam my tray in front of hers, shutting her up. I lean forward and snarl, “Move.”

Her mouth falls open, but no words come out. Her ears heat, looking close to combustion. It’s Prescott who grabs her by the arm.

I remove her hand from Asher’s arm and plant my ass right beside him.

“Right, ladies.” Owen chuckles. “We’ll help with the table.”

A few other guys from the team laugh along with him and go to fetch one. Naomi smiles in my peripheral vision, and I can’t help but smile back.

No one will step on me.

So what if I was a terrible person in the past? I’m changing, and no one will make me feel bad about that.

A heavy arm slings over my shoulder. I breathe in his sandalwood and citrus scent as I focus on his touch surrounding me.

Asher’s hot breath tickles my ear. “What are you doing?”

I swallow, squashing the flutters in my chest and the tightening of my belly. The flaw in this plan? Having to be this close to Asher.

It’s becoming harder and harder to control my reaction around him. A part of me sees him as the one who breathes life into me, the one who saved me twice.

And it’s a wrong thought to have about someone who means me no good.

“It has nothing to do with you,” I murmur back.

Down, body. Stay the hell down.

His lips graze the shell of my ear. A whimper gets trapped in my throat as he bites down for a split second.

“Is that so?” The rumble of his voice awakens goosebumps on my skin.

How can he pack so much sexual energy in three mere words?

My body catches fire from his lips and voice on my ear. I squirm in my seat, fighting to not make a sound or lean into his touch.

“What if I want it to be about me?” His voice deepens with darkness so tangible I taste it on my tongue.

My head snaps in his direction. He watches me closely, but it’s not intimidation. It’s almost like…he’s seeing me in a different light.

A new light.

A brighter light.