Chapter 24
“Wow, Gavin, look at you, Josie said with a cold smile. Throwing money around like that, huh? Since you’re so loaded now, how about paying me back!”
Gavin wasn’t rich–just a jerk. Before everything had reset, Josie hadn’t known what he was really like. She thought he was honest and hardworking
So when Gavin kept asking to borrow money for books and school stuff, Josie never doubted him. She ended up lending him almost all her scholarship money and contest prizes. That was why she’d had barely anything left..
Back then, when Josie finally asked him to pay her back, he threw her out. He said he’d never borrowed a cent from her–and even laughed about it in front of everyone.
Josie had seen inside his private room that night–fancy liquor bottles on the table, girls in tight clothes lounging on the couch.
The place reeked of smoke and booze. Gavin had been wasted, one arm wrapped around a girl’s waist. He hadn’t looked like a hardworking student at all.
That was when Josie finally realized–Gavin had been hitting the clubs all along, blowing money like water and cycling through
irlfriends like socks.
Whenever he ran out of cash, he’d come to Josie. She w
She was basically his personal ATM–and he never planned on paying her back
Gavin froze when he saw Josie. Clearly, he hadn’t expected to run into her here. “Don’t cause a scene, he muttered. “Can’t you see shopping with my girlfriend? We’ll talk once we’re back at school.”
“Just send me the money and I’ll walk away. I won’t ruin your shopping trip,” Josie said calmly. She had no intention of letting him off easy. She came here to get her money back, and she wasn’t leaving empty–handed
Scarlett, the girl clinging to Gavin’s arm, didn’t look too happy. She glared at Josie and asked, “Who’s she? Why’s she saying you owe her money?”
Gavin quickly tried to smooth things over. “Her? That’s Josie. She’s a junior from our research team. She comes from a tough background, so we help her out now and then. You go ahead and keep shopping. I’ll talk to her for a second. Don’t worry”
But Scarlett didn’t move. Instead, she shoved Gavin’s hand off her waist and gave Josie a once–over. “So you’re the leech I’ve heard about, the one who sucks up to your teammates like a parasite.
“You’re not even cute. Maybe you are just really good in bed or something, right? Is that how you got them to help you?”
Allison stormed over and slapped Scarlett across the face, “Talk trash again, and I swear I’ll teach you a good lesson.”
Scarlett looked stunned, She clutched her cheek and turned to Gavin, furious. “Seriously? You’re just gonna stand there and let her hit
“I’m the leech, huh?” Josie laughed, pointing straight at Gavin. “You’ve got no idea what a real leech looks like, do you?
“If I were one,
again.”
I’d take every last cent you have without a second thought–just to make sure you’d never dare say something like that
She took a step closer. “I’ve still got all your messages on my phone–every single time you begged to borrow money. And I kept every transfer receipt.
“Do you want me to read them out loud? Or are you ju
just gonna transfer the 40 thousand dollars you owe the
Yeah, Gavin owed her 40 thousand dollars–two full semesters of scholarships, plus the 15 thousand dollars prize she won in last
semester’s competition.
Back when she was on David’s team, she only made 500 dollars a month as an assistant. She never spent her prize or scholarship money. She saved it all—and lent it to him.
But Gavin, that jerk, had blown all her money drinking and messing around with other girls. And he still had the nerve to talk trash about her. He was worse than an animal.
Gavin’s face went red, then pale. He shoved Scarlett aside. “What are you even saying? She’s just a junior. She’s smart and works hard— our professor even praises her. We all like her. How did you twist at into something so dirty?
11:19 AM P P.
Chapter 24
e with filthy minds see everything that way. I can’t believe you turned out like this, Scarlett. We’re done. Go”
“People
“You!” Scarlett stared at him, stunned. “But you used to-
“Get out,” Gavin snapped, pushing her toward the door. “Don’t make me hate.
Josie stepped in and grabbed his arm. ‘Gavin, you still owe me money.
“Yeah, pay Josie back first. I’ll handle this loudmouth,” Allison said, dragging Scarlett out.
Zoey and Adeline stepped up, blocking Gavin’s path.
“Gavin, Josie might be nice, but she’s not stupid,” Adeline said, arms crossed, glaring at him. You clearly have money. Are you trying to get away with not paying her?”
Zoey nodded. “You should give it back, Josie’s family isn’t well–off. You know, she used to have to rely on you guys. Once she money back, 1 believe she’ll never need to do that again”
gets that
Gavin’s face darkened. He turned to Josie. Tve always looked out for you. Why are you doing this to me in public? Can’t we talk private?”
He reached for her arm, thinking he could smooth things over if he just talked sweet enough. Josie had always been soft–hearted. She’d drop it if he coaxed her a little, and he’d slip by like before.
But this time, Gavin had misjudged her. Josie wasn’t giving him that chance.
“Let’s talk right here. Zoey and Adeline aren’t strangers. I had no reason to keep anything from them,” Josie said, pulling away from his hand.
Gavin took a deep breath, clearly annoyed. “Come on, Josie. Don’t be like this. It’s not that I don’t want to pay you back–I just don’t have the money right now.”
she
“You had money to buy clothes for your girlfriend but none to pay Josie back, huh? Who are you trying to fool?” Allison said as sh back, rolling her eyes.
Gavin looked both embarrassed and pissed. He glared at Josie. “When did you get like this? You’re not even showing me a little respect. Do you seriously have to humiliate me in front of everyone?”
“Respect doesn’t pay bills, Josie shot back. Tm not trying to start something. But what that girl said back there, huh? That was way out of line. I thought I’d been good to you. I didn’t expect you to talk behind my back like that.”
Her voice dropped a little, disappointment written all over her face. “If you look down on me that much, then we don’t need to be friends anymore. Either pay me back right now, or I’ll post proof of every transaction and message on the school forum.”
Gavin cared a lot about his image. No way could he let that kind of stuff blow up online, Josie was sure she’d get her money back–one way or another.
“Do you really have to push me this far?” Gavin snapped. “We’ve been on the same team for almost three years. Are you really throwing all that away?
Allison stepped in front of him. “Did you think about friendship when you trashed her behind her back? That girl didn’t pull those words out of thin air. You said them. And now you still expect Josie to care about being friends with you. You’ve got some nerve
Adeline pulled Allison bark. “Why waste your breath on a guy like him? Let him pay and get lost. Josie should just pretend she never knew him.”
“Josie,” Gavin said, staring at her in disbelief, bats clenched. He couldn’t believe she was letting her friends tear into him like this
She used to protect their reputations–she’d never embarrassed him like this before
Gavin looked over at Adeline and the others, then spotted Zoey. His eyes narrowed.
He remembered her–shr was
she was the one who confessed to Aiden and got humiliated in front of everyone. He didn’t expect someone her to stand up for Josie
