AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 10
Quinn DeMarques is staring at me as he packs his things. The look in his eyes makes my skin prickle in a bad way, like he’s going to do something stupid. I don’t look at him. Carter continues drawing, glancing up at me every few seconds.
When Quinn walks by, he stops at my feet and bends over, as if he’s tying his shoe. “Nice view.”
I don’t move, but I can’t let him think he affects me. “Fuck you.”
“Any time, babe.”
I glance at him. “What, do you need hand gestures? Fuck off, Quinn. Move along.” My words are sharp and strong, but he doesn’t stop smiling.
“I get it tramp. You think you’re too good for me? You think you’re better than everyone else?” He tips his head to the side and smiles, exposing his teeth. His eye teeth look as if they’ve been filed into fangs.
Have I said artists are weird? It’s a love it/ hate it thing. You have people like Emily who have their own minds with strong opinions of life and the world around them. Awesome. Then you have people like the jackass in front of me who smoked one too many in high school, got dubbed an art genius while tripping out, and then ended up here. He doesn’t belong here and ten bucks says he thinks vampires are real. He’s a creeper, one hundred percent.
After whipping his fangs out, he slowly stands and smears a line of chalk on his painting. It happens to be the line under my poorly drawn breast. He touches his tongue to his top lip and winks at me.
That’s when I hear Emily’s voice bellowing
down the hallway. “This is bullshit! You can’t make me!”
“It’s your choice.”
“That’s not a fucking choice! And you left her in there with those assholes! You see how they’re looking at her! This is bullshit!” I hear her boots stomp down the hall and disappear into the stairwell. Damn. She’s not drawing me on principle. She thinks the guys aren’t mature enough to handle this, or maybe that I can’t handle it.
The thought would have grated before Quinn’s demonstration, but not now. Regardless, I’m not going to let some asshole control my life. This modeling gig solves a few problems for me. For one, I’ll have money—which I need thanks to El Buso and my rabid raccoon. Secondly, I’ve never felt so feminine, or so alive. I like modeling.
My mother would have a stroke. That is the unit of measurement for all Kerry currency. So maybe what I do isn’t Mom’s fault, but she hit midlife crisis and has been hugging that sucker for nearly a decade. I’m sick of seeing her wearing my clothes and talking the way I do. She copies my gestures and tries to be me. It’s enough to drive me crazy. Add in stealing Matt and she pushed me over the crazy line.
I didn’t notice him move, but Carter is up and rams his board into Quinn’s back. “Move, asshole.”
Quinn turns and sneers. “Couldn’t get this one to fuck you either, huh Carter? Good thing you can nail your roommate whenever you need to get some. Oh wait, that’s right. You don’t have a roommate. Came onto one too many in the shower. Am I right?” Quinn is laughing in Carter’s face, but my friend doesn’t move. He just stands there staring, his body becoming rigid, with his fists balling at his sides.
“Carter, he’s an asshole.” I wish I could get up, but I don’t want to expose myself. I can’t take the thin strip of sheeting and cover my top and bottom at the same time. I know he can’t fight, and he’s nearly done. I won’t have him expelled because of me. “Carter, walk away. Please.”
“That’s right, bitch. Tell him how it is. The women are for fucking, and you,” he looks at Carter like he’s worthless, “no one knows what the fuck you’re for.”
“Enough!” Nathan appears in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, making that tight t-shirt cling to him like a second skin. His arm flies, pointing down the hall. “Go see Jax NOW. You are dropping this class.”
Quinn makes a face and then turns toward Nathan. “That’s bullshit, man.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot of bullshit around here lately. Let’s get rid of some. Leave. Now.” Nathan steps out of the doorway and glares at Quinn.
“Whatever.” Quinn is pissed, but he does as he’s told, and shoves through the door, muttering as he walks down the hall.
Carter and Nathan are the only two remaining. Nathan looks at both of us and then admits, “I know you know her. It’s fine.”
Carter is still mad. “It’s not fine and a lot of us know her. I’m with Emily on this one.” Carter looks over at me. “It’s not you, Kerry. It’s them.”
“It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to do what I want. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this.” Carter won’t look at me, which makes my mood sour further. “Carter, are you seriously going to go all Footloose on me and tell me that nudes are morally wrong? What the hell?” I can’t help it. I sit up a bit and cover my girls with my arm as the sheet falls to my lap.
“And, she moved.” Nathan groans, as he rolls his eyes. “Great.”
Carter’s nostrils are flaring as he turns to face Nathan. “Moving is the least of her problems and you just added fifty more by allowing her to do this.” He turns back to me. “Kerry, I admire you. You know that, but you’ve seen how they treat me. None of it’s true, but everyone thinks it is. Reality doesn’t matter here and this isn’t the Renaissance.”
“What are you saying? That I don’t matter?” I can’t believe him. It’s too damn late to not model and if everyone was so opposed to it, why didn’t they tell me before I got here. Instead, they waited until it was too late and said nothing. This isn’t dirty. It’s a classic pose. Carter may mean well, but right now he’s making me feel like I made a horrible mistake, a mistake that’s too far gone to correct. I’m not a porn star, I’m a model.
The words fly from my mouth before I can stop them. They hide the tears and will push him away. I need him to leave. Now. “Fuck, Carter, no wonder why you have no friends.” I shouldn’t have said it. The words pierce through him like arrows, one after the other, until the final blow hits his heart. He turns those dark eyes narrow with shock.
