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He stepped closer, furious that I would stand up to him like that. "You'll regret this."
"So will you," I replied. "You better leave."
"I'm calling security," Mara said and held out her cell, showing that she'd dialed a number.
"You're a filthy slut," Spencer hissed and pushed by me, almost knocking me down. Mara stepped aside and watched as Spencer stormed down the hallway to the stairs.
"Are you okay?" she asked, coming over to where I stood. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"No," I said and rubbed my cheek. "He's done worse. I'm just glad he's gone."
"That's assault," she said, her brow furrowed. "He hit you. You could charge him with assault."
I shook my head. "He's the Assistant District Attorney, on his way to becoming DA. He's best friends with everyone who matters in the city. No one would believe me."
"Will he really stop paying for the dorm?" she asked, her arm on my shoulder.
"Yes," I said and shrugged.
"Where will you go?"
"I'll get a job. I'll find a room somewhere. I don't need to be here."
"That sucks," Mara said, and made a face of sympathy. "Maybe he was just mad and won't really cut you off. What happened?"
I went to the bathroom down the hall and Mara followed me. I splashed water on my face while she watched. "I was with my boyfriend. Spencer hates him. That's all."
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Her eyes widened. "Do tell, please."
"We just started seeing each other. He's going to Parris Island next week to become a Marine." I smiled, giddily imagining that Hunter was my boyfriend for real. Except, of course, he wasn't. I knew he wasn't the boyfriend type. He preferred to remain single, although he always had women around him, willing to keep him company.
Besides, I was just a kid compared to him. He'd finished his MBA and was going to become a Marine. He was a man. I didn't feel at all like a woman, even though I'd just been deflowered. Spencer tried to keep me a child because of his zealot commitment to protecting my virginity. He had to make sure I didn’t damage his good name in the evangelical community, where he held a position as leader of a Bible study group and "pillar of the community."
That was twice Spencer had hit me in the space of a few days. I knew I should go to my mother and tell her, but she was so fragile. Spencer was never violent with her—just Graham and me, telling us he couldn't spare the rod or he'd condemn us to hell. He had often told me that he hit me because he loved me, but I wasn't buying it. Spencer had stopped hitting Graham when Graham got big enough to fight back.
Spencer hadn't hit me for a while—not since Graham was strong enough to defend me, but Graham didn't always step in. Like Saturday night. Even Graham was mad at me for kissing Hunter. I was surprised that he hadn't stood up for me, but Spencer was holding the purse strings on Graham's start-up funding, so he might have been reluctant to make Spencer mad.
Spencer was a monster who dominated both our lives. How I hated him.
Mara finally left me alone, once she was sure I was okay. I had a quick shower and got into my bed, taking out my cell and checking to see if Hunter had texted me.
Sure enough, he had.
HUNTER: Hey. How are you? Any regrets now that you're back home?
CELIA: Not even the slightest doubt.
HUNTER: That's good. I wanted to make sure you were okay about tonight.
CELIA: Couldn't be happier. Only thing I would like more is another date before you go.
HUNTER: Count on it. Text me tomorrow when you want me to pick you up. We can come back here or go to your place. Up to you.
CELIA: Okay. Nite.
HUNTER: Good night.
I didn't want to tell him that Spencer knew we had been together. If I did, I knew Hunter would be honorable and never see me again. Instead, I lay back in bed, smiling, thinking of seeing Hunter again, and how we'd get some practice in. With that thought in mind, I turned off the bedside light and rolled up in my blankets.
