AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I'm good. I was wondering if you would make it here for your birthday."
I bite my lip and stare at the dress hanging outside my closet, remembering the night at the ball. The good parts and the bad. I left before getting the pictures that were taken, so I could give them to her to make her happy.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I will be there this Saturday."
After hanging up, I check my bank account balance and let out a breath, a strand of hair flying forward. I'm trying to find the most affordable way to make it there and back. I've never looked forward to celebrating my birthday. It was always a hard day for me personally, especially when you know the person that wants to make the day special is struggling to do it.
A flight isn't an option, so driving is the only way I can afford to go back home and make it back here. I grab my keys to make sure my car starts. I try not to use my car as much as possible, so I can save money, but right now, I don’t have a choice.
Making my way to the Drury Hall parking lot, I'm relieved to see some students milling about. The sun has already set, and the temperature is slowly dropping. The trees are starting to sprout leaves as spring is looming. The flowers around campus are the only things that give the campus life. Other than that, it looks like an academy for Vampires with the gothic style architecture and the cemetery right in front of the church.
I place the key in the lock and sit in the dingy car with leaves strewn all over the windshield.
"God, this thing is a piece of junk," I mumble.
I start the ignition, and the engine turns over, but it doesn't start. I place my forehead on the steering wheel. "Fuck."
"You need a ride?"
The hairs on the back of my neck stand. I turn my head, and Michael stands outside my open driver's side door.
I stare straight ahead. "No," I reply.
He steps closer, and before I can close the door, he places his hand inside and pulls it toward him. "I'm surprised you still drive this piece of junk. You would think with all the bonuses I pay you, you would get a better piece of shit, if that is even a thing."
"I can give you a ride this time if you need to go somewhere, but of course, like everything in this life, nothing is free."
I take a deep swallow and close my eyes. "No, thank you."
"Now, I'm not asking. I'm telling."
"I said no."
A couple of students walk down the sidewalk, and I take my cue and step out of the car. I know he won't try to do something if there are witnesses. Weasels like Michael are calculating but also cowardly. They wait like predators but hate confrontation.
I slam the car door shut and lock it. I smile at the girls looking at Michael, giving him appreciative glances. If they only knew he's a rapist and a blackmailing piece of shit. I swear, if my car started, I would run him over repeatedly.
"Do you go to church?" I ask.
"Not for what you think," he replies.
I turn around and face him, my lip curling in disgust. "You should. You need to start praying."
I throw the insult in his face like he did in the bathroom at the ball but for an entirely different reason.
He chuckles. "Now, why would I need to do that if I have you to do it, silly."
I tilt my head back and laugh, a confused expression crossing his features.
"What's wrong, Mich. Am I supposed to quake in fear? Beg?"
"If you know what is good for you, yeah."
Whatever he has planned, let it happen. I can't keep hiding, trying to cope with the agony when he toys with me every time he comes close. I stopped trying to suppress the pain I constantly feel.
