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That’s what I’d told my friends, but I didn’t feel like bothering with Marcus. “I earned it.”
“How?”
“None of your business.”
“Cheeky.” Tucking the money into his wallet — thick with bills now — he tugged my scarf.
“Don’t touch me.” I flushed.
Marcus hadn’t actually touched me, but after being with Patrick, I was more sensitive. Colors looked brighter, sounds were louder, and Marcus’s pull on my scarf made it drag across my throat.
“Sorry.” He held up his hands. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I fixed my scarf. Marcus peered at me more closely.
“Don’t take more than the recommended dose. I don’t want to be responsible for anything happening to you.”
“You’re not.”
“Good. Don’t make me feel like I am.”
“Marky?” a girl’s voice called from one of the closed doors. “What’re you doing?”
“Be there in a sec,” he called back.
I glanced around the cluttered apartment. “You should clean this place up.”
“Are you volunteering?”
“No.”
He laughed. “I’d pay you. Seems like you’re going through a rough patch.”
“Not rough enough to mop your floors.” Scrubbing my dealer’s apartment would be at least as humiliating as sleeping with Patrick, and much less hot. A giggle escaped my lips.
Marcus looked at me strangely. “Are you sure you’re okay? I have some really good tea. Very calming.”
“I bet. But I’m fine,Marky.I should get going. Your wallet’s a lot fatter now,” I added, as he walked me to the front door.
He gave a sheepish shrug. “It wasn’t really empty yesterday. I took the money out before I talked to you. Just to make a point,”
“Fuck you.” I looped my scarf around my neck.
“Whoo. You really are cheeky today, Lady Christina. So tell me something. Why are you in that Victorian Literature class?”
“I have my reasons,” I muttered.
*****
Back in my warm apartment, I slipped off my coat, which reeked of incense, and settled in at my desk. I really did need to study. I was way behind because of the utilities freakout, and my grades had plummeted last semester.
It was eleven-thirty.
If I don’t hear from you by one am, the deal’s off.
Opening my middle desk drawer, I popped an Adderall and chased it with gummy bears. I put in earbuds and cranked up the music.
But I couldn’t concentrate on my homework. Male whispers ran through my mind, chilling my skin.
