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I’m supposed to be free.
“You’re mine now, Athelia,” Professor Kammes says. “And you’re powerless to stop it.”
“No,” I whisper.
“Yes.” He turns the chair so I’m facing him. “Now get on your knees and show me just how enthusiastic of a student you can be.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Wes
Freshman year, second week
When I was a kid, my mom enrolled me in a local Little League team. I didn’t want to, but she insisted. It took me years to realize why.
John Kammes, my baseball coach—and once him and my mom got close, her secret lover for years.
I didn’t figure it out until after my father was killed when I was in high school. My mom moved on too quickly, and all of a sudden the hidden smiles and lingering touches all made sense.
Junior year of high school, they tied the knot. I refused to go to the wedding on principle, instead spending the day locked in my room and wishing my dad was still alive.
It hurt that my mom used me to get to John, but what pissed me off the most was that she cheated on Dad. Until I met the boys, my dad was the only real person I knew. He loved hard, and he always made sure we knew we were his top priority.
Sure, his job had weird hours and kept him from us, but he was there for us every possible moment he could be. There was noproblem or question that was too small or stupid for him. Even when I was little, he never treated me like a nuisance.
My heart aches just thinking about him. It’s been a couple years since he passed, but it still feels like it was yesterday. Coming home is always a sharp reminder that he’s gone. Living in someone else’s house instead of the one I grew up in leaves me feeling empty.
I have big plans—plans to get the fuck out of here as soon as I can. But my mom screwed that one up for me when she married John and gave him control of our finances before I turned eighteen.
I’d burn his house down in a fucking instant if I didn’t have to live in the damn thing. Even now as I’m glaring up at it, I want to do it anyway.
Pretty sure my dad would approve.
As I head inside, I close the door as quietly as I can, hoping to avoid John. Earlier today, he saw me and the guys hanging out with Athelia. I had my arm around her as we walked toward the cafeteria, and for some reason, John seemed pissed about it.
Whatever his reasons are, I don’t give a fuck. Athelia has been having a rough time adjusting to campus life. I think it’s more than the usual homesickness, but she’s refusing to open up about what’s going on in her mind.
I’m not too worried. I have a plan to pry it out of her later this week when we all meet at Kellan’s again.
“Wesley.”
Halfway up the stairs, I freeze.Goddammit.All I want is to hide in my room, get some homework done, and then get the fuck out of here.
Home hasn’t felt like home in years, but I can pretend easier if I don’t have to deal with John. It’s why I refuse to acknowledge him on campus. I don’t want anything to do with him, and I also don’t want everyone thinking I get special treatment because I have family on staff.
I don’t bother turning around. “What?”
“I don’t want you speaking to Athelia Harper anymore.”
That gets me to turn. With a scoff, I reply, “Why the fuck not?”
“She’s not who you think she is.”
“I don’t have to listen to you.” But even as I say it, I know it’s not true.
Whatever my dad did for work, it made him a ton of money. He dumped boatloads of cash into a trust fund for me that I was supposed to get access to on my eighteenth birthday.
When John took over our accounts, though, that changed. He took charge of the trust fund and changed the conditions to which I get access. Now, I have to wait until I’m twenty-five—or until he signs it over to me.
