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I open my mouth to tell him I’m not sorry, but he holds his hand up to stop me.
“Listen.” His gaze turns stern. “You will speak of this to no one, and from now on, we will not have discipline lessons together.”
His declaration makes my stomach dip and my chest ache. “But—”
“I said listen,” he growls.
I fall silent, twiddling my thumbs in my lap like a naughty little child. That’s how he’s making me feel right now.
“You will forget this ever happened, and we will stay out of each other’s way.” His eyes are cold and unfeeling as he stares at me. “It was a stupid mistake.”
The words punch me hard in the gut as I feel tears gather in my eyes, but I don’t allow them to fall. Instead, I hold my chin high and meet his stony gaze, allowing him to see all the emotions I currently feel.
“I never wanted to come here, Oak.” I shake my head. “This isn’t where I belong, and even though I have friends, there’s always one thing that stops me from ever fitting in.” I sigh heavily. “I’m nothing like them. I never want to be a criminal. I never want to be the head of my family.” I swallow hard as Karl’s face flashes into my mind. “Do you know the one thing that made this school bearable?”
Oak doesn’t reply.
I feel the pain clawing at my throat like claws scraping down the inside. “You,” I murmur, holding onto the tears that so desperately want to fall. “You were the only good thing.” I laugh at that. “Sounds ridiculous, considering that you’ve inflicted pain on me every day for just over two weeks.” There’s a slight shift in Oak’s eyes, but it’s not clear what he’s thinking. “I guess that’s how fucking pathetic I am that I clung to you, even when you hurt me.” I stand and throw the discipline textbook onto the desk. “Goodbye.”
I walk out, and only once I’m in the corridor do I allow the tears to fall down my cheeks. A small, pathetic part of me had hoped Oak might have stopped me, might have told me he feels the same.
Who am I kidding?
Principal Oakley Byrne is out of my league and always has been. I don’t know why he kissed me and why he touched me the way he did, but it’s clear it has nothing to do with the way he feels about me.
He probably hates me just as much as my parents. It’s my life story. Everyone I care for tosses me aside. The only person who didn’t was Karl, and he’s gone.
I rush through the corridor to my dorm, knowing I can’t face any more classes this afternoon.
Fuck it.
If they punish me for it, so be it. I don’t care anymore. I want out of this place and out of my parents’ lives. All I want is to start afresh somewhere no one knows me—a second chance, but I know that despite my plan to escape them, it’s probably wishful thinking.
There’s no escaping my parents’ reach simply by running away, which means I need a new plan—a fail-proof one.
* * *
I have no morelessons for the rest of the day, so I head to the library to meet with Natalya.
“Hey, over here?” She whispers.
I smile when I see her surrounded by books. “Hey.” I take a seat next to her. “What are you studying?” I ask quietly.
“Interrogation,” she replies.
I raise a brow at the response.
She shrug. “It’s a useful skill in the Bratva.”
I nod in reply, twiddling my fingers anxiously as I need to ask her a question. “Can you keep a secret?”
Her eyes shoot up to meet mine, and she smiles wickedly. “What kind of secret?”
I shake my head. “A very important one. Can you keep one?”
She nods. “Of course. You have my word.”
I swallow hard. “I don’t want to be a part of my parents’ business or lives.”
