AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. Give it back, Nick,” I snap, more out of anxiety than bravado.
“Sure thing, sweet cheeks.” His eyes rake over me, leaving a trail of grime. “But it’ll cost you. How about a little favour? One blow job, and it’s all yours again.”
Disgust twists in my gut, thick and bitter. He’s nothing more than a bully, using leverage like a weapon.
“Go to hell,” I spit out, now pissed off. Who do these entitled assholes think they are?
“Don’t play coy, Ever. We know the truth now. The good girl not so good after all!” a voice hurls my way, venom wrapped in laughter.
“Did you enjoy the party, Ever? Looked like you did!” another taunts, their words a sharpened edge against my already raw nerves.
“Little slut!”
“Give him a blow job for your phone back, Ever. You know you want to!”
I don’t even know who these people are.
Heat creeps up my neck, setting my face aflame. I’m surrounded, trapped by this circle of mockery. My phone, my privacy, my dignity—held ransom by sneering faces.
The tears that are still so close to the surface from my breakdown only minutes ago sting my eyes, betraying the panic clawing at my insides. I can’t cry here; I won’t give them the satisfaction.
“You’re going to make her cry,” Nick taunts, waving my phone in front of me, goading me.
I’m about to run and forget about the phone when a familiar voice cuts through the jeers of the bullies.
“Enough.”
The single word slices through the noise, a command that resonates with power. Alistair steps forward, his presence like a shadow overtaking the sun. His blue eyes are ice as they fix on Nick, and his voice is a low rumble laced with danger.
“Hand it over, Henderson. Or I can guarantee she’ll get it back with your hand still attached.”
The crowd parts like he’s Moses and we’re the Red Sea. Nick, with all his bravado, suddenly looks like a cornered animal, his eyes darting for an out that doesn’t exist. He tosses my phone towards me, a coward’s retreat.
“Thought so,” Alistair says, his gaze never leaving Nick as my phone arcs through the air, a shiny black rectangle with my name embossed in gold on the cover, a symbol of my recent humiliation.
“Shit,” I whisper as it slips through my fumbling fingers, but Alistair’s reflexes are lightning-fast. His hand snaps out, catching it before it can smash against the concrete. He doesn’t even look at me as he hands it over, his eyes still locked on Nick, who backs away, swallowed up by the dispersing crowd.
“Thanks,” I mutter, clutching my phone like a shield. Alistair nods, then turns to me with an unreadable expression.
“Let’s get you home,” he says.
I nod, eager to escape the jeers that still echo in my mind. We walk in silence for a few minutes, my thoughts swirling chaotically. When I finally speak, my voice is steadier than I feel.
“Now that I’ve got you, we need to talk about the rent,” I blurt out and then cringe inwardly as his curious sapphire gaze lands on me with interest.
“Rent? It’s not necessary.”
“But I want to,” I insist, clinging to this one thing I can control and the one conversation that will distractme enough from this nightmare of a weekend. I never thought I’d say this, but roll on Monday. “I have my housing allowance. I’ll give it to you every week now instead of the landlord.”
Alistair studies me for a moment longer before nodding once. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” I confirm, feeling a tiny measure of power returning to me. At least when it comes to this, I can stand on my own two feet.
“On one condition.”
Dread fills my soul. “Oh?”
“You agree to make KnightsGate Manor your home for the rest of the academic year.”
