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Then I hear him in the kitchen, moving around.
He waves his hand dismissively. “Keep it. I’ll have your other one replaced.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’m sure I can get the stains out.”
“What happened to your uniform?” Mike comes up behind me, a glass of water in his hands. “Did you spill something on your clothes again?” He chuckles, shaking his head. “My sister is a klutz sometimes.”
“She’s not a klutz. She’s being bullied by Melissa and her band of bitches.” William’s words are clipped as he turns toward Mike.
“William,” I admonish, my eyes wide, heat flooding my face.
Mike looks back and forth between us, his brow furrowing. “What’s going on, Irelynn?”
Glaring at William, I wave my hand, my tone light and airy. “It’s nothing. The students are just hazing me. You know, breaking in the new girl.”
“Bullshit,” William says, his blue eyes flashing at me. “Stop downplaying what is going on.” He grabs my wrist, flipping it to reveal the bruises and scrapes on my arms and hands. “Look at this. This is from them tormenting her. During lunch, I witnessed Melissa pouring chocolate milk all over her.”
“Irelynn!” Mike’s face is pale as his gaze roves from my injuries to my flushed cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
My voice is small and trembles when I speak. “I was scared. I didn’t want it to get worse.” A tear slides down my cheek, and I impatiently brush it away.
I’m furious at William because I didn’t want Mike to know. I glare at William, but he ignores me.
“She doesn’t need to worry about it. I took care of it.” He pats Mike’s shoulder.
Mike gives him a grateful smile. “Thanks, man. I appreciate you looking out for my little sister.” He punches my arm lightly as my mouth hangs open, disbelief on my face.
“It’s no problem, man. Happy to help.” William’s smug smile meets mine, his eyes full of challenge.
That bastard. He’s manipulating Mike and this entire situation.
My hands clench into fists as I glare at William.
He winks at me, not at all concerned that I could throttle him right now.
And that was the end of the bullying at school, but the beginning of a much bigger problem—William.
Pulling myself from my thoughts, I rinse my hair and body, then shut off the water. Grabbing an enormous, fluffy towel, I wrap it around my body. Grabbing a smaller one, I use it to squeeze the water from my hair, then wrap my hair in it.
After drying off, I head to the sink to brush my teeth.
As I stare at my reflection, I curse around the mouthful of toothpaste, realizing I didn’t bring any clean clothing to change into.
Rinsing my mouth, I wrap the towel tighter, quietly moving to the door. I press my ear against it, hoping William isn’t sitting in the chair in the bedroom.
Not hearing anything, I push the door open and see Emma sitting there, a smile on her face. “Good morning, dear. You should have called me to get your bath or shower ready.”
I heave out a sigh of relief, moving to the dresser and pulling out panties and a bra, then I move to the closet. “No need. I figured it out.” I disappear inside, grabbing a pair of running tights and a t-shirt from one of the many racks of clothes.
As I dress, I frown, wondering how the hell William knows what size I wear. Everything I’ve worn has fit me like it’s made for me.
“Do you know where William is?” I step through the closet door, shutting it behind me.
“Yes, dear. He had to run a few errands. He said he’ll be back around ten-thirty or eleven, and then you two can run on the treadmills if you are interested.”
“Absolutely.”
Grit steels my spine, my shoulders drawing back.
