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“Me?”
“Remember Professor Callahan? At the start of the sem, he gave us a surprise quiz and you aced it. Meanwhile, I didn’t even pass. Didn’t even get half of the correct answers. I was so embarrassed because what if you found out? What if you saw my grade and thought I was dumb and stupid? So I promised myself I’d do better. And that’s what I did. I studied harder and hoped you’d notice.”
“I noticed, kitten. I noticed everything about you from the moment you stepped into the classroom and stole my breath away.” I grab her hand and lick the inside of her wrist.
She draws in a sudden breath. “Keep doing that and we’ll never make it to the end of my story.”
“Sorry. Okay, about last night.”
“It was just supposed to be a birthday dinner. When I got there, my father eyed me up and down and said, ‘You should start being mindful about the way you dress. Your future husband wouldn’t like a wife who looks like she barely has clothes on.’
That didn’t bother me at first because he liked to criticize every single thing about me. But the moment I sat down, my sister asked me if I’d met him yet. I was like, ‘Who?’ And she and my brother exchanged looks. That’s when dear old Dad sprung it upon me. That I was going to marry his friend’s son—the heir to a multimillion hotel empire.”
Something heavy settles in the pit of my stomach, an insidious, unfamiliar emotion coiling thickly in my chest, slithering into the depths of my soul.
My mouth fills with the acrid taste of dread and the bitter tang of fury. I have never felt as angry as I do now, not even when my pathetic excuse of a father slammed my face against our glass table, one jagged piece slicing my cheek.
The anger blazes like an inferno inside me, but I tamp it down, needing to ask one important question. “Are you gonna do it, kitten? Are you gonna marry him?”
She whirls her head to me, eyes blazing and intense. “What? No. Of course not. Why did you think I left while we were still having appetizers?”
Relief washes over me, but it’s short-lived. I cradle her cheek in my palm and run my thumb along her bottom lip. “I admit I have nothing on the guy. I don’t even have a thousand dollars to my name. But I promise you, kitten. You will not want for anything as long as you’re with me. In a few years, I expect to be reasonably well-off, not exactly a multi-millionaire, but I swear we’ll live a comfortable life. I’ll spend every day making you happy.”
Tears well in her eyes and she blinks rapidly.
Oh, fuck. The last thing I want is to make her cry.
“Kitten, what is it? Is it something I said?”
Tess buries her face in my chest. “No. No. I … It’s just that … That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Ah, shit. “Okay. So, what do you want to eat?”
Tess went home to change,and we agreed to meet in school.
I arrive first in the classroom like always. I notice when she comes in, but I don’t look up or acknowledge her. I know I’m supposed to act like we don’t know each other. Maybe we’ll just meet each other after class at the gate or something. We never really had time to talk about our setup.
Adrenaline flashes through me and I fight to find my breath when Tess slides into the seat beside me. When I hesitatingly turn to her, she flashes me a broad smile and plants a kiss on my cheek.
The entire class falls into abrupt silence as if someone has flipped a switch. Stillness hangs in the room, and the sounds stop—the rustling of books, the conversations, the laughter. It’s like our classmates collectively hold their breaths, wondering what the hell’s happening. As if it’s any of their business.
The tall guy who likes to hang around Tess and makes it a point to sit beside her roars with laughter. Tess and I ignore him, but he’s probably hungry for attention and doesn’t like it when no one cares about his existence.
He walks up the stairs to our row and stands in front of my desk, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting his gaze from me to her and back to me. “Fucking hell. You blew me off for him, Tess? Shit. I didn’t know freaks get you wet. No wonder I didn’t stand a chance. You open your legs?—”
I grab his throat so fast he stumbles forward. He claws my hand, but it’s futile.
See, I learned to play to my strengths growing up. I wasn’t as big as the other foster kids, but I refused to be bullied. It didn’t take long before I realized one sure-fire way of making even the biggest bullies panic was to grab their throats and not let go until they struggled to breathe.
“You call me a freak or whatever, I don’t give a shit. But you start disrespecting Tess and I’ll give you the same face you like to make fun of,” I growl, low enough that only he can hear.
The color drains from his face, and his eyes turn wild, lines appearing on his forehead. His face morphs from panic to full-blown fear. Damn, he’s just like every other bully. Once someone starts to fight back, they just get lost and don’t know what to do. Pathetic.
“I’m gonna let go so you can apologize to Tess. You hear me?”
He nods his head repeatedly like a bobblehead.
I take my hand off him and sit back, draping an arm across Tess’ shoulders. He rubs his neck and glares at me, maybe deciding if I’m not just a freak but a psycho too.
