This was too much. I couldn’t think of that night. This was exactly why I needed to get out of this house. This was why I needed to be working, not sitting around overthinking.
I hadn’t stepped foot inside that bathroom since I was rushed out of it, on a stretcher. I could barely stand to walk past the door. Thankfully, Kyle kept it closed at all times.
I couldn’t go in there, I wouldn’t.
“You know what, if you’re sure you’ll be okay, I think I’ll head in and catch my last couple of classes,” Derek said, standing up, ending the conversation that had become too heavy for both of us.
“Good idea,” I agreed, wondering when it would get easier.
The memories and images of that night, hung over the four of us like a black rain cloud.
Would that night ever fade from our minds, would it ever leave?
Well I could, for a few hours at least.
I rushed upstairs, and changed quickly. It was time I did something productive, and I owed Kyle a long, overdue visit.
Grabbing my purse and keys, I headed outside. I couldn’t take Bruno with me, because, just like my shifts at work, his leash had conveniently disappeared when Kyle left the house this morning, and every other morning for the past month.
It was hammering down with rain when I stepped outside, and the coldness in the air had me yearning for the warmth of the house, but I trudged on.
If I could drive, my life would be so much easier…
At nineteen years old, I should have my driver’s license, dammit; I should have my highschool diploma. I didn’t have either.
I walked to the end of the street, pausing to mentally map out Kyle’s schedule on a Friday. I glanced down at my watch; it was two-thirty. He’d be in class.
I smiled darkly to myself and I headed left.
Let’s see how he liked it when people interfered in his routine. Oh, Kyle and I were going to talk.
It was on.
*****
Kyle
Economics sucked ass.
I leaned back in my chair and feigned interest.
Man, I needed a career change. I couldn’t see myself in this suck-ass lifestyle, for the next forty plus years.
Econ was mandatory for my degree though, so I sucked it up and made it to most of Professor Peterson’s classes. I didn’t feel the need though; the dude was sprouting out shit that I dealt with, every damn hour of the day in the hotel.
Hotels’…Thanks Frank.
It would have made my life a hell of a lot less complicated, if my grandfather had left the hotel chain to Mike, or our father.
But no, he’d had to give one last lash of the whip. And I was the fucking whipping boy. He’d checked out and left me to deal...
I looked up when the door of the classroom burst open, and my eyes locked on a petite brunette, wrapped in a green coat, standing in the doorway, cheeks flushed and dripping wet.
“Whoa,” the guy sitting next to me muttered, and I stiffened in my seat. “Holy fuck, Carter, you see that chick? I’d like a piece of that ass.”
I clenched my jaw shut, and gripped the edge of my desk, trying to ignore the very strong urge I had, to rip his fucking head off.
Fighting in class was one thing, fighting in Peterson’s class was a first class ticket to expulsion.
“Can I help you, miss?” Professor Peterson asked, frowning at Lee.
She blushed crimson as she clasped her hands over her stomach. Her coat hid the swell of her pregnant belly, but I knew it was there, and getting bigger by the day…
“Yes, I’m sorry to interrupt your class, sir, but it’s important. I need to speak to one of your students.”
There was a lot of shuffling coming from the seat next to me.
“Please be me, please be me,” the guy beside me muttered.
He was going get a fucking fist in the face.
Christ, the feeling of possessiveness reared up inside me.
I glared at the side of his face, but he wasn’t paying attention. His, and every other guy in the room’s eyes,’ were fixed on my girl.
What the hell was she doing here? Was she sick? She didn’t look sick? In fact, she looked pretty pissed.
Her eyes found mine and narrowed, in promised violence. I lowered myself further in my chair.
Yep, she was pissed.
Fuck if it wasn’t hot as hell though, seeing her all cute and flustered. Pregnant Lee had claws.
“I’m sure whatever melodramatic emergency you’re having, can wait until after my class. I don’t appreciate disturbances in my classroom, young lady.”
Oh, fuck no. He did not just talk to her like that...
I tossed my books and shit into my bag, without taking my eyes off Lee. I expected her to run out, or cry. She did neither.
Instead, she straightened her back and glared at Peterson. “While I appreciate your superficial ability at categorizing female emergencies, professor, I need to speak to my ‘baby daddy,’” Lee replied, using air quotations for the last two words.