“You are property. My property.”
“I hate you.”
I go to move again, but he holds me in place. “Things are going to be different around here from now on. I’m going to be around whether you like it or not. You’re simply going to have to shut up and start doing as you’re damn well told. Do you understand me?!”
Yeah, I understand. I understand perfectly.
Age Sixteen
“Roman, stop it,” Mandy says, giggling her drunk arse off as he tickles her and snuggles his head into her neck.
“I can’t help it, baby. You smell and feel so good.”
She giggles again, slapping his hand away. Eddie passes me a drink. “Thanks,” I say, taking a swig of the brandy and letting the burn pierce my throat.
An hour ago, I snuck out of my room when I got a call from Mandy. She, Roman, and Eddie wanted to go hang out at the park, and because I think Eddie is cute, I said yes. I also said yes to stick the knife into Drake. I don’t want him to find out what I’m doing by any means, but I certainly love knowing that I am doing what I want without his knowledge.
“Are you coming to the party on Saturday?” Eddie asks as I hand him back the drink.
I screw up my face in distaste and shake my head. “Can’t. My parents are having a party that night, and I’ve been told I have to attend.”
“Ooh! Is Drake going?” Mandy asks with a huge smile.
I huff. “What do you think? He’s always the guest of honour.” Lately, my parents have been having lots of these gatherings where I’m made to dress up and am paraded around like some sort of object on display. Every time, Drake is there, staring at me like he’s waiting for something, and every time, I want his stares to give me the creeps. Unfortunately, they elicit another emotion—an all too unwelcome one. For a while now, I’ve been looking at Drake in a completely different light. It’s almost as if he’s coaxing it out of me day by day. When I see him, I want him, but then I remember the deal he struck with my parents two years ago, and it makes me mad all over again. And then there are the times when I don’t hear from him for days and I miss him. I hate the fact that I miss him. I also hate the fact that I keep dreaming of kissing Drake while he runs his hands all over my body. I always wake up at the point where we get undressed and are about to have sex. It’s frustrating as hell.
“And why wouldn’t he be? He’s hot as fuck!”
“Hey!” Roman wines, pulling her into him.
She laughs. “You know he doesn’t hold a candle to you.” She turns her head towards me and mouths, “He does.”
“That’s good then,” Roman says as I start laughing.
Eddie wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer to him. There’s a chill in the air, so his warm arms are welcome. Mandy notices, and although she’s smiling, I can see the warning behind her eyes. I know what she’s telling me. My relationship with Drake might be secret for now because of my age, but that doesn’t mean I don’t belong to him. This is partly the reason why I’m here, letting Eddie place his arms around me. I would also let Eddie kiss me if he tried. I know it’s naughty, but I can’t help the little imp in me that sticks it to Drake whenever I get the chance. Mandy knows this, and that’s the reason why I’m getting “the look.”
“Don’t hog all the drink,” Roman complains, holding his hand out. Eddie laughs, but hands the drink over to him.
“Fuck, I feel drunk.” Mandy starts laughing and everyone follows suit. I’m feeling rather drunk myself. Not so much that I don’t know what I’m doing, but certainly enough to feel slightly unsteady and woozy.
“Six more months and school will be over.”
I groan. “I can’t wait.”
“Ugh, me neither,” Mandy complains. “That new geography teacher’s driving me crazy. She’s worse than Mr Trimble, and that’s saying something.” She gasps. “Did you hear about Mrs Martin?”
“No,” we all say in unison.
She smiles mischievously and leans forward. “Well, I heard from Bethany, who heard it from Lucy, that she caught her in Mr Tomkins’ office kissing Mr Flaherty. And it wasn’t just a peck either. It was full-blown tongues, and their hands were all over each other.”
“Really?” I screech.
“Yeah. She had her skirt up and everything. I reckon they were going to fuck if they hadn’t been caught. It’s a pity Lucy didn’t get a video of it. Can you imagine?”
Roman hands me the drink, so I take another swig. “The gossip is the only bit of fun we ever have at school.”