Stepbrother's Debt(12)

“I don’t give a shit what you want. We can fight this, or you can accept it.” He watched as she tilted her head to the side.

“Fine, I’ll take a ride from you, but you’ve got to promise me that you won’t take notice of me in school.”

He and his friend laughed. “You’re trying to bargain with me?”

“Chantelle and Leanne wanted to know why you were talking to me. I don’t want to have to deal with being the topic of conversation. You’re out of school in a couple of months. I’ve got a year to go.”

“When do you turn seventeen?” he asked.

“In three weeks, and then I’ve got another year.”

“You know other girls would be bargaining for a chance to sit with me,” he said.

“I’m not that kind of person. I don’t want or need attention.”

Donnie didn’t want to agree with it. He didn’t see how he could bargain with her.

You’re going to be tutoring her math.

“Deal.”

“Fine. I’ve got another five hours to my shift.”

She left him alone, and Donnie couldn’t help but laugh. For an innocent she drove a hard bargain.

“Wow, I have respect for her,” Tonio said.

“You do realize she could know shit that could get her killed,” Jake said, bringing Donnie back down to earth.

“I’ll handle everything.”

It was what he did. He handled everything that was thrown his way.

The rest of the night went by uneventfully. The diner became busy, but he and his friends refused to leave their position near the window. Donnie kept an eye on her, wondering what was going on in her mind whenever she served them. He couldn’t help but admire her curvy body.

By the end of the shift, he was outside in the car.

“I can’t believe we’re all in the fucking back,” Tonio said.

Donnie didn’t want Paige having to squeeze between two of his friends. He didn’t want her anywhere near them.

She walked out, hiking her bag onto her shoulder. He flashed his lights her way, and he saw the disappointment in her eyes. Paige didn’t want him to wait around.

He watched her open the door, climbing in. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“I promised you a lift, or do you want me to become your new best friend?” he asked.

“No, it’s okay.” She placed her bag on the floor.

“I’m going to drop off these guys before we head back home.”

She stared out of the window ignoring them. Donnie didn’t know if he was to be insulted or happy by her complete lack of regard for him.

Tonio, Luiz, and Jake were laughing in the back.

After he dropped each of them off, they made their way back home. She didn’t say anything, and Donnie decided to stay quiet.

Once he took her home, he watched as she once again turned down her mother for company, taking a sandwich upstairs to her room.

That was how the rest of the week went by until it came to Friday where he started his tutoring.

****

Paige didn’t want to go to her tutoring class. She had to be the only one in math class who was failing. Slamming her locker closed, she was happy when Chantelle and Leanne ignored her. Donnie had kept to his word, and ignored her. She also ignored him, and it worked for them.

Entering the room, she saw three other people in the room, but then she stopped when she saw one of those people was sitting on his own. Donnie smiled at her, and she looked toward Mr. Adams.

“Hello, Paige. Your tutor is Donnie. He’s top of his class and will be helping you for the rest of the semester.”

Gritting her teeth, she took a seat beside Donnie, hating him.

“You knew about this at the diner, didn’t you?”

“I did, and I used it to my advantage.”

“Do you even know anything about math?”

“Didn’t you hear what Adams said? I’m awesome.”

She dropped her bag to the floor beside her. “Our deal is off.”

“Why? I’m going to help you with math. I won’t be here all the time, only when I tutor you. I’ve talked with the teacher, and you don’t need to change me for someone else.” He opened a book and pointed it toward her. “First, you need to do this test. I’ll mark it, and then next Friday, we’ll talk about what you need to work on.”

Paige wanted to stand and walk right out of the classroom. Glaring at him, she took the test and the pencil he offered. Trying her hardest to ignore him, she put her name at the top of the test, and worked through each question feeling like a complete moron. It was around question ten when she started to struggle. Algebra was wasted on her. For the next hour, she worked through the test getting a headache at the work. When she finished, she handed him the test, then stood. Mr. Adams was already looking at his watch, clearly wanting to get out for the day.