Not like it had felt with Maddox. With him, there was nothing else I wanted to call him. Daddy just... fit.
I walked into the house and swallowed hard when I saw that the kitchen light was on.
He would either be in the study working, or in the kitchen drinking, and I knew instantly it was the latter. And that didn't bode well for me, or the fact that I was so late coming home from school.
"Cora!" he called out to me from the kitchen.
I sighed as quietly as I possibly could and slipped the backpack from my shoulders, calling out, "Coming!"
I left my backpack at the foot of the stairs and smoothed down the stupid skirt I had to wear for school. I felt uncomfortable after spending all day in the too-small uniform.
All I really wanted was to curl up in my bed and daydream, probably about a certain English teacher I wasn't supposed to be thinking about, but I knew I had to talk to dad first. He'd be really angry if I just ignored him.
I walked into the kitchen with a nervous smile playing on my face. Alexander was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a glass of something amber in color. He was angry, and I swallowed hard when I saw the expression on his face. I was about to get into trouble.
"Hello," I said softly, lingering in the doorway.
"Come the fuck in, Cora," he slurred, and I could tell he was drunk.
His eyes were disoriented, drifting from this object to that one, and staring at my face every so often.
"Why the hell are you home late?" he asked me, his voice low and dark. The intensity of his tone scared me, and I shrank back from it.
"I'm sorry," I said in a small voice. "I was waiting for the school counsellor for hours, but she never showed up. We were supposed to have a meeting to talk about my scholarship today."
I didn't know why I was nervous. I was telling the truth, after all... But something about him - and I couldn't call him dad today, it was Alexander - was almost predatory.
"That fucking scholarship again," he slurred. "I thought I told you you'd never get that shit. Haven't you gotten that stupid damn idea out of your head yet?"
I swallowed thickly, feeling overwhelmed by him.
"You know I want to go to a good college," I said quietly, even though we both knew that wasn't the case. I was trying to get away from this damn town and the weird situation at home. I wanted to leave so badly it would be pointless to argue otherwise.
Alexander pushed his glass away and got up so quickly I jumped, my back hitting the wall uncomfortably.
"I swear I'm telling the truth," I said, my voice shaky. "I really was going in to see the counsellor."
"I don't give a shit, Cora," he barked at me, advancing on me so fast I couldn't even move, standing frozen to the spot. "If I tell you to be home the fuck early, that's what you're supposed to do. How the hell do you think it looks to have my kid disobeying me?"
I'm not your kid, I wanted to tell him, but I bit my lip and kept my mouth shut. I let him spew his abuse at me, curse word after curse word telling me I wasn't allowed to stay late after class under any circumstance from now on.
I nodded meekly even though I wanted to stand up for myself. But Alexander was drunk, and much bigger than me. I was scared of him and what he could do to me if I really made him angry.
"Is that fucking understood, Cora?" he leered at me, and I was quick to nod, bobbing my head so quickly my hair swung around my neck. "Give me your fucking word, girl, don't test my damn patience."
"Yes," I squeaked, feeling like a mouse. I needed to grow a pair, as Alexander would put it. But I knew well enough that I was in a vulnerable position, and one wrong word would be enough to set him off and make him take that final step that I kept expecting to happen - hurt me.
"I don't think you do," he sneered, and I felt hot tears burning my eyes, the glass of whatever he was drinking now long forgotten. "You're being a disobedient fucking brat and it's about time I teach you some damn manners, girl."
He took a swing at me.
I expected the ringing in my ears, but I didn't know how badly it would hurt when he slapped me across the face. I moved away from the wall, raising my hand to my burning cheek with my bottom lip wobbling from the hit I still hadn't thought he'd go through with.
"Cora," he gasped, and I sniffled. "Shit, baby, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Come here, baby."
I ducked when he reached for me, giving him a hurt look. The way he looked at me, pure shock at his own actions registering on his face, didn't make me want to forgive him. If anything, it made me feel nauseous about the whole thing.
"I need to go," I whispered as he reached for me again, this time to pull me into his arms.
I couldn't stay in the house. I couldn't let him treat me like that. And I needed some fresh air so damn badly. I needed to get out of that damn stuffy kitchen.
I ran to the entryway, and he came after me, heavy steps following me. I didn't even think to grab any of my stuff. I only took my blazer, the one I'd worn to school over my blouse, and ran out of the house. I heard Alexander rushing after me, but he tripped and fell in the doorway, giving me a few precious seconds. I darted between the hedges in the front yard and ran down the street, leaving everything behind.
I couldn't stop running until my chest was heaving and I thought my heart would explode from pumping so much adrenaline through my veins. I was gasping for breath, trying hard to get some oxygen into my lungs when I finally came to a stop a few blocks away from our house. He wasn't following me, and I was alone in the dodgier part of the neighborhood.
I had to get away. I couldn't let him find me like this, I couldn't let him hurt me again.
Pure survival instincts kicked in as I started walking briskly down the street. It was littered with trash, plastic bags and even a used condom on the ground. I put my blazer on over my shaking shoulders and tried to calm myself down, convince myself that this was somehow okay.
Maybe he hadn't meant to hit me. Maybe he was just worried about my well-being, maybe that's why he was upset about me coming home late.
I did my best to convince myself that was the truth, but there was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind telling me it wasn't the whole story.
Alexander had been acting weird around me for a few months now, and I always felt uncomfortable when he was around. It wasn't that he'd hurt me before that night, or that he'd tried to do something bad.
It was just the general feeling of his closeness, the way he made my skin fucking crawl when he touched me, the way my heart stopped in pure fear when he called my name. It was as if he was building up to something, something that was really going to hurt me.
I crossed my arms in front of my body to ward away the cold, having barely noticed the street I was walking on. I was cold, and tired, and my eyes stung from the tears I was too numb to cry. I didn't even notice I had company.
I heard the footsteps fall into place behind me a second too late, just as the first guy came after me.
I could feel his hot, boozy breath on my face when he jumped in front of me and grinned a smile full of broken teeth.
"Boo!" he yelled.
I didn't shriek, but I imagined all the color drained from my face because I'd gotten the scare of my life. I gasped and then tried to conceal the way my body was shivering and get past the man who had interrupted me.
"Where are you going, sweetheart?" he asked me with that grin, and I tried to sidestep him, but bumped into another figure instead.
My eyes went to the other man, and I noticed there were more than just two. Several guys were nearing me now, locking me into a circle of hard, tall bodies I would never get out of by myself.
I realized I'd been walking for so long, lost in my thoughts, I didn't even realize how far into the seedy are of town I'd gotten. Alexander never let me come here alone.
"I'm s-sorry," I stuttered. "I'm just passing through."
"Passing through?" the first guy asked me with a grin. "Is that so, sweetheart?"
>
He licked his lips and I looked away, feeling scared.
"I think you're looking for a good time," he told me with a smile. "And I would say my boys agree with me. Isn't that so, guys?"
Several grunts of approval followed from different directions and I shrank back into myself. My eyes bolted from one of them to the other, trying to find a small spot in the group where I could make my escape. They had me surrounded on all four sides, four guys in total, but I needed to try and get away. I couldn't let them hurt me, not here, not like this.
I darted between two of the guys, but one of them caught me easily, wrapping a hand around my forearm and yanking me back into their circle.
"Not so fast," he told me. His breath smelled like cheap wine and cigarettes. "The night's still young, sweetie."
I felt the bile rising in my throat and resisted him, knowing it was nearly pointless. The grip he had on my arm was strong and unrelenting, and now, the rest of the guys had closed in on me further.
I heard a car driving by and wanted to scream for help, but it felt as if my tongue had swelled to twice its size, making it impossible for me to call out to anyone. The men shielded me from the view off the road, and I felt my heart in my stomach.
I couldn't let them hurt me.
Alexander would kill them, and then me, if he found out what happened.
I had to get away.
Eight
Maddox
It had been a long day and it felt like there might be an even longer night ahead of me. I got out of the school late, spending time prepping for my classes in the coming weeks, familiarizing myself with notes on certain kids that had already stood out as negative or positive, and generally doing everything I could to keep myself distracted.
It didn’t really work to my advantage, and I don’t think anyone would have been surprised. My attention kept creeping back to my phone, and I found myself scrolling through Cora’s pictures more than I cared to admit.
My ‘employer’ had sent me digital copies now, a step forward from the physical ones I still had in a pocket in my briefcase. My stomach churned as I flipped through her images, such innocence captured on them that it made me at once feel like an animal for wanting her to begin with, and like a lovesick puppy at the same time.
It was dark out by the time I got my things together and headed for the car, throwing the briefcase in the backseat of my Chevrolet sedan. It stuck out like a sore thumb around a town mostly consisting of SUVs and large trucks. I couldn’t muster the energy to give a shit about it.
I put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot of the high school, leaving it dark behind me. Even the janitor had finished up before me. The last person who had checked in on me had been the principal, who insisted on having a long ‘chat’ with me before she left.
If she thought she was fooling anyone with her eagerness to get close and personal with the new faculty member, she was dead wrong. But her blatant come-ons, or the giggling of the high school girls, or the long looks I got from a couple of the science teachers, did nothing to make me think about Cora any less.
She was imprinted on my mind, consuming me completely, and I was a willing subject. I would have been happy to say that this wasn’t the first time this had happened, that I was the type to become infatuated with women far too young for me and was known to lose myself in the moment. But that was the exact opposite of who I was.
My shoulders were tense and my body hummed with irritation as I drove through the town, taking the long way to my newly rented apartment. I had made a pact with myself to go straight home, grab a whiskey on the rocks or two and then hit the hay early. The fact that I was now taking a back-road way to Cora’s house didn’t surprise me in the least.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I murmured to myself, running a hand through my hair. “Shouldn’t get close, shouldn’t get personal.”
But that was exactly what was happening and I had neither the desire nor the willingness to stop it. Like a moth drawn to a flame, I was going to my siren and no force on the planet could keep me from it. I wasn’t even sure what I was hoping to see – it was late, and she was the bookworm type, so she’d be holed up in her room.
I certainly didn’t want to go shoot the breeze with her father again, so I guess I just wanted to drive past her home, make sure the light in her pink room was on and that she was safe. Hell, I wasn’t far from saving her phone number from the files at the school and fucking texting her just to make sure she was okay. That was how deep in I was.
I was absorbed in a discussion with myself about how insane what I was doing was, when I noticed a gaggle of people on a street corner. I counted four men, pushing and pulling someone between them, laughing loudly as the street lights illuminated them with a ghostly, blueish glow. The moment I caught a glimpse of red hair my stomach sank.
Cora.
I slammed on the brakes hard, bringing the car to a screeching halt right in the middle of the intersection. I wasn’t thinking, I was barely aware of what I was doing at all as I threw the door open and got out of the car. The night air was cool but I was too fucking angry to feel it.
Without asking a single question, I grabbed the collar of the closest guy to me and yanked him backwards, sending him spilling on his back in the middle of the street. There were tires squealing close by and horns honking, but I didn’t turn around.
“Hey, what the fuck, man?” one of the remaining three asked, his long, skinny fingers still coiled around Cora’s wrist.
“Let go of her,” I growled, my voice nothing more than low gravel.
He didn’t move fast enough, so I pulled my right arm back and socked him in the face, the satisfying crunch of bone and cartilage meeting my knuckles. He let go of Cora on his way down and I reached out for her, shoving her behind my back in one motion. There were tears on her cheeks and she was pale in the face, but I had to make sure she was out of danger before I started dealing with her mental scars.
“You some kind of tough guy?”
“I don’t need to be tough to deal with dirt like you.”
The two guys still on their feet shared a tentative look, and as if of one mind decided that they were going to roll the dice and see if they came up lucky. They came at me at the same time, teeth bared in snarls and fists balled in inefficient shows of rage. I side-stepped the first punch, sending the guy stumbling forward into a light post with a shove to the back, while making sure Cora was still behind me.
The fourth guy looked at his friends, none of them in too much of a hurry to pick themselves up and dust themselves off, and his fists suddenly stopped.
“Hey, man, whatever, we’re sorry. Didn’t know she was yours.”
Mine.
That was exactly what she was.
“It’s not a mistake I urge you to make twice,” I said, looking at him and his three fallen comrades.
I got at least one more tentative nod of the head, signaling that they at least understood the English language, if not the reason for my anger. I spun around, taking Cora’s hand, and pulled her forward with me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and led her to the car, with her following my lead more on autopilot than actually actively thinking about what she was doing, I thought.
“Get in,” I told her, pulling open the passenger door and ushering her inside.
I pulled the seatbelt across her and clipped it in, making sure it was snug, before I closed the door and went around the car to get in on the other side. There was no sense in wasting any more time around here. I didn’t know this town, and I sure as hell didn’t know those guys. Hanging around for too long could just end up with me facing odds I wasn’t ready for.
Several cars had stopped on the intersection to watch the commotion, but as soon as I hightailed it out of there, the others did the same. I was under no false impressions that people had stopped just to make sure no one would get hurt – no, they just wanted to see the fucking show. As soon as I was gone, it was over and
they had no reason to linger.
“Are you okay?” I asked Cora when we were about a block away and I could see something other than just pure, pulsing red. “Did you know those guys?”
She shook her head, her hands balled tightly in her lap.
“No,” she whispered, her head lowered. “They just came up to me out of the blue. I’d never seen them before.”
“You shouldn’t be out this late on your own,” I said, my tone harsher than I intended.
The thought of her getting hurt, even a hair on her head scuffed, could send me into a blind rage at the drop of a dime. My hands tightened around the steering wheel at the mental image as I took a left, heading toward her house.
“I know.”
“Something could happen to you. People like that aren’t the type to fuck around with. A beautiful girl like you, out alone at this time of the night in a neighborhood like this? It’s like you’re asking for trouble.”
I glanced at her, wondering if that was exactly what she had been after. Had I been wrong about her? Maybe she was more brat than angel after all, maybe my instincts were off and she was just a great actress? The kind of ‘little bitch’ that needed to be ‘taught her place’ as I’d been told…
She pulled her knees up to her chest on the seat, propping her head on her arms as she curled up in almost a fetal position. I could see her shoulders heave up and down as she sobbed wordlessly.
No, I thought. I definitely wasn’t wrong.
I reached a hand out to her and put it on her arm gently, squeezing just gently.
“I didn’t mean that,” I said. “I’m just worried about you, Cora.”
It might have been the first time in a long time that I had been truthful with my feelings about anyone, let alone actually admitting them to anyone. Her sobs seemed to die down and she looked up at me, her gorgeous green eyes rimmed with red. She’d been crying for a while, that much I could tell at a glance.
“You are?” she asked, like it was a concept completely alien to her.
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