Against the Rules

by Lucero, Isabel

I fight my instinct to flirt back. It’s obvious that’s what she’s doing, but I can’t enter this game with her. I have to make it clear that what we did on Saturday only happened because I didn’t know she was a college student. And now that she’s my student, nothing can ever happen again. “A lucky day to you is the first day of school, and running into a professor at a gas station?”

  She grins, puts the nozzle in her tank, and leans against her car so she’s looking directly at me. “When the professor is you, yes.”

  A tiny smirk threatens to play on my lips, so I angle my body away from her and remove the nozzle from my tank. I think of several different responses, but figure silence is the best option. It keeps me from saying something I shouldn’t.

  “So, are you going to pretend I don’t exist now? You’re going to pretend you didn’t offer me breakfast? Which you still owe me, by the way.”

  I spin in her direction. “That’s exactly right. You are my student now, and that effectively negates anything we’ve done or would have kept doing.”

  Her eyebrows lift slightly. I’m not even sure why I said that last part. I didn’t really intend to be with her more than once. We didn’t even exchange contact information, but after she left my house, I wanted her back. Watching her in class and seeing her now only solidifies that I’d definitely enjoy being with her again. But goddamn, I have terrible luck.

  “You can’t change the past,” she states simply.

  Boy do I know that.

  “Have a good day, Nova.”

  She rewards me with a smile, but something in her eyes makes me believe she knows the effect she has on me.

  “You too…Professor.”

  * * *

  By the time I arrive at Royce’s house, which is a little over twenty minutes away, I’m no longer thinking about Nova and her flirting. Students have flirted with me before, so it’s nothing new. Some do it to try to get a better grade, some seem to have really been interested, but I’ve never taken the bait. However, this is the first time it’s happened after sleeping with me—the first time it’s affected me.

  Not only is it against the school’s policy, but I have never been interested in dating someone who is so much younger than me. Nova doesn’t look my age, but I never pegged her for a student either. Maybe it was the dim lighting in the bar and the alcohol flowing through my veins. Maybe I didn’t care how young she was because I was so taken by her exotic beauty. She has the curves and confidence of a woman, not the demeanor of an insecure kid.

  “You coming in or what?” Royce calls out from his porch.

  I unbuckle my seatbelt before opening the door and stepping out. “What’s the rush?”

  He waves me in before disappearing through the doorway. “Just come on.”

  Once inside, I make my way to the kitchen where Cillian’s already sitting, eating out of a bag of chips.

  “Sup, bro?” he says with a nod.

  I tilt my chin up. “Hey. What’s all this about?”

  Cillian shrugs and Royce saunters into the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. “Okay, I have a surprise.”

  “Is London pregnant?” Cill asks, his eyes going wide.

  “What? No!” Royce exclaims.

  “You gonna propose?”

  “No, dude. This wasn’t supposed to be a guessing game.”

  I move to a stool positioned at his island. “Well, it better be worth it, because I just got off work and haven’t eaten or changed.”

  “And I was on my way to the studio,” Cill adds, gesturing to his paint-covered clothes.

  Royce slouches. “You guys suck. You’re making this less fun.”

  “Just get on with it, bro,” Cillian demands. “Or I’m gonna eat all your food.”

  “Yeah, give me those chips,” I say, stealing the bag from Cill.

  “All right, hold on.” Royce disappears down the hall.

  “He texts us telling us to get over here, doesn’t even have proper food to eat, and doesn’t tell us what the hell is going on. That’s your brother,” Cillian says, looking through Royce’s pantry.

  I get up and make my way to the fridge, hoping he has something to wash these chips down with. “He’s got some Gatorade. Want one?” I ask Cill.

  “Sure.”

  I toss him a bottle, and go to open mine when we hear his steps approaching.

  “This better be worth my trip all the way out here when I have a painting to finish,” Cill calls out.

  It isn’t Royce who comes around the corner. It’s Merrick. Our baby brother.

  “What?” Cill exclaims.

  A smile grows on my face as I put the Gatorade bottle down and step up to hug the brother I haven’t seen in months.

  6

  When I get back home, I only have enough time to pee before my phone is ringing. The special ringtone tells me it’s my sister.

  “Hey, G. What’s up?” I ask, flopping onto my couch.

  “Hey, how’s it going? How was your first day?” she asks.

  “As good as a first day can go. Two professors seemed okay. One’s an asshole. One is super hot!”

  She laughs. “Oh, Lord. Don’t you start.”

  “I’m serious, G. Even you would think so.”

  Even without seeing her, I know she’s shaking her head and rolling her eyes. “Well, don’t get in trouble with that, just focus on your work.”

  Any thought I had of maybe being able to tell her what happened goes out the window with that comment. It’s not my fault, though. How was I supposed to know he’d be my teacher? But I don’t want her to worry or stress out about this, so I keep it to myself. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to turn into anything anyway.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I reply sarcastically.

  “Whatever. Make friends yet? Tell me everything. I’m so bored without you here,” she whines.

  I lift my feet onto the couch and grin. “Aww. I miss you, too. But at least you have friends there already. I’m just starting out, but I met this one chick. Her name’s Ayanna, and she’s pretty cool. She’s taking me to a party this weekend.”

  Gia groans. “Just be careful.”

  “You know I will. Don’t worry.”

  Silence settles between us, because there’s always an unasked question on the tip of my tongue, or an untold story on hers.

  “So, just to keep you in the loop, Mario still hasn’t been seen around lately.”

  My shoulders sag as the information hits my ears. I’m always hoping he’ll pop up around there, so I know he isn’t anywhere near me.

  “Well, we were pretty good on keeping things quiet about where I was moving to. I don’t think he’ll find me here.”

  “I don’t think so either, but you never know, so be cautious. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “You know I got your back, boo,” she says with a laugh, lightening the mood.

  “I know you do. Call me at nine and we can watch an episode of The Kardashians together and talk shit like we always do.”

  Gia laughs. “All right. Talk to you later. Love you.”

  “I love you.”

  After we hang up, I think about Mario. He’s my ex-boyfriend, and to say things ended badly would be the understatement of the century.

  We only dated for six months. The first three were great, but the last three were awful. It was like a switch flipped inside his brain and everything was different.

  He wanted to know where I was and who I was with at all times. If I didn’t text back within a few minutes, he started losing it. If I went out with my friends, he would either invite himself or just show up.

  I found him going through my phone one time, and it caused a huge fight that ended with me threatening to leave and then him threatening to kill himself if I left.

  After that, things just got progressively worse. My sister caught him driving by our house when I was at work. He would also drive by my job to make sure I was there. He wanted me to quit
my job so I could spend more time with him, and then when I refused, he said I didn’t love him.

  I’m not really sure what happened that triggered this behavior. Perhaps it was always there, but he made sure to fool me in the beginning to get me to stick around.

  The final straw was when I found out he was tracking me through an app he downloaded on my phone. When I confronted him, he flew into a rage about why it was his right to do that, and if I didn’t have anything to hide, I’d let him.

  I told him it was over, and for the first two days I thought I got away with an easy break-up. However, on the third night, me and my sister came home from a late-night drive, and found Mario climbing into my bedroom window. Who knows what his plan was? But it sends shivers down my spine to think about.

  We called the cops, but he spotted us before they got there and took off. After filing a police report, and under my sister’s urging, getting a restraining order, we didn’t hear from him for a while.

  Then the letters started showing up. Not only at my house, which I shared with my sister, but my job, my car, and one was even left with a waitress at a restaurant I was dining at. He was following me everywhere.

  They started as love letters, then moved on to apology letters, and after he never got a response, they turned into threats. I was not only scared for myself, but for my sister as well. So, when things became too stressful, and I felt like I couldn’t walk down the street without looking over my shoulder, I decided to move. Gia both hated the idea, and felt some relief. She’s been terrified for me, but now that I feel safe, I still worry about her.

  She made sure to tell everyone I was moving, that way word could get to Mario, wherever he was hiding. Everybody she told, was told a different city, so he shouldn’t even know where to start looking. And hopefully he’ll leave her alone knowing I no longer live there.

  Life gives you a shitty hand sometimes, but I’m determined not to fold.

  7

  “What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with the band? Don’t you have a show?” I ask, pulling out of the hug.

  Merrick gives us his lopsided grin, rubbing the back of his head. “The show got canceled because Sky is sick. We re-scheduled for a few days from now.”

  “So, our baby brother is home for a couple days,” Royce says, putting his hand on Merrick’s shoulder and giving him a shake.

  “Are the other guys here?” Cill asks.

  Merrick shakes his head. “Nah. Just me. I needed to get away and come back home for a little bit. Ya know?”

  My brows furrow. “You okay?”

  He laughs it off, but I know something’s bothering him. Could it be just the stress of being a twenty-two-year-old touring the country? Sure. Could it be the lack of sleep and the abundance of parties every night? Probably. But I know Merrick better than anyone, and something’s telling me it’s more than that.

  “I’m fine, Elijah,” he says, staring into my eyes. “Just wanted to be around family.”

  Cill messes up his hair. “Aww, the rock star missed us.”

  “Well, I’m fucking starving, and Royce doesn’t have shit in this house, so who’s getting me some food?” Merrick asks with a grin.

  “Oh, you think you’re too famous to get your own food now?” Cill teases.

  “Did I not tell you about the time I tried to go to In-N-Out in California?”

  “What happened again?” Royce asks.

  “I went in thinking my hat and sunglasses would be enough to disguise me, but the girl at the counter kept giving me these looks, and then she whispered to a co-worker, and that’s when I started getting nervous. The other girl brings out her phone and searches the internet, I’m sure. Before I know it, they’re screeching and jumping up and down, and once other people started realizing what was going on, I bolted through the doors without my food.”

  “Aww, poor baby,” Cill says, putting Merrick in a headlock. “I guess we can get you some food.”

  “I’ll just order some pizza or something,” Royce says, instantly grabbing his phone.

  Cill recites what he wants while I tug Merrick to the side. “You sure you’re okay?”

  He grins, but I see the lie behind his eyes before he says it. “I’m fine, E.” I keep staring at him and he chuckles. “It’s good to be home.”

  “You planning on seeing anybody while you’re here? Or are you keeping a low profile?”

  “Probably a low profile. I won’t be here too long anyway. I mainly look forward to sleeping in and doing nothing.”

  I laugh and slap him on the shoulder. “I understand. You staying with me?”

  He nods. “That was the plan. You don’t have a girlfriend, do you? Do I have to worry about late night booty calls and running into some woman in the kitchen at three in the morning?”

  I roll my eyes. “When did that ever happen?”

  Merrick laughs, shrugging his shoulders. “Just curious.”

  “Dude, you know Elijah doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Cillian says, popping up next to us.

  “Okay, we’re not talking about this again,” I say, walking away.

  “Ah, come on, man,” Cill calls out. “I’m just giving you shit. You can stay a bachelor your whole life if that makes you happy.”

  Truth of the matter is, I’m not happy living the bachelor life. I thought I had found a woman to spend my life with, but she broke my heart and took off. Of course I’d love to have someone to share my life with, but I’m starting to think it’s not in the cards for me.

  * * *

  Back at home, Merrick takes a shower and I pour myself a drink and relax in the den. I think back on my relationship with Jenn and wonder if there was anything I could’ve done differently. It’s not because I’m full of myself and think I’m perfect, but I honestly don’t think I could’ve done anything to save our relationship. The issue we had was completely hers. However, her reasoning has stuck with me, and I think that’s affected how I’ve approached relationships since then.

  “Care if I join you?” Merrick asks, appearing in the doorway wearing a plain white T-shirt and black joggers.

  “Course not. Drink?”

  “Yeah, I’ll get it.”

  As he pours himself a vodka tonic, he says, “You seem deep in thought. Anything going on?”

  “Not really,” I reply.

  “Sounds like bullshit, but okay,” he says, dropping into the chair across from me.

  I smirk. “I’m fine.”

  “Sure. Just like I’m fine.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “So, you gonna tell me what’s going on?”

  He takes a sip and shakes his head. “Just tired.”

  I bring my glass to my lips and swallow down a mouthful of bourbon. “Well, aren’t we both just full of shit today.”

  Merrick chokes out a laugh. “How about we talk about our problems tomorrow. Tonight can be about anything else.”

  “Deal. I wish I could take time off while you’re here, but the school year just started.”

  He waves his hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be here when you get off.” He takes a sip. “Another year dealing with young adults who think they know everything. You’re not annoyed yet?”

  I chuckle. “I dealt with you and your brothers. You little shits thought you knew everything, thought you could get away with everything, and didn’t take me seriously. At least my students take me seriously.”

  Merrick smirks. “Sorry, bro.”

  I shake my head. “My students don’t come home with me, so at least there’s a break.”

  He waggles his eyebrows. “You could bring a student home with you. They’re adults.”

  With a roll of my eyes, I say, “Against the rules, Merrick. Plus, they’re all so young. I mean, they’re younger than you.” I shake my head. “There’s no way.”

  “Some of those chicks are probably hot. Come on. Be honest.”

  Nova immediately comes to mind. Yes, there have been pretty women in m
y class, but I’d never consider Nova pretty, she’s more than that. And the fact that I keep thinking about her is probably a problem.

  “Uh-oh,” Merrick says with a stupid grin. “There is someone.”

  I get up to refill my glass. “No, there’s not.”

  “What’s she look like?”

  With my back turned to him, I say, “There is no she.”

  “Liar,” he says behind a chuckle. “You got the hots for a student.”

  “School just started,” I state, turning around to face him.

  “And? What’s her name?”

  “You’re still a little shit,” I tell him.

  “Hey, man. I’m not judging you. You’re attracted to who you’re attracted to.”

  I make my way back to my chair. “And you? Are you into someone who’s not into you? Is that why you look so down?” I ask, taking the focus off me.

  Merrick’s shoulders drop and his brows pinch together. “You can’t be with someone when you’re doing what I’m doing. We’re in a new city every other day. There’s groupies running in and out of hotel rooms. There’s no privacy, no quiet time.”

  “You’re young, though. Enjoy this while you can. You won’t always be a young, hot rock star with lots of money and opportunities. I understand wanting to settle down, but you have plenty of time. Don’t let it stress you out.”

  “Yeah, but…” he trails off, taking another gulp of his drink then shaking his head. “Yeah, you’re right. Never mind.”

  My brows stay furrowed as I watch Merrick with his clenched jaw and eyes filled with frustration. There’s more he needs to get out, but he’ll do it on his own time. He’s always been one to keep things to himself unless absolutely necessary. He’s sort of like me, I guess.

  8

  “Oh, shit. You have Professor Kingston?” Ayanna exclaims as we stand outside his classroom.

  “Yep,” I reply, raising my brows as a smile stretches across my face. “Hot, right?”

  “Yes! I was so mad I didn’t get into his class. I got old Mr. Johnson.” She makes a face. “The rumor mill says he’s been dating another professor.”