by J. L. Beck
“No.”
“No? I’m not having sex with you.”
“I didn’t say I was here for sex, did I?”
“That’s literally the only reason you come to my room. Why else would you be here?”
“Okay, you’ve got a point there. I did come for sex, but I’m not interested in making a mess or hearing you whine the entire time.”
“Could you be any more of an asshole?”
“Yes, I actually could. Do you want me to be?”
“Ugh…” I curl onto my side, facing away from him, and close my eyes. “Please, Q. Just leave me alone,” I whine, not caring how pitiful I sound. I bring the chocolate to my mouth and start sucking on the end like it’s a pacifier. Closing my eyes, I pretend Q isn’t here and will the pain meds to work faster.
“I also came to give you this.” I feel him throw something light on top of my blanket. When I open my eyes, I spot a small round pill dispenser.
“What the hell is this?”
“Birth control. You’re gonna take one pill every day, starting today. Instructions are on the back.”
“You can’t be serious.” I’m dumbfounded. “Wait, how did you even get this?”
“It doesn’t matter how I got it. What matters is that you will be a good girl and take it every day. You were the one freaking out about pregnancy. You should thank me.”
I almost snort. Shaking my head at him, I close my eyes again. I don’t even have the energy to fight him on this. Plus, he is right. I don’t want to get pregnant, and it’s not likely he is going to stop fucking me.
“You know… I have a bathtub in my room.”
“Great for you, and thanks for rubbing it in.”
“What I meant was, I could let you use it,” he offers, but I already know it’s going to come with a catch. “For a price, of course.” And there it is.
I don’t answer right away, even though I know I should say no. But the thought of soaking in a hot bubble bath, soothing my back pain and stomach cramps, has my brain shutting off.
Against my better judgment, I ask, “What do you want?”
“I want you to tell me about your friend Brittney, the librarian.” His question is one I did not expect. Why the hell does he want to know about Brittney?
“Why?”
“Because she clearly doesn’t like me, which makes her my enemy, and I like to keep my enemies close. You might have already noticed that.”
“So let me get this straight. The whole reason you and everybody else here hates me is because you think I’m a rat. Over and over again, you have told me to keep my mouth shut and not talk about anything and anyone, but now you want me to give you information on my friend?”
“I’m not asking you to give me any secret information or anything that could get her in trouble. I just like to know everything there is to know about my enemy just in case they ever attack me. And I don’t know if you have noticed how Brittney looks at me, but if she’s ever given the chance, she’ll drive a knife into my back before I know it.”
“Well, I can tell you something about her right now. I’m pretty sure she is the only decent person in this whole place. The only one who treats me like a human being, and the only reason she doesn’t like you is because she knows you want to hurt me. She’s a friend. I know the term might be foreign to you, so I’ll explain it. A friend is a person who cares about your well-being, who protects and appreciates you, and who does all of it asking for nothing in return.”
“I know what a friend is. I have many. I just don’t wanna be yours.”
I blame it on my period, but his comment hurts more than it should. Of course, he doesn’t want to be my friend. No one here does. It doesn’t make it hurt any less, especially after giving him my virginity, and I’m using the term give here lightly since taken would be more appropriate. The need to lash out at him overwhelms me.
“I hate to burst your bubble, but you don’t have any friends either. You have people who fear your father and who are nice to you because they want something. Do you really think any of these people here care about you as a person? Because I don’t. At least I have one friend, a real friend. You have none, and knowing the way you are, I don’t think you ever will.”
In a flash, he is on me, his nose pressed against mine as he breathes through it like a bull ready to charge. The closeness of his body makes me dizzy.
“I’ll let your mouthy-ass attitude slide since you’re having a bad day but say one more thing that pisses me off, and I don’t give a fuck if you have your period or not. I’ll fuck your asshole and make that bleed too.”
“I hate you,” I growl directly into his face, though I’m grateful he takes a step back, putting some much-needed space between us. I can’t think properly when he’s around, and that terrifies me. He terrifies me.
“Good. At least you feel something for me.” He grins, and I swear I could get whiplash from how fast his moods change sometimes.
“Where are you going?” I ask before I can stop the words from coming out.
He pauses, his hand on the doorknob. He doesn’t look back at me as he speaks. “Leaving. You don’t want to fuck, and you aren’t willing to share anything about Brittney, so I have no reason to be here.”
I feel slimy, used, and when he opens the door a moment later, I let him walk out. I guess, in a way, it’s better that he makes me feel like shit because if he didn’t, I’d have this false sense of hope that things might work out differently. They won’t; they never do. I’m a release to him, and he’s a protector for me. Nothing else but those things matter, and I need to remember that. Good thing he’s plenty good at reminding us both.
27
QUINTON
The cold Alaskan air whisks around us while we wait on the side of the helicopter pad for our families to arrive. Thank god, my busted lip healed up in time. I didn’t want Scarlet to see it and think something bad had happened. Not that she hadn’t seen a bruised lip or black and blue eye a time or two. I was more worried about explaining myself to her.
After being cooped up underground most of the time, I appreciate the sun on my skin even though the cold is seeping through my thick jacket and into my bones.
Ren is standing beside me, staring straight ahead into the vast forest surrounding us.
“You think someone could survive out there?” he asks, never taking his eyes off the forest.
I shrug. “Sure, with the right gear.”
“What about right now? What if we were to be dropped off dead in the center with nothing more than what’s on us at the moment. You think we would survive?”
I make a quick check of what I’m wearing and what’s in my pockets. A knife is tucked away in my boot, but besides that, I have nothing on me. My clothes are warm enough for now, but probably not to survive a night. I’d have to build a shelter, definitely a fire, plus hunt for food, but I think I could manage.
“We could make it, but I really hope that’s just theoretical because I hate the cold.”
“Same.” Ren chuckles. “And yes, theoretical. Not planning on going on a survival trip any time soon.”
We both look up simultaneously when the sound of an approaching helicopter fills the air. We hear them a few minutes before the helicopter breaks through the thick cloud, descending to where we are rapidly. The mirth that fills my chest cavity at the appearance of that helicopter is astounding. I’m more afraid now than I’ve ever been about losing Scarlet or my parents, and flying on a plane to Alaska would be the perfect opportunity for one of our enemies to swoop in.
Thankfully, my fears are just that, fears, and the helicopter lands smoothly at the center of the helipad. Not even a second later, the door opens. My father gets out first, his graying hair whipping around as he helps my mother out of the helicopter. As soon as her feet touch the ground, she looks up, her eyes darting around until they zero in on me.
Not many people are out here, waiting for their families to arrive, but there are enou
gh for us to behave a certain way. We learned at a young age that we have to keep affection to a minimum in public, which is probably what my father is whispering into Scarlet’s ear right now after she basically jumped out of the helicopter and into his arms. He sets her down in front of him and straightens her jacket, then waves her off like she is a perpetual child.
For all the hate I harbor for my father, this is one thing I can’t hold against him. Even though he acts like this in public, he’s always treated my sisters with nothing but love when we are inside the comfort of our home. Ren’s family does the same, but I know for a fact, others are not that lucky.
Scarlet and my mother keep their heads bowed as they trail my father while walks toward us. Ren simply nods to them and makes his way toward the helicopter to greet his parents, Roman and Sophie, and his sister, Luna.
“Quinton,” my father greets me, but I don’t respond. All I want to do is hug the two women behind him, but I force myself not to and turn and start walking away from them.
“I’ll show you where you will be staying.”
I don’t look back, knowing they are following me, and I feel my father’s gaze at the back of my head. As we pass other students along the way, their eyes go wide. Some take a step back, cowering at my father’s presence, while others simply stand in place frozen with fear. No one says anything. There are no greetings or pleasantries, and I’m fucking glad for it.
All families are staying at the top part of the university, in the castle part that has been rebuilt to house any guests the school might have as well as host large gatherings and parties. It’s only a short walk from the helicopter pad to the castle. We use one of the partly underground tunnels that weaves through the mountain. The top is mostly glass, giving us a riveting view of our surroundings, though I can’t enjoy any of it at the moment.
Silently, we walk through the entryway of the castle and up the staircase leading into a large hallway. I walk them to the end of the hall, where a set of double doors lead into the suite they will be staying in.
I unlock it with the key card I was given earlier and push open the heavy doors. “This is where you will be—”
I don’t get the words out before a small body slams into my side, and thin arms wrap around my middle.
“I missed you,” Scarlet murmurs into my jacket.
She’s much smaller than me, the top of her head barely reaching my chest, but her grip on me is surprisingly strong, like a tiny monkey who can’t be shaken off.
“I missed you too.” I kiss the crown of her head and wrap my arms around her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mom walking up to us, tears already forming, clinging to her long black lashes. I hold open one of my arms, and she falls into us.
We stay in our three-way hug for a few minutes. No one wants to let go. My father walks past us, scanning the suite like he’s looking for anything that could harm us. Of course, that was already done, but nothing is good enough for him, especially when it comes to his family.
When we do finally break the hug, Scarlet jumps into a frenzy of questions immediately.
“Where do you sleep? Where are your classes? Are the dorms far from here, and can I look at them? Is there only the one cafeteria? What kind of food do they serve? Do they have the kind of tea I like? Did you make any friends?”
“Slow down. I’ll give you a tour later. Yes, there is only one cafeteria, but they have pretty much everything you could want, including tea.”
“Yeah, but is it the one I like?” She wrinkles her nose at me.
“Yes, they have all the food you like,” I assure her.
“You look tired. Are you getting enough sleep?” My mom pipes in, concern etched into her voice. Lifting her head, she runs her fingers across my forehead and into my hair like she did when I was little. Only now, she has to reach up instead of down since I’ve been taller than her for a few years now.
“Yes, I sleep,” I give her a washed-down answer.
The truth is the only time I slept well and through the night was when I was in Aspen’s bed with my body wrapped around hers. I keep telling myself it’s because I was drunk, but I’ve been drunk before and still didn’t sleep.
She frowns at me, knowing that I’m not being truthful with her, but luckily, she lets it go… for now, at least. I’m sure this is not the last I’ll hear of it.
“I’m also curious to see where you and Ren are staying. Will you show us the dorms now?”
The thought of me walking them through the dorms and possibly running into Aspen has my anxiety peaking. I need to stay as far away from her as I can with my father being here.
“Don’t you want to rest first before I show you around?”
“Rest?” Scarlet asks as if I just proposed the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Do you have any idea how excited I have been and how long I’ve been waiting for today? Resting is the last thing on my mind. I want to see everything.” Her excitement is almost infectious.
“Fine, I’ll show you around. You won’t need your jackets; everything is underground and heated.”
Everyone, including me, gets rid of their outerwear, and we head back out. I show them the rest of the castle before leading them to the classrooms and the cafeteria.
The entire time I’m on edge, walking a very thin tight rope. Scarlet and Mom are too excited to notice, but of course, nothing slips past my father. The tension between us is even thicker than normal, and it only grows as the day goes on.
When we get to the dorms, Scarlet is beaming with excitement while I’m sweating bullets, having a small heart attack every time I see a blond girl come around the corner. I’m not sure what my dad is gonna do when he sees her, but I know it’s not going to be good, and I won’t be able to protect her from him.
I open my room with my key card, and we’re immediately greeted with voices coming from inside. Ren, Roman, Sophie, and Luna are all piled on the large L-shaped couch.
“There you guys are,” Roman greets and pushes off the couch.
He comes over to me and slaps a hand on my back in greeting. He is the only one in our extended family who is actually taller than me. As the story goes, he used to be an underground fighter, entering fights for money where only one person exits the ring. Even looking at him now, as his age is showing, it’s no surprise that he won every time.
Luna and Sophie come over and greet me next, while Ren is greeted by Scarlet and my parents. The room suddenly starts to feel smaller.
“I love this apartment. Can I stay here tonight?” Scarlet asks.
I shrug, unsure if this is a good idea. I would like to have my sister here, but I don’t know if my father will allow it. Seeing my apprehension, she turns to my parents.
“Please, it’s been forever since I’ve seen Quinton, and you can’t tell me there is a safer place than this apartment.”
“I don’t know,” my father starts, but my mom cuts him off.
“Q and Ren will both be here, and in two years, she’ll be here in her own apartment. I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Plus, then we’ll have the suite to ourselves.” She smiles, and Scarlet fake gags. My parents' love story is one for the books. If there has ever been a person to bring my father to his knees, it’s my mother. However, that doesn’t mean I want to hear them talk about fucking.
“Luna is staying here as well,” Sophie chimes in, thankfully.
My father looks back and forth between Ren and me, his gaze penetrating. “You know the rules, and you also know if anything happens to your sister—”
“Nothing will happen to her, not here, not ever,” I interrupt.
“Fine.” He turns to Scarlet, who is ready to jump out of her skin. “You need to check in with me every few hours, and do not go anywhere without your brother.”
Scarlet nods, her smile growing with every passing second.
“Then it’s settled. You can stay.” A smile breaks across my father’s lips, and the tension in the air eases.
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“Yay! I’m even more excited now. I can’t wait for the ball, though. I want to meet all your friends.” Friends? I don’t have the heart to tell her I haven’t made any friends, unless you count what Aspen and I are doing as being friends. Which I don’t.
“Ren told me he has no date to the ball. What about you, Q? Are you taking someone?” Luna asks curiously.
“If it wasn’t for you guys being here, I wouldn’t go to the stupid ball in the first place. So no, I’m not planning on bringing anyone else just to bore them to death.”
“Nonsense,” my father interjects, and I can tell from the gleam in his eyes whatever he is going to say isn’t going to be something I want to hear. “It will be good for business. I’ll find someone for you to take.”
Great. Just when I thought this couldn’t get any worse, I’ve gone and stuck my fucking foot in my mouth.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Scarlet insists. “You can sleep in your bed.”
“Okay.” I smile, handing her a pillow and a blanket.
I watch as she makes her bed on the couch and crawls under the blanket, wearing pajamas covered in pink hearts and little owls. I already know she’s gonna come and crawl into my bed, but I’ll let her have her way. She hates sleeping in places she doesn’t know, and every time we are someplace new, she ends up in my bed, not wanting to sleep alone.
I’ve told her many times just to come and sleep in my bed, but every time, she insists that it will be different now and that she is not a little girl anymore.
I’ll believe it when I see it. “All right, good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night.” She smiles at me, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
Luna and Ren are already in bed, and Luna had no trouble admitting she wanted to sleep in her brother’s room.
