Bastards and Scapegoats (Twisted Legacy Duet #1) - CoraLee June Page 0,47
know me, though. How can you be certain that I’m not inserting my own bias or beliefs into my lecture? I’m molding the minds of future leaders. The next generation is under my thumb, and if I were persuasive enough, I could convince you that my version of events is correct, could I not?”
“We don’t know,” I replied, feeling embarrassed for speaking out of turn the moment those words left my lips.
“Oh?” Dr. Bhavsar asked. “So, what do you do? How do we navigate a world of potentially lying storytellers?”
“We tell our own stories,” I mumbled. “We research. We question everything, even people in positions of power—especially people in positions of power. Credibility is established over time, through fact checking. We don’t allow bias or opinions to shape our realities. We create our own through putting in the work. Those who tell the stories only rule society if society allows it.”
Dr. Bhavsar smiled. “Exactly.”
“I can’t believe we live in the same apartment building. Now I’m absolutely going to bother you all the time,” Jared said with a grin. Jared had walked me to my classes and even had lunch with me at the dining hall. I wasn’t expecting him to spend the day with me, but I wasn’t angry about it.
“You don’t live at the frat house? By the way, I’m still surprised you’re in a frat. Aren’t you supposed to be a raging alcoholic that parties all the time? All the nineties college movies I watched to prepare myself for this year really missed the mark.”
Jared touched his chest. “I’m really hurt by that stereotype, Vera,” he replied. “We aren’t all party hard frat daddies with daddy issues.” I giggled as we walked toward our apartment building. “But maybe your assumptions are partially true. Part of the reason I moved out of the Pike house was because they are slightly disgusting, and I never got any sleep because they were too busy partying all the time. I swear to God the communal showers were coated in a thick layer of cum.”
“That sounds disgusting.”
“I stay for the cute guys and my parents’ approval, but I’m tempted to leave for the same reason. It’s a tragedy.”
Cute guys? I thought Jared was hitting on me before. I guess—
“I see the cute wheels in your head turning. No worries, I’ll happily explain. I’m pansexual,” he explained. “I lost my virginity to a woman twice my age in London. Last year, I dated a football player. I spent last month in New York hooking up with a beautiful trans woman. Last night, in the psychology building, I sucked a mediocre dick belonging to a very confused fraternity president. And right now, I’m really hoping you’ll let me take you on a date.”
“Oh. I…” I wasn’t expecting him to ask me out. It wasn’t his sexual preferences that had me pausing. It was thoughts of Hamilton. I was just about to explain that I wasn’t looking for a date when my phone started ringing. It was a FaceTime call from Hamilton. “Excuse me, I have to answer this,” I whispered. One of the stipulations of watching Little Mama was that I answer whenever he called, as long as I wasn’t in class. He was a needy bastard.
I held the phone up and smiled before clicking accept for the call. Hamilton was lying on his bed in what looked like a small dark room. His hair was a mess, and there was a smudge of grease on his cheek. “Thank fuck you answered. I swear my dick has been hard all day just thinking about you.”
I coughed and Jared grinned beside me before looking over my shoulder to stare at the screen. I tried to angle the phone away. Even though there was no possible way for Jared to know that Hamilton was my uncle, it was only a matter of time before he did.
“I’m guessing that date is a no then, hmm?” Jared asked quietly.
“Who the fuck is that?” Hamilton asked while sitting up on his mattress and leaning closer to the screen for a better look.
“It doesn’t matter. If you’re calling to check on your dog, I’ll be home in just a few minutes so you can see her,” I said.
“Were you bringing this guy home?” Hamilton asked.
“No. He lives in the same building as me. Why are you acting jealous?”
“Maybe I had a taste and I don’t want to share.” Jared shamelessly hovered over me, listening to my conversation with Hamilton and grinning