studies to go to some stupid game.”
“Of course not,” Uncle and I say at the same time, then he snorts and I can’t help but laugh, too.
Aunt folds her arms and taps her foot on the floor.
Uncle and I busy ourselves with retrieving vegetables from the refrigerator while trying to suppress our laughter.
“Teamwork,” Uncle and I murmur to each other.
For the moment, just this moment, I forget what happened today.
Or I try to, anyway.
In the morning, Aunt drives me to school on her way to work.
I kept recalling yesterday for the entire night and contemplated not showing up today. But then, I had a serious angry session with myself.
No one — Aiden included — will break me.
My early childhood didn’t and he certainly fucking wouldn’t.
I just have to be smart about dealing with him. Like avoiding the shit out of him and go back to glaring from afar.
I wave at my aunt and stride into the school with my head held high like usual.
The taunts begin, but I don’t let them rattle me.
A little voice in my head whispers at them.
Run along, kids, your little pranks are nothing compared to Aiden’s depravity.
Despite my pep talk this morning that gave me much needed courage, a tremor shoots down my limbs the closer I approach the class.
I’ll see him again. I’ll see those demon eyes.
Those sadistic smirks.
That dark soul.
Son of a bitch. How the hell am I supposed to survive an entire year with him in the same class?
To make matters worse, Kim is nowhere to be found. Since I don’t have a phone anymore, I called her from the landline earlier but she didn’t pick up.
I still have some time before the first class, so I head to her spot in the garden.
My pace falters near the tree where Aiden trapped me yesterday.
A strange awareness grips me by the throat. My body’s memory acts up again.
I can feel his hands all over me.
I can smell him amongst the trees.
I can see that soulless look in his eyes.
A strong wave of hate takes over me, but that’s not the only thing.
Something else, something completely immoral grips me, too.
Get out of my head, damn you!
My brows scrunch when I arrive at the cabin and find no trace of Kim.
Like me, Kim never skips. If she did, something serious must’ve happened.
That wanker Xander better not have hurt her or I’ll go all mama bear on his arse.
I turn around and my head collides against a strong chest.
“Are you here for more, sweetheart?”
Chapter Six
He needs to stop calling me sweetheart or I’ll get a voodoo doll with his face on it and stab it to death.
Better yet, I’ll cut it limb from limb.
I step back to an arm’s length. If I keep enough distance, he won’t be able to catch me.
There’s no way in hell I’ll let him trap me like he did yesterday.
This time, I’ll either scream or run.
Yup. Sounds like a plan.
I gulp, but it lodges in my throat like an external object. No pep talk or courage could erase the memories from yesterday.
No pep talk could convince the nerves tingling with suffocating fear that I’ll be fine.
My limbs are screaming at me to run.
Hide.
Never look back.
I don’t.
Running away from someone who gets off on vulnerability isn’t the smartest thing to do.
He’d chase me. Hell. I’m sure the psycho would enjoy it, too.
Who’ll come out victorious?
Yeah. Not me.
So instead of flight, I choose to fight.
I lift my chin, calling all the courage I have left.
But the moment I meet his gaze, most of that courage falters. The thing about Aiden? He’s so well-put-together.
Perfect face.
Perfect body.
Perfect style.
He doesn’t even wear the tie on most days, and it still looks like the school’s uniform was tailored for his firm, muscular body.
His entire appearance is another asset he uses to intimidate.
To charm.
To screw everyone over.
I even fell for that charm the first day I met him. From afar, he looked like a God. Up close, he’s nothing more than a monster.
Since he choked me in front of the entire school and announced he’d destroy me, I realised that his entire look is a façade.
The only thing I see is the void in his steel eyes.
The hate.
The black rage.
I don’t understand how no one else notices it. Either they’re too far gone under his spell or they simply don’t care.
That’s what it means to be king, isn’t it? He can be corrupt all he wants. Hell, he can order a war that will slaughter half the nation
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