Fiftysix - Seven Rue Page 0,70

looking at me as if I was a whole other person.

A monster of some sort.

I chose to wear black tights with my skirt, and I buttoned up my shirt so no cleavage was showing. I also put on the jacket and buttoned it at my waist.

“I’m uncomfortable,” Kennedy said, still looking at me confused.

I sighed and closed the door, then grabbed my backpack from my backseat and locked the car before passing her and walking across the parking lot.

“I’m still me. I’m just trying to figure things out.”

“By not showing as much skin as you usually show?”

“Yes. To see if I can go a day without the attention of men,” I stated.

“And you’re doing this because…”

“Because Riggs has taken up too much space in my head the past two days and I need to be clear about him.”

“I honestly didn’t expect that. I thought you’d just keep on living and be yourself, show him that you don’t take any of his bullshit.”

I shrugged. “I’m still me. Just without all the naughtiness.”

“So you think you and Riggs could turn into something serious?” she asked, walking next to me as we entered the building to get to our lockers.

“I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but I wanna see what it feels like not being the center of attention for once. And not spending evenings making men come through a webcam.”

“Have you been talking to him again?”

“Riggs? No. He blocked me again. So when I know what I want, and if I want it from him, I’ll show up at his door. No matter if he wants me to or not.”

“Sounds like a plan. But there’s something you need to know about the attention thingy…”

We stopped at our lockers and I turned to look at her while I opened mine. “What’s that?”

“You have a beautiful face, and as many eyes as your body attracts, your face can do the same.”

I rolled my eyes. “Not at a school like this. These boys are idiots and only have eyes for boobs and asses. Because if they would look at the girls’ faces at this college, they’d see how beautiful all of them are. Including you.”

She studied me for a while, and a small appeared on her lips as she took in my compliment.

“Okay, you maybe have a point there. But you doing all this for Riggs means you do have feelings for him.”

“I don’t know what I feel for him other than some type of anger for just leaving me laying there on the bed after rough-fucking me like a beast. Other than that…there’s a ball of confusion inside of me.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,”

“Not sure about that,” I whispered, grabbing my notebook and closing the locker to then lean against it.

“I want today to be over,” I mumbled.

“Already? School hasn’t even started, Miss Bentley,” Mr. T. said as he stopped next to us with his hands pushed into his pockets.

I looked at him, let him take in the new me for today, before he spoke again. “Bad day?”

I smiled, but it didn’t meet my eyes. “A little bit,” I replied, rolling my eyes internally and pushing myself off the lockers.

“We should head to class,” I told Kennedy, hoping Mr. Trapani would leave me alone.

If it weren’t for Riggs, I would’ve unbuttoned my jacket and shirt for him to see more.

But I was different today, with my reason for it slowly fading and starting to sound ridiculous.

“Good idea,” Mr. T. said, and so Kennedy and I started to walk away from him, but I didn’t get far as he pulled me back by grabbing my wrist.

“If there’s something you need to talk about, you know where my office is,” he said, keeping his voice low.

I looked at him and wanted to sigh heavily, letting him know that today was not the day.

“I’m fine. But thank you,” I told him with another smile before I freed myself from him and followed Kennedy to our first class.

“What a creep,” she whispered, making me laugh out loud and change my mood at least for a little while.

*

Stephen was one of those men who liked to talk while I sat in front of the webcam and listened to his worries and thoughts.

Tonight, although he wouldn’t be my first choice when I turned on my webcam, I needed to see and talk to him.

He wasn’t a very sexual person, but he enjoyed having deep conversations, so maybe he could help me with my little problem concerning Riggs.

I