“I’m sorry, I must not have made myself clear earlier.” All amusement fell from his face, his hand landing on his wooden podium with an echoing thud. “I’m not here to amuse you. I’m also not your babysitter. If you can’t force yourself to pay attention and to stay awake, why do you even bother coming to my class?”
The question was rhetorical. Before I even had a chance to answer, he was adding more. “The people around you want to learn. They are taking this class seriously. They stay awake and they pay attention. They pay a good amount of money to be here. And here you are, disturbing them for the second time today.”
I placed my tongue between my teeth, biting down just hard enough to keep my mouth closed. What I wanted to tell him was that I wasn’t the one disturbing the class. My little chuckle didn’t stop anyone from learning. My sleeping wasn’t getting in anyone’s way of taking notes. What shocked the class was his need to berate me for every little thing. I knew that pointing that out would only make matters worse for me, though, so I keptquiet like the good little girl I was. It wasn’t in my nature to make waves. I avoided confrontation at all costs. It’s how I got through life. Being quiet, keeping my head down, getting my work done.
When I didn’t reply, I saw his anger intensify. He wanted something from me, but I just wasn’t sure what.Was it my attention? My hatred? Embarrassment? Or did he simply want to break me, ruin me?
“You’re here on an academic scholarship, yes?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at me. I even heard one person gasp.
I wanted to reply, but I couldn’t. Not only did everyone know that I was on the verge of failing his class, but they also knew that I was broke, and all thanks to him.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you that if you fail this class, you’ll lose your scholarship. Are you aware of that?”
“Yes.” I forced the word out.
He arched one brow. “Well, Ms. Ashford, it looks like I’m one assignment away from never having to deal with you again. I’d watch myself if I were you. And for the love of God, put forth a little effort into, at least, making it look like you’re paying attention. Your blatant disregard for respect is nothing short of astounding.”
My gut twisted as anger burned hot inside of me. Every muscle was tense as I sat, staring down at a professor who was dead-set on getting me out of his class once and for all.
Someone cleared their throat, causing Professor West to rip his attention away from me.
“Professor, I hate to interrupt, but I’m going to be late for my next class if we go much longer,” a guy said from across the room.
Professor West took a deep breath. “Of course. Forgive me for class running over today. Don’t forget that your papers are due first thing Friday morning. This paper is worth sixty percentof your overall grade. That’s enough to make or break some of you.” He said that last part with his stare bouncing back to me. “See you all Friday.” He turned and walked to his desk in the corner of the room, taking his seat and working to shut down the computer as everyone else gathered their things to leave.
I took a deep breath as I tucked all of my things into my bag. Standing, I slung it over my shoulder and started down the steps. Once I reached the bottom, he glanced up and his eyes narrowed on mine. His jaw twitched, and a tingling sensation moved from my chest to my lower belly like a bolt of lightning. Goosebumps prickled my skin. My breathing picked up, and my cheeks heated. Tears sprang to my eyes, making them burn as I tried to keep my head down.
One would think something like that would go unnoticed by their professor, but he noticed, and he turned away as a look of pure disgust tugged the corners of his mouth in a downward motion.
I had only been in his class for three months, and I was already walking a fine line of expulsion. I had no idea how I was going to make it through the rest of the year.
ELLIOT
Ilaid in bed that night, my head a fucking mess. I was sick to death of seeing Evelyn in my lecture hall several times a week. On the other hand, I was glad I got those moments to torment her. I couldn’t get to Gabe, her brother, but I sure as fuck relished in taking out my hatred on her, his dear little sister. The one he raised after their parents were killed. The one he’d do anything for. She was as close as I could get to fucking his life up after what he did to me, so I took the opportunity, knowing I wouldn’t get another one.
Sleep evaded me. Evelyn’s big green eyes kept haunting me. Seeing her crimson cheeks and noting the way the quiet beauty tensed whenever I looked even remotely in her direction had my insides in a state of turmoil.
The truth of the matter was, none of this was Evelyn’s fault. It was all Gabe’s fault. She had nothing to do with my feelings other than being the punching bag I could let them out on. It probably made me a huge prick, but I didn’t care. In order to get to him, I had to use her.
Collateral damage.
I rolled over and punched my pillow, irritated out of my mind. Aside from fucking with her in class, there wasn’t muchelse I could do. She was a good student. I did grade her harsher than everyone else, and I knew her well enough to know she tended to crack under pressure. Or at least she had when she was a kid. I hadn’t seen her in years, and to find her name on my class roster immediately brought me back to life. At least a life of revenge.
I sank back onto my pillow and closed my eyes, remembering the first time I’d met her all those years ago.
“I just have to run in and change, and then we can hit up that party,” Gabriel said as he led the way up the sidewalk, moving toward the two-story white house. “I didn’t know you were coming home for the summer, but I’m glad you did. The guys and I miss having you on the team.” He opened the front door and stepped inside.
He held the door while motioning for me to come in, so I stepped into his house, noticing the smell of vanilla and cinnamon lingered in the air.
“It wasn’t planned,” I told him, sliding my hands into the front pocket of my jeans. “I was hoping to land an internship, but it didn’t go through. It was either hang out on an empty campus all summer or come home. How are the guys anyway?”
Gabe shrugged as he closed the front door behind us. “They’re good. The team blows this year. You carried us for so long, it’s almost like we don’t know how to do it without you.”
He was stroking my ego, and I didn’t mind. “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you say it is.”
He rolled his eyes. “Martin is pitching,” he deadpanned.
