Page 44 of Alamort

River pulls out her phone while I’m deep in thought. She gasps at whatever it is she sees. Anxiety pauses my thoughts looking over at River. Her hands shake as she passes me her phone and I frown.

On the school’s student gossip site, which I refuse to get because of this type of drama, is a clear video of me on loop. Crawling on my hands and knees. Starting from Crews feet, following me zoomed in on my ass is my black thong on display for the school. Rolling my lips onto my teeth, I nod. I knew there would be a video. I could faintly hear the chatter from everyone around me. Scrolling down with my thumb there are now memes about me. Disgusting comments under each post.

OscarBush @ AmberAstor“I knew she was cock hungry!” Biting my tongue, I manage to hand it back without throwing it.

“I think things are about to get a lot worse for us.” Hopefully, for her sake. It’s just me. By the way Saint had no issue in involving her in whatever game they’re playing, I doubt it.

“You know what always makes me feel better? Plotting revenge. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I’m pretty sure it was destroyed in one. Don’t fact check me in case I’m wrong.” She plays with the string over her black throw blanket. There is the River I have come to know. We could always burn this placedown and never have to worry about it. That would leave me with Robert.

My phone vibrates in my hand. An email flashes across the screen.

“Detention,” I mutter. He couldn’t really say more than a few nasty words to me, right? “Plan world domination later. I’m going to go take care of this.”

“Fine, I’ll start without you.” A cute pout lines her face. Chuckling, I leave the room to talk to Bush, who seems intent on helping the Demons’ make my life a living hell.

Marching into the dean’s office, I do without knocking. On the way over here, I’ve worked myself up over the injustice of being targeted by him. It’s as if he sits there constantly monitoring the students’ school website, fixated on any mention or wrongdoing associated with my name. My father, my mother, the Demons’, Amber, and the dean, everyone conspiring against me.

As I push the door open with more force than needed, I briefly lose my resolve when I notice the nurse rubbing her knees while Bush casually zips up his gray trousers. It’s easy to put two and two together to figure out what’s going on. I may be inexperienced, but I’m not naïve. I understand what oral sex involves. Strands stick out on the sides of her messy, dark brown hair, as if someone had run their hands through it. She hurries past me, touching up her smeared maroon lipstick and avoiding eye contact. Before rushing out into the hallway and shutting the heavy door behind her.

“Miss Carter. You’re earlier than expected. Take a seat.” His tone holds a note of irritability at the unexpected interruption. My steps are slow and measured as I take the seat across from him. Considering the amount of funding this school receives,I’d expect them to invest in comfortable seating. Not chairs that make my bones grind against the wood with every subtle movement I make. My chilly hands clasp together in my lap as I wait.

Bush straightens his suit as he sits. “What was so important that you had to interrupt my meeting?” The unbothered tone he has is grating on my nerves. His “meeting”? His dick down the school nurse’s throat during school hours seemssuperimportant.

“I wanted to discuss my detention.”

“Ahh, yes.” He says, patronizingly, “Your little…” Bush looks up, searching for a word. Everything about this guy is shady. The detentions, the questions, the double standards. Call it my sixth sense, or just dealing with people like him all the time, but I’m right.

“Inappropriate display in the cafeteria this morning.” My jaw drops open on its own accord. This guy must be kidding right now.

“You’re serious?”

“It’s becoming quite bothersome to keep tabs on all your transgressions.”

There’s an easy fix for that. Stop. “Get your head out of your ass and do something about the menaces running this school.” That’s what I want to say, but it’ll only get me into more trouble. If there is anyway to get out of these ridiculous detentions, I’m going to have to up the stakes. Time to go with the next best thing: blackmail. I’ve never resorted to it before, but it’s not beneath me.

“What would everyone think if they knew you were fucking the school nurse?” Exuding a sense of calm and confidence in my threat. Checkmate, sleazeball.

Bush’s eyebrows shoot up at my boldness. Like everyone else, he probably underestimates me. With a smug glint in his eyes, he leans back comfortably in his wingback chair.

“You want to know something I found interesting?” Refusing to take his bait, I stay silent, observing his coiled posture, mirroring a striking cobra. He’s going to tell me, anyway.

“I received a call from your father after our last visit.” The pause he takes lets me know he wants to keep me in suspense, because my father would never willingly call anyone about me. “Told me to let him know if I had any additional issues with you and your behavior. He wouldn’t have a problem coming here and setting you straight.” The statement alone makes my confidence falter. He searches my face. What he must see causes an evil grin to spread across his face.

The usual darkness that intertwines and drags me to face my grief is now a chill seeping through my bones with the phantom ache of his fists. All the air has left my lungs. The facade of my calm composure is cracking. My nails dig into my thighs, hoping the sting will bring back some resemblance of control.

“Now, since you’re here early, we can get started on detention. Unless you were planning to go back to class?” Giving him a brief nod of acknowledgement, I wait for today’s torture session.

Leisurely, he makes his way next to me, just as he did last time. This time, my guard is much stronger. He will not throw me off again. He reaches out with his repulsive hand, making me instinctively recoil as he tries to touch a loose strand of my hair.

“I once heard about attention seekers like yourself. That any attention is ‘good’ attention.” He sucks his teeth. “If you need attention so badly, I wouldn’t mind giving it to you.” I flinch at the husky tone his voice takes. Red flags are waving in front of my face. My stomach turns at the thought of him using my fatheras a threat for this. Would I choose the evil I know? Or submit to threats?

“Don’t worry, Priya. We’ll get there.” There’s an unspoken promise in his voice that makes my skin crawl. “I had a ladder brought in here for you. My shelves are in need of some dusting, especially the top ones.” His eyes are like mud caking my body as they look me over. He nods his head towards the shelves, and I take the hint. Last time, he only kept me for the hour. I hope he’ll need the office for another student and cut my time short.

“Start from the top down.”

Biting my tongue to keep myself from telling him how much of a pervert he is. I stomp over to grab the ladder out from behind his desk. I’ll begin at the farthest corner and hope my detention will end before I get anywhere near him.

The ascension of the ladder feels more like a death march. His gaze seems to penetrate through my skin, leaving a trail of discomfort with each step. There’s one exit out of this dungeon, and it’s right next to me. Worst-case scenario, I throw myself off the ladder in heels and make a run for it. Potentially stab him in the eye with one of them. Filled with thoughts of revenge, I direct my energy towards tackling the dirt and grime that’s accumulated on the highest shelf. The dust on the books confirms my earlier suspicion that they are purely decorative and have never seen a scrap of daylight. What are the qualifications for running a school? Chancing a peek over my shoulder, his eyes are zeroed in on my ass. I cringe and wrinkle my nose in response.

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