Page 4 of Corrupt Me

We both know he doesn’t. What connects us is this strange sense of duty and our friends. We’re family. It doesn’t matter if we like each other, but it’s paramount we work together and take care of each other.

I expect years of frustration ahead. The two of us will never get along, which saddens me. We’re trapped in this unforgiving cage of destiny, neither friends nor enemies.

Fetching my bathrobe, I wrap it around my body and return to my room.

After I take a long shower, washing away the chlorine and sadness, I blow-dry my hair and let the reddish blond strands fall over my breasts. I slip on shorts and a tank top, then settle back at my desk. Here, I’m in control—calm, collected, knowing exactly what I have to do. This is my safe place.

Hunter is there, just behind my door, pacing the hallway and grumbling under his breath. He’s a conundrum, yet he takes his responsibility of watching over me seriously, making me feel safe. No one could reach me because they would have to go through him, and that would end badly.

“I can hear you breathing,” I expel, and he barges into the room, the infuriating guy.

“Go to sleep, Hunter. There are guards posted everywhere.”

“No one can protect you the way I can.” It’s not arrogance dripping from his voice, but determination.

Yes, but you’re hurting me worse than anyone else could.Why? I don’t have an answer. It’s just my heart deflating from something I haven’t caught onto yet. I just wish I wasn’t a burden.

His phone pings with a notification, and I huddle over my screen, my pulse spiking. A text from some girl pops up in a tab in the corner. I forgot to close it—another testament to how off-balance I am in his presence.

Since he invades my privacy the way he does, I won’t apologize for doing the same. The texts are all the same: girls offering themselves to him in more or less conspicuous ways. Something dark fogs my brain, the tendrils wrapping around my sanity.

“Someone must need night service,” I snicker.

“Jealous?”

Faced with that word, the undeniable truth pokes at my bubble of avoidance.

“Wrap it up, Hunter. We wouldn’t want to lose you to an STD.”

A throaty laugh tumbles out of his mouth. I like that sound, deep and hoarse. I like it less that it’s at my expense.

“I always wrap it up. Don’t worry.”

His taunts will be the reason I lose my mind.

I wait, breath lodged in my throat, eyes glued to the screen, waiting for him to reply. He doesn’t. The relief is instant, and I release the breath I had been holding, the pressure on my lungs easing.

I wish I didn’t feel so relieved, but if he’s going to torment me, the least he could do is not go out and sleep with some girl. Even though he never replies to their texts, there are nights when he disappears, and my mind spirals into the hell of overthinking. I hate those times, but with our friends gone and Felix still out there, he hasn’t been out in a while.

I turn to see him lounging on the armchair by the window—legs spread, head cocked to the side, his cheek resting on his fist. That imposing posture does funny things to me. I wish I knew what it was. It certainly never happened with anyone else. But there’s more. Tiredness lines his eyes, and he looks lost in thought. He needs to unwind, and I am not the answer.

“You can go,” I say in a small voice, focusing back on my screen. His well-being matters to me, tugging at my heartstrings.

“I wish I could.” He stands up, and my neck prickles when he’s near me. “Good night, my little stalker.”

I shift so quickly in my seat that a gasp tumbles out of my mouth. I can’t believe I forgot to close the tab.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” I rush to say. “I have that installed for all my friends.” That’s a lie.

“You do? Show me.”

“That would be a gross privacy infringement.”

He cocks his head, his deep voice taking on a deceptively sweet tone. “What about my privacy?”

My pulse thunders in my ears, silencing any logical thinking. This is what he does to me. I was so distracted I forgot to close the evidence of how mad he makes me behave.

“I forgot to uninstall it.”

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