Page 146 of Broken by my Bully
Except I was awake. I know I was. My eyes were open the whole fucking time.
Then there’s the smell lingering in my nose.
Stale cigarettes, cheap beer.
The tingle of phantom hands still dragging over my skin, fingernails scraping?—
No.
I’m in Bastian’s bed.
Bastian’s house.
Safe.
As safe as a lamb can be in a wolf’s den.
A sharp pain spears through my temples. Then again. I exhale, draw in a lungful of air, exhale again. I’d been holding my breath, listening for the sound of someone scuttling away.
Oh, God, thathurts.
It feels like someone’s trying to ring my skull like the Liberty Bell.
And that’sbeforeI start sobbing.
But I only let it go on for a minute or two before I drag myself back toward myself. I slap my face a few times, swipe tears out of my eyes, and force a calm breath deep into my lungs.
Uncle Lenny can’t hurt me anymore.
That dreadful phase of my life is over. It didn’t kill me, it only made me stronger. So enough with the crying and the feeling sorry for myself.
I scan the room again, just in case.
A jolt of panic goes through me when I realize it’s not storming, but that it’s twilight outside.
I’ve been sleeping the whole day?
Where is Bastian?
Did he come back and?—
The bathroom door slides back on its hinges, and my professor steps out wearing a towel…and nothing else.
Oh, sweet baby Jesus.
He’s staring at his phone, so he hasn’t even noticed that I’m awake yet. Which means I have all the time in the world to objectify his corded arms, his slim waist, the dark hair on his chest that narrows to a path heading straight to his?—
“Oh, good. You’re up. I was just Googling the best place to bury your body.”
My gaze flicks to his eyes. They’re crinkled at the corners, mirroring his warm smile.
“That’s dark.” My voice cracks.
“Just how I like it,” he murmurs.
My laugh is uneasy, but not because of his stupid joke. I can feel how hot my face is, how puffy my eyes are.
And someone as intelligent and observant as Professor Rooke doesn’t miss those cues.
