Page 52 of Broken by my Bully
Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet.
Sometimes, a student needs extra help with course material. Rooke is always willing to tutor them for an hour or two a week. I should follow his example.
“Assignment!” He claps his hands together, and while there are a few uneasy laughs, his students are getting used to how he signals the end of his lectures.
“Pair up with someone in class, be it friend, foe, or complete stranger. Grab an envelope from Mr. Jordan on your way out. Your instructions are inside.”
I grab the stack of envelopes out of his satchel that we’d prepared the other day. I’d taken a peek inside some before sealing them.
Fuck. These guys don’t have a clue what’s in store for them.
“This assignment is due next Tuesday, along with your art submissions.”
Haven immediately turns to redhead Parker, but Melissa’s on her phone. Haven’s shoulders slump, and she stares down at her notepad with a blank expression.
Yeah, all brave and shit until you realize there’s a ‘no friends’ situation here at AHC, hey, Haven?
I doubt any of her Riverside pals are here. Grants and scholarships are thin on the ground in Agony Hollow. I’m still not sure how the hell she scored one, but I’m pretty sure her moneymaker was involved.
Seriously, what the fuck is it going to take for her to quit? Haven’s never seemed interested in getting a degree. This has got to be personal.
She’s haunting me.
Guess it’s time I went round and visited Mr Meth. But that will have to wait until the weekend.
In the meantime, I’ll have to take Haven somewhere private and explain things to her. Again.
She’s always been a stubborn one.
Bastian
I love letting my pets out of their cages. Watching them tousle and play-fight with each other. A little nip here. A little growl there. It’s how they learn and grow, and bond.
Interacting with others makes them feel less alone. Being chased makes them feel wanted.
They all enjoy it at first.
Until one of them plays a little too rough. Until feelings get hurt.
A bark, a snap.
A whimper, a whine.
Then they realize it’s not a game anymore, and the cruel reality crushes them.
I’m an expert in cause and effect.
I know someone’s been playing rough with Miss Lee. It’s gone past the point where she can deny it, even to herself, and yet she so desperately tries.
Who is she protecting?
I understood the act of inflicting cruelty on someone else before I studied it academically. My interest in that concept plateaued years ago.
But for someone to accept that cruelty?
That still fascinates me.
Is that why I can’t get Miss Lee out of my fucking mind?
