Page 115 of Brat Baby
The rideshare pulls away from the curb of the student parking lot, and I could fucking scream. My security fob is at the apartment, along with all my other crap.
Crap they bought me.
Maybe I should just abandon it.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. That’s an issue for tomorrow. Right now, I just want to make it up to my dorm, take a shower, and fall into bed.
The ride back to campus was long. So long that I’ve gone completely numb to all the emotions that were tumbling through me, as if my body just decided it couldn’t handle feeling all that at once.
I dig into my bag and pull out my phone, ignore all the notifications, and bring up Oakley’s number as I walk toward my building. The lamps are all lit along the path, and the night is free of clouds. It would actually be kind of pretty if I wasn’t completely and utterly shattered on the inside.
I hitcalland listen as it starts to ring. It’s on the fourth ring when I make it to the stairs out front. I start to climb them, but before I can, I sense a presence behind me right before an arm wraps around my chest.
My body doesn’t react as fast as I want it to, but my brain does. “Xavier, leave me—”
I’m yanked around to face Xav—
A face far more scarred than I remember, with dark, beady little eyes, stares back at me. A face I’d hoped to never see again.
Tray.
How the fuck did he find me?
“Hey, Mer, have you missed me? I know I’ve missed you.” His foul breath washes over my face as my temple and cheekbone flare with pain.
My head snaps to the side so sharply, I hit the brick wall. I stumble, cheekbone on fire, and slump into the brick, the skin of my shoulder scraping against the rough texture. I try to hold myself up but cry out as my foot is kicked out from under me and there is a snap in my wrist as I hit the ground. My phone is no longer in my hand, but I can hear Oakley saying my name, over and over.
A metallic taste fills my mouth and my eyelids grow heavy, pain screaming up my arm. I’m shoved onto my back and forced to look up at Tray as he watches me with mild curiosity and zero care.
My vision dims.
The last thing that passes through my mind before everything goes dark is that I wish my daddies were here to protect me.
To be continued…
