Page 56 of Alive and Kicking
The dean’s face turns red. “Of course. That’s a very good point. I will take care of this immediately. You go ahead to lunch, I’ll send your professor an email to let them know you might be a bit late.”
I stand and smile at him. It shows too many teeth and I’m sure he can see the murder I’ve carefully planned for him during this meeting written in my eyes. “Thank you. I really appreciate your understanding. Have a good afternoon.”
I turn on my heels and walk out of the office, carefully tucking the folder into my bag. Honestly, I lied. I have no intention of giving them to my lawyer. We just look really cute in some of these photos and I want to hang them up in my apartment.
Cain
After school, I walk into the house to find a mess. Not an actual mess because Nox is an absolute clean freak, but a figurative mess. Enzo is in the living room, yelling about ‘stupid little bitches’ while Zane, Sloane, and Nox are smiling down at a manilla envelope.
Enzo sees me and marches over. “Have you heard about the shit that little bitch pulled?”
My eyes swing around the room to find Viv looking bored. When she sees me, her eyes roll. “He’s overreacting. This is Enzo going mama bear. He’ll calm down once Nox gets some French toast in him.”
“I’m going to shove it up his ass if he so much as looks sideways at my walls again.” Nox huffs.
Sloane laughs, “I’ve never seen you move so fast. You actually took Enzo to the fucking ground. It was glorious.”
Nox narrows his eyes at Enzo. “Fucker was going to punch a hole in my wall.”
“What the hell is going on?” I demand, tossing my bag onto the edge of the couch.
Viv skips over to me and grabs my hand. She leads me over to the other guys to show me the folder they’re looking at. “Look at all the cute pictures Chlamydia took of us.”
I look down, and have to admit that the photos of the four of them are pretty cute. A pang goes through my chest at not being included. I try really hard to keep distance between us, especially in public, but after I had her under my control for an entire day it’s been hard to stay away from her. I clear my throat. “Why did Carol take these photos of you?”
Viv smiles up at me. “To try and get me expelled. It’s all good though. I threatened to sue and the dean apologized.”
All I can do for a moment is stare at her. Why does she always have to so casually mention things like this? “Okay… I’m going to need you to back up the story a bit and explain everything that happened.”
Viv matter-of-factly goes over the entire meeting she had with the dean. Once she’s done she gives me a little shrug, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Why would you change her name in the school system?” I ask.
She huffs. “I didn’t.”
My eyes narrow at her. “You want me to believe you had nothing to do with it?”
A small smile curves her lips. “I never said I had nothing to do with it. I just said I didn’t do it.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I look around the room because someone else here has got to be as lost as I am.
“I did it for her,” Nox clarifies.
And now I’m back to pinching the bridge of my nose. “Why would you get involved in something so petty?”
He shrugs. “Because she asked nicely.”
Morons. I am surrounded by morons. I should have stayed at work so at least I would have a desk to bang my head against. If I don’t just go along with their antics I’m literally going to goinsane. So I just let my hand land on top of her head as I say, “Good job not getting in trouble.”
She beams at me, and I turn around to head up the stairs. “Did he just pat your head?” Nox asks.
“No fair! I never get head pats from Caniac,” Zane complains, and my eye twitches at the nickname.
Finally, I get to the quiet of my room, only to realize I’ve left my bag with all the papers I need to grade downstairs in the living room. Fuck it. I can just do extra work tomorrow. Flopping into my bed, I tuck myself under the covers and bury my head in the pillows face first. I close my eyes and try to drift off.
Before I get even half a chance to fall asleep, there’s a soft knock at my door. When I don’t answer, there’s another, slightly louder, knock. After a minute of me still refusing to answer, the door is pushed open. “Oh, you’re in here. I figured you were in the shower.” Viv’s voice carries to me where I’m now trying to suffocate myself in my pillows. “You forgot this downstairs. I just wanted to bring it up to you.”
I turn my head to look at her where she’s standing in the doorway, holding my bag in one hand. “Thanks.”
Her head tilts to the side and she carefully places the bag on the floor beside the door before walking over to me. “Are you okay?” she asks, reaching forward to place her hand against my forehead.
