Page 60 of Alive and Kicking
I close my eyes and shake my head, suddenly realizing why they’re arguing about furniture. Cain’s eye starts twitching dangerously, but I set my bag down and ignore the bickering as I make my way to the couch to take a seat on the other side of Viv. She just smiles at me before turning back to her book.
“I don’t sit and watch. If anything, you’ll be the one sitting in the chair while I…” His words cut off.
Viv slowly turns the page in her book. “While you what?”
His eyes slide over to her and narrow. “While I make coffee. I have papers to grade.” He turns on his heel and heads into the kitchen. Z shouts at him, “I’m ordering the chair!”
Cain doesn’t turn back as he walks through the doorway. “Not sitting in it.”
“It’s okay. He just prefers to watch through cracked doors,” Viv tells him, still looking at her book.
I’m starting to wonder if she’s even reading right now or if she just didn’t want to seem too interested in their conversation. Z turns to us and pouts when he sees me sitting next to Viv, instead taking a seat on the floor in front of her. Her hand automatically starts to run through his hair and I kind of want to stab him and take his place. But I just lean in closer to her and close my eyes.
It feels nice to come home to the woman I love every night. It’s relaxing in a way I’ve never experienced before. My whole body goes limp and I realize that I’m exhausted. So I don’t fight it as sleep takes over.
Viviana
The week after exams the grades go live on the online portal. I’m excited to see my results again so I go to check as soon as I wake up, but I end up staring at the screen as I feel my heart drop all the way down to my toes. This cannot be happening right now. The twenty-eight percent typed next to the entry for my Criminology exam stares back at me.
How could Cain do this to me? I know that I actually got a ninety-one from the paper he handed me. While it wasn’t my best work, I was proud to still get an “A” while dealing with so much. Cain and I have been getting along so well and I can’t see why he would purposefully give me a wrong grade. It just doesn’t make any sense in my head.
Cain is so stuck up his own ass he can’t even admit there’s something going on between us half the time because I’m a student. We got really casual after the summer though, and I thought we were moving forward.
I take a moment to think about it and realize that there’s no way Cain would ever do this. He’s a great professor, and even if we did have problems between us he would never take that out on my grade. The only possibility I can think of is that someone else did this, but who would have the motive and the access?
My phone is up to my ear before I can even properly think about it. Cain answers on the second ring. “Hello?” His voice is rough and groggy.
“Are you home right now?” I ask, my voice not showing a hint of emotion.
There’s a pause. “Yeah. I was asleep. What’s up?”
I don’t answer his question because at the moment what isn’t wrong is a better one. “I need you to come up here and bring your laptop.”
There’s a rustling sound and Cain curses as there’s a crash in the background. “I’ll be right up.”
The line disconnects and I can’t stay still, so I get up and walk to the door that connects my apartment with the rest of the house. It’s wide open, just like it usually is, and I pace back and forth in front of the opening. After a while, I head the creaking of the old steps.
Cain rushes up the stairs holding his laptop. He’s not wearing a shirt and I freeze when I see all the skin he has on display. It’s not common for Cain to be anything less than fully covered in the presence of others, but I try to ignore that as I back away from the door and let him in. “What’s wrong?” he asks through heavy breaths.
He looks around the room, his eyes set with determination like he’s ready for someone to jump out and attack at any moment. I shake my head, wanting to let him know there’s no danger but not knowing what to say to ease his anxiety.
I just turn away from him and walk back into my bedroom. “Why did I need my computer? If you need help with something with computers you’re better off asking Nox. I’m not great with the tech.” Cain goes on as he follows me.
When we get to my room, I stare at my desk with my laptop still sitting on it and open to the online grade book. I look at Cain and I’m not sure what he sees in my eyes but his widen as hetakes the last few steps to me, pulling me into his chest. His hand cups the back of my neck. “What is it, princess? Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
I pull my arm out of his embrace and point to my laptop. He looks from me to it and slowly lets go of me. He steps up to the desk and leans down to take a look at my worst nightmare. How in the world could this happen? Who would be cruel enough to do this?
Cain grunts, shaking his head at the screen. “I didn’t do this.” His eyes widen as he turns to me, holding my shoulders tightly in both hands.
I clear my throat and force myself to speak through the lump there, “I know. You wouldn’t do this.”
He pulls me in for another hug and I sag against him as he begins to ramble, “Nobody got a grade this low, so it’s not like it was a clerical error on my side. This has to have been sabotage. The only people who have access to my grade book are me… and the department chair,” he says the last words slowly.
A gasping laugh escapes me. “The man I blackmailed? Great. Just great.”
Cain’s palms hold the sides of my face and force me to look up at him. His brows lower over his eyes. “You did blackmail him. Why would he do something this petty? You’ve got serious dirt on him and you have concrete proof that this isn’t actually your grade. Kieth and I both know what you really got. We’ll take care of this.”
My mind runs over what he’s saying and I frown. “You’re right, Baldwin is a murderer. He would come after me physically, not emotionally. Do you think that Carol could have done this somehow?”
