Page 24 of The Naughty Professor
I opened the drawer to my right and pulled out a syringe, then prepared the injection.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered, my breath ragged, and my palms slick with sweat.Every cell in my body screamed, and the rational part of me yelled that I was about to end my life on a tiled floor surrounded by broken glass.
But another voice whispered louder.
No one will ever ignore you again.
I pressed the syringe into the vial, drew the liquid up, and sat down hard on the stool.My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped it.
“This is it,” I breathed.“It’s now or never.”
The serum shimmered in the barrel, violet as twilight.I brought the needle to my arm, then hesitated, fear clawing at my chest.
“What if—” I began, but the words stuck in my throat.
And then I thought of Thorne again.Damn it, I want him to look at me—not with pity, or with amusement, but with desire.
I clenched my teeth, drove the needle home, and pushed the plunger.
“Oh my God,” I moaned as fire roared through my veins.My vision blurred, then the world went dark.
ChapterNine
Jax
The first thing I noticed was the screaming.
It was loud, frantic, right in my ear.
My eyes cracked open to find a pimple-faced kid leaning over me, his breath hot with the smell of pizza.His hands clamped down on my shoulders and shook me like a rag doll.
“Dr.Sterling!Wake up!”he yelled, his voice breaking.
The world tilted.My stomach lurched.The fluorescent lights above blurred into streaks of white, and my eyelids fluttered shut again.
Somewhere through the haze I heard him scream again—long, panicked—and then the thunder of sneakers slapping against tile as he bolted for the hallway.
I groaned.My head throbbed faintly, a headache like a hangover but brighter, stranger.
My eyes fluttered open again, and this time the ceiling came into sharp focus.Harsh lights hummed overhead.The air smelled like bleach and burnt sugar.
“What the hell,” I muttered, rolling to my side.My voice sounded unfamiliar—lower, smoother.I pushed myself to my feet.
That was when I saw them: a pair of thick black-framed glasses lying on the floor.
I bent down, picked them up, and slid them onto my face.Instantly the world smeared, fuzzy and warped.
I ripped them off.Tossed them across the room.The frames clattered against a counter and skidded into the corner.
Good riddance.
I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling.Something was buzzing under my skin.
I wandered across the lab, the soles of my shoes squeaking faintly.Rows of glassware gleamed on the benches, half-filled with chemicals that smelled sharp and metallic.My gaze snagged on the tall windows along the wall.
And I saw him.
Me.
