Corrupt - Douglas Penelope - Страница 30

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“What the fuck are you looking at?” Damon scowled.

The guy’s expression turned scared, and he quickly twisted back around.

Oh, my God. I dropped my stuff and just sat there, trying to figure out what to do. Was he joking? Why would he say something like that?

But then I stilled, remembering that my mother wasn’t home. She was away. I’d tried calling her several times this past weekend, but then, a couple of days ago, I finally got a text from her saying she was joining Mrs. Crist on their yacht for a cruise for the next month. She was on her way to Europe right now, and our housekeeper took the opportunity to go visit family out of town. The house was completely empty.

I let out a small breath of relief, relaxing. He couldn’t get his hands on her even if he wanted to. Not right now anyway. He was just fucking with me.

His arm snaked around my neck again and pulled me back into my seat. I stiffened as he brought me in close.

“You were never part of our group.” His angry whisper fell on my ear. “You were just pussy being groomed.”

And then his other hand slid to the inside of my thigh, squeezing it.

I whimpered in shock and grabbed his hand, ripping it off me. He reached for me again, but I bared my teeth, slapping him away.

“What the hell is going on back there?”

I stopped, hearing the teacher’s voice. Facing forward, I glared ahead, feeling eyes on us, but I refused to answer.

“Sorry, sir.” I saw Damon smooth down his black T-shirt as he slouched in his seat. “Gave it to her nice and good this morning, but she still can’t keep her hands off me.”

Laughter broke out around the class, and I heard Will’s quiet, self-satisfied chuckle next to me.

Embarrassment warmed my face, but it was nothing to the anger building under my skin.

What the hell did they want? This didn’t make any sense. This was mine. This school, this class, this new chance to be happy…I’d be damned if I let them chase me off.

The teacher shot us a look of annoyance and then went back to his lecture about technology and its impact on youth. Will and Damon settled back into their seats, keeping quiet.

But I couldn’t concentrate.

I just needed to make it through class. I just needed to get out of here and get back to my apartment and…

And what?

Who would I complain to? Michael?

Michael. He lived at Delcour, only one floor above me. The guys would be there. Frequently, probably.

Shit.

After years in jail, I would’ve thought they’d be long gone after that much loss of freedom.

But here they were. I guess this was more fun for them?

I dropped my gaze, seeing the tattoos scaling down Will’s left arm. He hadn’t had those when I last saw him. Giving Damon a sideways glance, I saw that his arms were still bare. I didn’t know why I wondered if the guys had changed or not, but one thing was for sure. They were still very much the same.

Minutes passed, and eventually Damon moved his arm around the back of my chair again. I remained frozen as I focused ahead and tried to listen to the lecture that was turning into more of a rant.

“The problem with your generation,” the professor preached, sticking his hands into his pockets, “is a bloated sense of entitlement. You feel owed everything, and you want it now. Why suffer the sweet agony of watching a television series just to find out the big reveal you’ve waited years to discover when you can just wait for the entire series to appear on Netflix and watch all fifty episodes in three days, right?”

“Exactly!” a guy on the other side of the room blurted out. “Work smarter, not harder.”

Everyone laughed at the guy’s dig.

Bloated sense of entitlement? What?

“I’ve been dreaming about those lips,” Damon said low in my ear, bringing me back. “You know how to suck cock yet, Rika?”

I recoiled, my stomach rolling. But he pulled me back in.

He’s just messing with you. Ignore it.

“But working hard builds character,” the teacher continued to argue with the student. “You aren’t born with respect and reverence. You learn patience and value through struggle.”

I forced myself to listen, but then my breath caught in my throat when Damon’s hand gripped my hair at my scalp and held me tight and still.

“Because when I shove myself down your throat,” he whispered over my cheek, “you better know how to take it and love it.”

I jerked my head away from him, growling under my breath. Sick fuck.

“Nothing worth having comes easy,” a girl went on, backing up the professor’s argument.

“Exactly,” he agreed, pointing out his finger in excitement.

Jesus. I rubbed my hands over my face, unable to keep up. There was something I wanted to say, but I couldn’t remember what it was.

Dammit, what was the professor talking about?

I sighed and shook my head.

“Yes?” I heard the professor call out.

When no one said anything, and Will and Damon had gone still, I slowly raised my eyes, seeing Cain looking directly at me.

“Me?” I asked. I hadn’t said anything.

“You seem frustrated. Would you like to contribute to the discussion other than distract the class with your boyfriends?”

My heart sunk. Will laughed under his breath next me, but Damon remained quiet on my other side.

I could just imagine what everyone thought.

I shifted my eyes from left to right, trying to recall what the hell the teacher had been talking about, and then I remembered the first point that had popped in my head before Damon first whispered in my ear.

“You…” I took a deep breath and met the teacher’s eyes. “You talked about an ungrateful generation whose lives revolve around the technology yours gave us. I just don’t…” I paused. “I just don’t think that’s a useful perspective.”

“Clarify.”

I straightened in my seat, sitting forward, away from Damon’s touch.

“Well, it’s like taking your child to an auto lot to buy a car and being angry when they choose a car,” I explained. “I don’t think it’s right to get aggravated with the public for utilizing conveniences that are made available to them.”

He talked about my generation’s “bloated sense of entitlement,” but it went much deeper than that.

“But they don’t fully appreciate the convenience of it in their lives,” Professor Cain argued.

“Because it’s not a convenience to them,” I shot back, growing stronger. “It’s their normal, because their frame of reference is different than yours was growing up. And we’ll say it’s a convenience when our children have things we didn’t. But again, that won’t be a convenience to them, either. It will be their normal.”

Damon and Will remained unmoving at my side.

“And furthermore,” I went on, “this discussion isn’t useful, because it won’t change anything. You’re angry, because your generation has given mine advances in technology and then blame us for the altered reality? Where’s the accountability?”

Will breathed out a quiet laugh next to me, while the rest of the room, including Damon, sat silently, as if waiting for whatever was next.

Professor Cain peered up at me, narrowing his eyes as the heavy silence wrapped around the room like a rubber band, making it smaller and smaller and smaller.

I felt like everyone was looking at me.

But as I waited for my skin to heat up with shame, it didn’t. Instead, my skin buzzed with adrenaline, and I had to hold back a smile as I stared at the professor.

This feels good.

Maybe it was the bullshit with Damon and Will or the run-ins with Michael, but the end of my rope was in my hand, and I was grasping for threads. I just decided to let go.

I didn’t drop my eyes. I didn’t blush. I didn’t apologize.

I owned it.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I sat back.

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