Discipline

“Answer my question, Nina.” I ignored him again. “Damn it, answer me!” His shout echoed through the room. “Yeah. Okay.” He wiped at his mouth, smirking. “That’s what I thought. Where’s that confidence now, Nina?” he asked, disdain dripping from his voice. “Never had any, never will.”

I felt my lip curl.

“I liked it better with him. Everything was better with him. Because he is a genuinely smart, interesting, compassionate and good man, unlike you. The fact that he used his dick better was just an added bonus.”

I sucked in a breath.

God, the apartment felt so silent. So still after I said that. Heartbeat aside, I could hear a faint ringing in my ears. I didn’t look at him, but I could feel his expression, a palpable fury looming over my head. Everything felt as if it were happening in slow motion.

Which was good because it gave me time to shove him away when he lunged to grab me.

“Get away from me!” I shrieked, springing to my feet, barreling into his chest and hurling all my weight against him so he fell back against the coffee table.

“I’ll fucking kill him.”

I heard his breathless, gravelly words from the door. I’d made my way over to it after blindly kicking my feet at him a couple times. Or maybe not so blindly. As I jabbed my finger into the elevator button, I looked frantically over my shoulder to see Ben clutching his groin, struggling to stand on his feet. I did that, I realized, my body pressed against the wall as I waited anxiously for the sound of that bell. Hurry, hurry, hurry, I pleaded silently.

“I’m gonna find that son of a bitch — ”

Ding.

The elevator door opened. Darting in, my finger jabbed at the buttons inside until the door closed in front of me. But not before Ben growled one last threat, sounding barely human anymore.

“I swear to fucking God, Nina. He’s dead.”

CHAPTER 19

I got you, girl.

The text was from Adriana. I was bailing on my shift for the day and I wasn’t sure how many more I would miss. All I knew as I stumbled out of Ben’s apartment was that I needed to get to Woodhill. I didn’t know when he planned to go, but I knew I had to arrive before him. I didn’t care how much money it would cost to take a yellow cab to Woodhill, I was doing it.

“Pick up, Aaron, pick up, pick up,” I pleaded in a whisper as I pressed my phone against my ear. It was a quarter to four. He was probably still in school — he usually stayed till about six, even later during wrestling season. But his phone had to be on at this point. The school day had ended more than an hour ago. “Come on, please pick up, please pick up.”

I cursed under my breath when I heard the sound of his voicemail. Hanging up, I dialed again, but within a couple seconds, the ringing stopped. I stared at my phone. My battery was dead. “Shit.” I’d left in uncharged that morning because of Aaron and now I had no way of warning him about Ben.

Desperate, I borrowed the cabbie’s phone, but only to be greeted once again by Aaron’s voicemail.

“Are you okay?” the cabbie asked, giving me an odd look through the rearview mirror.

“Yes,” I lied. “But please drive fast if you can. Thank you.”

He obliged, speeding through yellow lights until we reached the interstate. I closed my eyes throughout the ride, listening to the hum of the tires on asphalt, trying desperately to calm myself and remember that I had a head start, that Carlo, Ben’s driver, had a tendency to abide by yellow lights, and that we’d likely arrive to the school before five. There were still a good amount of students and faculty around at that hour. I could warn the front office and security about Ben. If it came to it, they could help me restrain him.

I was almost calm by the time we reached Woodhill.

“Turn here, it’s faster,” I rasped. My heart absolutely hammering against my chest, I stared out the window as the yellow cab pulled into the front of the school. It was 4:40PM. Kids were still outside, staring quizzically at the vehicle as I hastily paid for my ride and burst out of the side door.

“Aren’t you Jake Decker’s sister?” a freckled girl asked as I rushed up the steps. “What’s up with the yellow cab?”

?

?Yes, I’m his sister, I… had to come from the city. Can you tell me where Mr. Cole is right now? Which classroom?”

The girl’s blonde friend laughed. “Wow, you might be more desperate for him than the freshmen.”

I stared, staying for no more than another second when my question remained unanswered. With the girls bursting into giggles, I rushed through the front doors, eyes darting back and forth to scan the hallways. They were still fairly busy. Kids with North Face backpacks and Longchamp tote bags leaned against their lockers, some of them socializing, some of them discussing homework over open textbooks. Most of them took at least a few seconds to stare at me, either because they recognized me or because I was so obviously not a student as I was blatantly breaking the dress code with my short shorts. I paid them no mind as I continued up the hall, stopping outside the front office.

Sitting inside was Ms. Burke, the middle aged secretary who’d manned that desk since I was a freshman. I should warn her about Ben. I knew I should, but a part of me wondered if I could take care of the situation quietly instead. If he didn’t end up showing, I’d have unnecessarily informed the school about my ex’s jealousy over a member of their faculty.