Mr. Heartbreaker: Black Mountain Academy

I ignore the voice inside my head that says my avoidance of dealing with this has been my own form of running away. I want Violet. I’ve wanted her from the first moment I laid eyes on her. She has no reason to feel the same, but there’s an attraction between us and she feels it just as strongly as I do. I need to remind her of that.

Maybe I need to remind myself.24VioletI stuff the last of my junk into my bag and flop down on the worn-out mattress. This place is a pigsty. It’s not like I’m going to miss it. I am going to miss Rooster and Gladys though. I hated giving up. It’s not like me. I should tell Mike to go fuck himself and dare the school to kick me out. I signed the morality clause, so there’s no way legally I could fight if they kick me out and doing so would put a permanent mark on my record and cause me issues with any college—not just Ivy League.

I’ve gone over it and over it in my mind and it all boils down to the fact that Mike Huntington is an asshole. It’s not him I’m mad at though.

It’s myself.

I’ve only known Mike for a little over a week really. He’s not pretended to be a nice guy. He’s never shied away from the fact that he’s an asshole. I mean, he basically tried blackmailing me to get closer to me. If that’s not a damn red flag, I don’t know what is.

The problem is that he didn’t have to blackmail me. I enjoyed being around him. I enjoyed the attention he gave me.

And I loved the way he kissed me.

I even liked the way he kissed me in front of the others at school. He would grab my hand and pull me in, his lips gliding on mine and whether the kiss was short or long, when we pulled apart he would whisper two words that I’ve never heard much in my life and never truly felt until Mike. “Hello, beautiful.”

A girl can apparently get addicted to that, even after a week and even when she should hate the man that says it. I shake those thoughts and that longing away. I have bigger issues.

I don’t really want to leave Black Mountain. That’s never happened to me before. It’s not because of Mike or school either. It’s because of Rooster. I’m afraid if I leave, there won’t be anyone to take care of him or Gladys. That’s silly, of course. They took care of themselves before I moved in, but I like to think I’ve made a difference. There are days I even fool myself into believing that I’ve managed to help Rooster gain a little weight.

I know Gladys has. I almost smile when I think of the silly rooster. I never thought much about getting a pet. I definitely never thought of a chicken as a pet, but Gladys definitely makes a good one. I need to go talk to him. There’s no point in putting it off any longer. I grab some blueberry muffins off my counter. I got them on sale at the gas station across the creek. I also pour the rest of the coffee in my pot into a disposable cup with a lid and take those out to my friend.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to miss and worry about Rooster and Gladys.

“You’re late,” Rooster mumbles when I make it outside. I grin, because I usually leave him breakfast on the top of the makeshift shelter that he and Gladys sleep in. I didn’t this morning because I knew I would be coming back. Immediately, however, I feel guilty because Rooster has begun looking forward to the things I do.

“I knew I was going to come right back home from school, so I waited to get you one of those blueberry muffins you like from Smitty’s gas station,” I explain, handing him one of the gigantic muffins and the coffee.

“You’re too good to me, Angel,” he says, and his hand shakes a little as he reaches out and gets the muffin. That’s been happening a lot lately—either that or I didn’t notice it before. He coughs, a ragged cough that is followed by a breath that makes it sound like he’s struggling, and I frown. I’m afraid he’s getting sick. I need to see if I can make him a hot toddy or something this evening. My mother swore by them. Of course, my mother was always a lush—as well as a pill-head and a bitch. Honestly anything you can get addicted to my mother did it. She wasn’t choosey.

“You need to come into my apartment, Rooster. It will help you stay warm. It’s getting colder and colder.”

“I’m fine. I’m tougher than I look. Stop trying to coddle an old man.”