Shame (Ruin 3)

“Six?”

I still didn’t turn back around since I was trying to hide a very physical and obvious reaction to my little image of her on my desk naked. “Yup.”

“Thanks, Dr. Blake.” Her voice was low, sultry.

I cursed again as her laughter floated out of the room.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Finally things were normal my freshman year… I’d met Kiersten and Wes, and things f

elt… happy. So happy that I should have known the other chips would fall. Soon Gabe’s secret was out… and then, mine was too. —Lisa

Lisa

FOR THE SECOND day in a row, I skipped back to my dorm. Not surprising, I found both Wes and Gabe waiting for me again when I got to my room.

“Wow!” I shook my head. “Should I just let you guys move in? And where are Kiersten and Saylor? Do they know how much you check up on me? Because I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t approve of all the babysitting.” I was tempted to text Kiersten or Saylor but knew both of them were super stressed since they’d taken on so many credits to graduate early.

Gabe gave me that look, the one that said he was seriously pissed, while Wes just paced. It seemed, most of the time, Gabe was ready to attack, and Wes was there to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

“Thirty,” Gabe said, tossing the threats onto the table. “How the hell do you have thirty threats without me knowing?”

Feeling slightly guilty, I sat down next to him and stared at all the different pieces of paper; they varied in size and color, not one of them the same. The angry black block letters were always present, though. “You just got married, Gabe. I’m not going to slam you with all this after you just got over Princess’s death and moving in with Saylor and — it’s just a lot!”

“And me?” came Wes’s stern voice. “Why not me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Because I think dealing with cancer and playing for a professional football team should be enough stress to last you a lifetime, not to mention you have a wife too.”

Neither seemed convinced.

In fact, it was like the more I talked the angrier their expressions became.

“Sorry?” I finally offered.

“Damn right, you’re sorry.” Gabe groaned into his hands. “How can I protect you if I don’t know these things?”

“It’s not your job.”

“It is,” Gabe said loudly. “It is my job. I’m your family, Lisa. Me and Wes, we’re not going anywhere, and if there’s one thing I learned last year, it’s that you can’t just carry everything yourself and hope it doesn’t kill you. It will kill you. I think you know I know this. Now, we have a plan.”

“We?”

“Me and Wes.”

“And me?”

“You get no vote because you’ve been like an errant child.” Gabe shook his head. “But I think you’ll like it.”

“I’m listening.”

Gabe put an arm around me and sighed. “First things first. Pack up your crap. You’re moving off campus.”

“To where? Witness protection?”

“Sort of…” Wes and Gabe shared a look before Gabe swore and pulled his arm away.

“Let it just be known that I’m not a fan of this part of the plan, but dipshit over there thinks it’s a great idea because of the security. But I swear, Lisa, if he touches you without you as much as begging him to touch you, I’ll break every single finger from his hand.”