Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Oh, god. Of all the things I don’t need. Briggs’s nastiness is like a disease—something cold and ugly that settles deeper into my bones the longer he talks. “Just let me go,” I whisper, and I’m not talking about right now, in this moment. Why won’t he let me go?
What a surprise. He acts like I didn’t say a word. “What the hell did you do to your hair? It’s a fucking mess.”
Right. Like I’m going to confess what just happened. It’s a shame he couldn’t be here—I’m sure he would’ve gotten off on it. “It was time for a change,” I lie, lifting my head, daring him to challenge me. I don’t have to act like a victim. I can’t give these assholes the satisfaction.
He shrugs it off. “Anyway, I’ve had a busy morning.”
“Congratulations.” I have already heard enough of his voice this morning to last me the rest of my life. When I try to walk around him and duck into the bathroom to get a look at the damage to my hair, he stands in my way.
“Rude.” He snickers. “Aren’t you going to ask what I was doing?”
“I wasn’t going to, no. It’s none of my business.”
“But it is, because it has to do with you.” Obviously, I’m not playing along and it’s starting to get to him, setting his teeth on edge. “You don’t have to go back to that shithole apartment anymore.”
I must be hearing things. “What did you just say?” I ask, stopping dead and looking up at him. Running to the ladies’ room can wait.
“You heard me. No more living in that shitty apartment.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.” With a triumphant grin, he explains, “You have a dorm room. You’re welcome.”
None of this makes sense. I’m afraid to ask for more information, but I’m going to have to. “Why? There weren’t any rooms left. How—”
“I need you to be accessible. This is the only way to guarantee that.” Of course, he wouldn’t do something like this out of the goodness of his heart. If he even had a heart, I doubt there would be any goodness in it.
Now I’m starting to understand, and it spreads icy dread through me from head to toe, so intense I start to shiver before I can stop myself. “I didn’t ask for your help,” I remind him, “and I don’t want it. I’m fine where I am.”
“I decide whether or not you’re fine, and I’ve decided you aren’t, little bird.” His eyes go dark before he lowers his brow. “Come on. I’m taking you to your new room. Walk with me, or you go over my shoulder.”
He means it, too. I don’t have a choice. I never have. There’s nothing for me to do but follow him out of the building and across campus, moving at a trot when my short legs can’t keep up with his long strides. A dorm room. Why is he doing this?
Who am I kidding? I know exactly why he’s doing it. Like he said, he wants to keep me accessible, close at hand, so he can abuse me whenever he feels like it. I don’t have to accept this—and I won’t. I have no intention of accepting it. For now, I’ll play along to keep him happy. It’s all I can do.
He looks and sounds so pleased with himself by the time we reach the resident hall and get on the elevator, which takes us to the fifth floor. The doors slide open silently, and I pretend not to notice the stares I get from people walking past who notice us together as Briggs leads the way down the hall, coming to a stop in front of a closed door and sliding a key into the lock.
He swings the door open with a flourish. “Home, sweet home.”
It doesn’t look like much—a dresser, a desk, a bed with a bare mattress. The way he’s acting, I’m supposed to be excited, though I know he doesn’t expect me to be. It’s another way for him to torture me, is all.
“I didn’t ask for this.” Standing in the doorway, I shake my head, wrapping my arms around my trembling body. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop trembling. “I don’t think I want it.”
“There you go again, little bird. Acting like anyone cares what you want.” He holds out a key, dangling it in front of my face. “The room is yours, and it’s where you’re going to live.”
He then slides his hand into his pocket and pulls out a second key. “Where I know I can always find you when I want you.”
Briggs flops down onto my sheetless bed. Leaning back, he props himself up on one elbow while cupping his junk with his free hand. “I feel like you owe me more than a blow job for this, but your mouth did feel divine, and I don’t have time for sex,” he says, glancing at his watch before his gaze falls on me expectantly.