Pride (Page 19)

Cunt Griffin: Have you checked on your sister lately?

My hand shakes, threatening to drop my phone. I’m already running through the parking lot to the other side of campus. I barrel through the doors, knocking into a girl carrying a box of pizza. Ignoring her cusses, I take the stairs two at a time. I’ve been lucky getting on Evelyn’s floor since the girls tend to leave the doors perched open for other boyfriends, so I’m thankful when I push through it. Running down the hallway, I hit three-thirteen and throw the door open.

My sister is standing the in middle of her room, her squeal ear piercing as she jumps at the sudden intrusion. There’s no hiding she’s been crying. “You okay? What’s wrong?” I spit out, entering her room and throwing my arms around her checking for wounds, cuts—fuck, I don’t know.

“Jesus, what’s wrong with you? Why wouldn’t I be?” she says, wiping at her eyes.

“No, I…I just got a text.”

“From who?” My eyes whip to her bed and take in Micah who’s seated on the bottom bunk.

I stare at him a few seconds, sizing him up. “The fuck you doing here?” I ask, confused. Last time I checked, he and Evie weren’t the fondest of one another. I glare back at Evelyn, who refuses to make eye contact, then to Micah. “Anyone gonna fuckin’ answer me?”

“She needed someone to talk to. I ran in to her. Just thought we could catch up.” My ass. Something’s not right here. “Bro, I know that look. It’s not what you think. I was just trying to help your sister. You and I are all she has.”

“Oh, she has you now?” What the fuck? I turn my full body to Micah. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Micah stands nose to nose with me, but no matter our history, I won’t hesitate to take him out if he even thinks of messing with my sister. After last night, I refuse to have her caught up in any of the shit he’s involved in. “We’re in this together, man. I’d never do anything to hurt your sister. Or you. I thought you knew me better than that.”

“I haven’t seen your ass in years, how the fuck should I know?” I bark, my defensive wall up high.

“That’s right. You haven’t. You left me just as much as I left you. Neither of us had control over what happened. And now we’re both trapped in this shitstorm. But we’re in it together. And, together, we’re gonna figure out a way to get out.”

My eyes dart to Evelyn. “What the fuck did you tell him?” Her guilty eyes tell me too much. “Goddammit, Evelyn.”

“He can help. Mason, I’m scared of what you’ll do. I’m scared to lose you again.” Her eyes swell with tears, and that stabbing in my gut returns at her grief.

I bring my focus back to Micah. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“I have an idea.”

“Do you, bro? Do you know that soon I’ll have to deliver you a task that’ll be fucking horrible? It’s gonna change you. It’s been changing us all.”

“I’ll just use the coin. It’ll be my get-out-of-jail-free card until I figure shit out.”

My laugh is deep and cynical. “That coin is worse. Trust me. What you turn down will be child’s play compared to what they come back with in return.”

“What are you talking about? What coin?” Evelyn steps forward, her voice laced with fear.

“It’s nothing. It doesn’t concern—”

“Hiding this shit from her won’t help her, man.”

My anger’s back, and I’m in his face. “Yeah and scaring her with details she doesn’t need to know about won’t help her either.” Micah doesn’t stand down. The air is thick with tension and fists are about to fly.

“Please, both of you stop,” Evelyn cries out, placing herself between us. It doesn’t go unnoticed how her hand presses against his chest for longer than needed or the way he instantly calms at her touch. What the fuck is going on between them? “Mason, please. Micah isn’t the enemy here. She is.”

Micah raises his hand, and I get ready for battle, but he presses his palm to my shoulder. “I’m on your side. I always have been. If I knew…if I had known what the fuck really happened, I would’ve fought for you. You’ve always been like a brother to me.” My emotions get the best of me. Life has been a whirlwind since I landed on this campus. Between my sister, Lillian, The Elite, reuniting with Micah, and now this thing with Megan…I dip my head in defeat. I’m not as strong as I appear to be. They’re both right. I can’t do this alone. We need each other to take her down.

“Thank you,” I whisper. Evelyn’s soft cries are heard as Micah wraps his arm around my neck and hugs me.

“We’ll win this one, okay? Lillian, my dad, anyone who gets in our way.” I want to believe him. But he doesn’t know the whole story. Nor does my sister. Micah knows what Evelyn’s told him.

“Mason.” My sister calls my name, and I break away from Micah.

“What is it?” I watch her hand me my phone. It must have fallen out of my jeans when I blasted into her room like a madman. I read the screen.

Cunt Griffin: Bonding time is over. But don’t worry, pet. Playtime has just begun. Time to take the life of another brother into your own hands. A philosopher once said, “Needs can always be met, but Greed can never be fulfilled.” Enjoy this one.

I raise my eyes to meet Micah’s. “You’re up.”

His face is blank. He nods in acceptance. “Let’s do this.”

One week later…

It’s been a week since I handed Micah his task. One that rattles me to the core. He showed no emotion by it, which messes me up even more. Since then, the week has been bizarre. Normal even. By some fucking grace of god, it’s been quiet and Lillian-free. She shocked me, canceling our one-on-one last minute, with no explanation, nor did she bother to reschedule. I assumed she was probably busy with one of her many pets, which suited me fine. The more she left me alone, the more time I had to spend with Evelyn, catching up and rebuilding the time we’d spent apart.

Surprisingly, I’ve spent a lot of time with the brothers. Especially Rhett. We may have come from different sides of the track, but our stories were the same. Absent parents. Loss. He opened up about the night shit went down with his dad and what led up to it. He sure as fuck didn’t need to explain to me. No one signs up to get hit by their parents. I told him I’d do it over again in a heartbeat. Maybe this time even feed his ass to the gators. He’d talked about the death of his brother. Chastity. His time was running out and I could see the pressure in his eyes to make a choice.

It also left me with more time to pursue Megan.

My sexy little theology professor is fighting hard to lie to herself about what’s happening between us, but we both know damn well it ain’t over, and I’m not one to give up.

I walk into the lecture hall a few minutes late to make my arrival known and sit in my usual seat up front. I love watching her shoulders tense and her hand slightly shake at my presence. Knowing I make her squirmy makes it all the more fun. But it’s not only me playing games. As I sit there playing the perfect student, my sexy little professor stands up front teaching her lesson, avoiding eye contact. I watch the struggle in her eyes, forcing them not to fall on me. Her hands rub together, the nervous sweat building with each passing moment. I know she can’t look at me without thinking how good we are together. We’re all guilty of our own demises, and I know it’s only time before her eyes graze over mine and she sees the heat in my expression. The want. The hunger. And when she does, I go in for the kill.

I take my pen and slide it into my mouth, sucking on the tip, when she gives in. Jesus, there’s nothing sexier than the blaze in her eyes as they lock on my mouth while I suck the tip of the pen in and out. The heat in her eyes threatens to light the entire building on fire. If we were alone, I know she’d let me—no, she’d beg me to give her what we’re both desperately craving. My dick is growing in my pants, and I need to rein in my own arousal before shit gets out of hand.

But not yet.

A smile, so dark and devious, spreads across my face. I pop the pen out of my mouth, causing her to snap out of her haze. I can’t help but chuckle as I get up, without saying a word, and walk out of her class.

I pull this cat and mouse game with her the next two classes. Each time, waiting ‘til she can no longer fight it and her eyes find mine. I toy with her in any which way I know how, watching her lose control. Not in a way that anyone may notice, but in a way I do. In the short time I’ve known her, I’ve learned her little signs of arousal. The flush of her cheeks. The way her lips part, or when she glides her tongue along her bottom lip. I work her up until I think she’s almost willing to jump me in front of her students, no fucks given, and then I get up and leave. And I’m loving every fucking second of it.

It’s Friday, and I’m in my usual seat, enjoying the view of Megan in her tight pencil skirt and pale blue collared shirt. Wondering whether she’s wearing panties, I wait ‘til she’s close enough to the row of desks before I drop my pen. Her body stiffens as the pen rolls to her feet. My smile is predatorial as I lean down and reach for it, no doubt grazing the bottom of her leg in the process. No one catches the intake of breath at my quick move since everyone is taking a test. I retract back into my seat and grab her eyes, loving the way they light up. Fuck, I want her bad. And little miss professor over here can’t hide that she does as well.