I hear the door open and footsteps cross the room.
“What can I do for you, Richard?”
Richard. Richard.Oh great.It’s Pierce’s dad.
I’m suddenly glad I’m underneath the desk.
“Pierce told me that Ellis boy attacked him again.”
And just like that, I’m hot for a completely different reason.
Iattackedhim?
No, wait. I’m not at all surprised. Doesn’t mean I’m not pissed off about it though.
And then my anger dissipates when my gaze—for whatever fucking reason—lands on Professor Kendall’s crotch where his slacks are stretched tight over an obvious bulge.
He’s hard too.
Okay, so maybe he’s hard for Professor Grant? I mean, it would make sense if he was trying to suck up to him by always taking his son’s side. Why he’d suddenly hate me if I was causing problems for the son of the man he’s got the hots for. And why I had to hide under his desk.
Or maybe, stupidly, I’m hoping he’s hard forme. Hard from getting physical with me, from seeing me on my knees.
Keep dreaming, Jackson.
Either way, he just might be gay after all.
“To be fair, they were both involved in the altercation,” Professor Kendall says.
That sounds suspiciously like he’s sticking up for me, but I’m not about to get my hopes up.
“Of course Pierce would be forced to defend himself against an attack. I’m curious why Mr. Ellis wasn’t reported to the disciplinary committee again. This is the second time this has happened on campus.”
“This is also the second time Ididn’treport Pierce for being involved in a fight. I reprimanded Mr. Ellis in my own way instead of reporting them both, sparing you any embarrassment.”
“Me?” Professor Grant’s voice lowers an octave. I hear him take another step closer to the desk. “I really don’t think it’smyembarrassment this school has to worry about, Isaac. Or do I need to remind you yet again about Mr. Ross?”
“With all due respect,” Professor Kendall says as he stands. I can’t help but notice he’s not hard anymore. “That’s in the past. Dylan is gone.”
“And I wonder why that is?”
A moment of uneasy silence passes, and the palpable tension in the air makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Please leave my office, Richard.”
There’s silence again for several seconds before I hear the other teacher’s footsteps retreating. I remain where I am, too frozen to move as Professor Kendall walks away from his desk. The door closes, and the lock clicks into place. Ice shoots down my spine.
Slowly, I crawl out from under the desk, and when I stand on shaky legs, I see Professor Kendall leaning against the door with his palm flat on the wood and his shoulders slumped.
“What did you do to him?” I ask before I can stop myself, my voice as shaky as the rest of me. “To Dylan?”
He pushes himself off the door and turns to me, a dangerous flash of fury in his eyes telling me I just royally fucked up.
I’m well aware of therumors that have circulated around this town and this school about me and Dylan. While it’s not the main reason I’ve never left, it’s one of them. I knew they’d follow me no matter where I went, but at least here I have a job and a home.
No one seems to know if Dylan and I were academic rivals or family enemies or forbidden lovers. One common similarity between all the rumors is that something bad happened to him.
ThatIdid something bad to him.
