“Really? So, he’s fucking Lucia now? I thought he was with Chloe or Britney. Hell, maybe both of them. He sure does get around.”
I cringe at her words. “He’s been dating a lot of the girls then?” I ask, my mouth going dry.
“Oh yeah. He dates a new one every other day, I swear. At thisrate, he’ll have fucked his way through the entire high school by the time he graduates.”
Just the thought of Dimitri dating and screwing every girl in school makes my stomach do flips. I thought he was being nice to me by beating up Brett, but now I’m questioning his motives. I was stupid and naïve to think that he actually cared for me. If Dimitri truly did care about me and the marriage contract, he wouldn’t be plowing his way through half of the school with his dick.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re going to throw up or something,” Darby says with concern swirling in her gray eyes.
“Uh, yeah. I t-think I’m g-g-gonna g-go to the n-n-nurse. I don’t f-feel very well. C-c-cover for me?” I ask before closing my gym locker.
“Sure.”
As I’m walking away, I hear Darby call out, “Feel better soon!”
I wish I could say I would feel better soon, but there’s no coming back from this. If Dimitri isn’t going to take this contract seriously, then neither am I. Until we say ourI dos, all bets are off.
Anger fuels my steps as I make my way to the nurse’s office on the first floor. The room is quiet when I step into it. The nurse, who is normally seated behind the desk, isn’t there.
“Hello?” I call out.
“Be right there,” says a voice.
When the door opens, I recognize the teenager immediately. Corbin McCall. Sandy blond hair, brown eyes, tall and attractive. I’ve had a crush on him since I was five years old. We’ve been in various schools together, but I don’t think I’ve so much as spoken a single word to him. He’s a year older than me, so we’ve never had any classes together. I’ve just always seen him in the halls and pined over him from afar.
“Oh, hi. I was l-l-looking for the n-nurse,” I tell him.
“I’m job shadowing. I fill in for the nurse every day while she takes her lunchbreaks,” he explains. “So, what seems to be the problem? Maybe I can help you with something?”he offers.
“Uh, n-n-no. I d-d-don’t know. I d-don’t think s-s-s-o.” I stumble over my words and internally chastise myself.
But I don’t see the usual look of pity or amusement on Corbin’s face. No, in fact, he looks like he’s happy that I’m here. “Are you just sick of school?” he asks with a knowing glint in his eye.
“Yes,” I confess with a deep sigh.
“Tell you what, the nurse won’t be back for an hour. Why don’t you just chill in here with me, and I’ll get her to write you a note to get you back into class later?”
“Really? You w-w-would d-do that?”
“Sure, why not?” he offers.
“Thank you,” I whisper. He has no idea how much I need the break right now.
Corbin takes me into the breakroom, and we end up snacking on juice and crackers for the entire hour. I get to know him. The real him, not just the football jock with straight As who has the reputation for being a heartbreaker.
When the nurse comes back, we make up an excuse about how I was feeling faint because of my low blood sugar but that everything is right as rain now. She lets me leave without making too much of a fuss, and I continue on the rest of my day. I feel lighter somehow. I feel more at ease. And instead of my thoughts being troubled by Dimitri; all I can do is think about Corbin McCall and how nice he was to me when I really needed someone to be.
CHAPTER SIX
Savina
OVER THE NEXT several weeks,everything seems to change. The friendly rapport I was slowly building with Dimitri begins to crumble and shift into something more sinister. Our interactions become forced and awkward, and at times, it’s like my very presence agitates him. I don’t know what’s going on with him, and part of me doesn’t care. All I know is that I’ve had a lot of bullies in my lifetime, and I don’t want him to become another on that very long list.
I’m sitting by myself at the small lunch table since Darby decided to skip school for the second time this week when a shadow falls across me. Glancing up, I see Corbin McCall standing there, smiling down at me.
“Eating by yourself?” he questions.
“Oh, Darby s-s-skipped today,” I respond.
