Bert is leaning against the limo when I walk to the parking lot. His body is tense, and I sigh; this can’t be good. “Raven,” he smiles when he sees me and opens the limo door. I smile back and hear Mr. Moxin’s thick accent inside, “He is waiting for you.”“Thank you, Bert,” I say, sliding inside the limo. Mr. Moxin hangs up his phone call and looks at me, “Raven, your nose! The blackmailer did that?!” he questions me.I shake my head, “No, I fell chasing him.” Mr. Moxin is silent for a moment and then begins to laugh hysterically, “You chased him?”I can feel my face turning red with embarrassment and he tries to calm his laughter as he grabs and holds my hand, “My dear, I am sorry. I just picture you running after some masked man. You are so delicate and beautiful.” He takes deep breaths, “I just am glad you are safe.”“I am not as delicate as you think. I can throw a punch!” I shoot back.He smirks at me and holds in more laughter as he grabs the envelope of the seat next to him, “
The outside of the building is even immaculate with dark grey paint and white shutters. There’s a manicured small front yard with grass and even a front door. I look up at Derrick’s residence and shake my head, “This isn’t a condo.” I roll my eyes.Derrick shrugs, “Why don’t you think it’s a condo?” he asks, helping me off the bike.I smirk and point as the garage door opens, “I don’t know, it’s kind of connected to other homes like a town, or TOWNHOUSE.” I laugh, “Condos don’t have their own garages and are usually inside a building.”Derrick smirks, and walks his motorcycle into the garage, “I knew you were already skeptical about me having a condo, so I didn’t want to label it even bigger.” He laughs.I shake my head and push his arm and he grins, shit! I am flirting with him. I am flirting with Derrick fucking Anders.I clear my throat and he smiles, walking toward the garage door, “Well, come in, make yourself at home.”I take my helmet off and hand it to him. He sets it down an
I look at the time and gasp, it’s 6:01 PM. I have been here forever, and I was actually having fun. Derrick isn’t stupid; he just doesn’t pay attention in class. “Oh, shit. I got to go.” I say, standing up.Derrick smirks, “It’s one minute, Audrey. You are not that late.”I chuckle, “I told you, I have somewhere to be.” I say collecting my books and placing them in my bag. Derrick smiles and watches me as one drops, “Here, I got it,” he says, leaning down. We both go to pick it up and bonk heads, “Ow!” I yelp.Derrick laughs as he holds his forehead and then runs his finger across mine, “Well, it looks like your forehead may match your nose.” He says, walking to the kitchen.I walk to a decorative mirror and gasp; it’s already beginning to bruise. Derrick comes back with an ice pack and places it on my forehead, “How’s your vision? Do you feel sick or have a headache?”I rub my head, “No, I am fine. I don’t think you hit me hard enough for a concussion.” I laugh and trace my finger a
Karen is sitting on her bed as I turn around and gasp, “What the fuck!” I shout. She rolls her eyes in true Karen fashion, “What? I live here too.”I nod and catch my breath, “Sorry, you scared me.” I apologize. We haven’t spoken since our fight this morning and she huffs in a disapproving tone, “Did security catch the guy?” she asks.I shake my head, “No, whoever it was, is gone.”She looks at me, “I know I shouldn’t even ask but what happened to your forehead? You keep showing up with more bruises than a toddler who has just learned to walk.”I chuckle nervously and sigh, “Derrick Anders bumped into my head.” I tell the truth.Karen gasps and sits up on her bed, “You were with Derrick Anders?!” she asks, giddily.I nod, “Yeah, I was at his house, tutoring him.”Karen’s face goes white as she looks at me, “Wow, what’s his house like? Does it smell like sex? Did you two have sex? I have heard so many stories about Derrick. He is so fucking hot, Audrey! I need details!”I look at Karen
I open the limo door and peer around, anxiously. I could have been murdered a mere few hours ago and I need to be more careful. I have heard news stories about Uber drivers murdering clients, but I never thought that could be me, but then again, I never thought someone would try to extort me and ruin my life.“Are you ok?” Bert asks me from the driver’s seat.I look around once more, “Is the detail here?”Bert nods, “Yes, I am not supposed to tell you but look to your right, 6 cars down. See the black SUV?”I look to where he mentioned and I do see the black SUV, “It’s just one?” I ask, looking at the sleek large vehicle.Bert chuckles, “Yes, but there are four security team members inside. Trust me, they can protect you.” I nod and watch one of the SUV doors open and a man steps out, “Look away!” Bert warns. I turn my attention to him, and he laughs, “Sorry, I am not supposed to tell you where or who they are.”I look in the side mirror and watch the security man look at the SUV, try
My alarm blares and I sigh, rolling over and turning it off. I look over and Karen isn’t in her bed. Her bed is still made and tighty. When she told me not to wait up, I didn’t think she meant she wouldn’t come home. This has never happened before.I sit up and check my phone. I have three messages, I read the first one which is from Mark, “Good morning gorgeous. I hope you slept well. I was wondering if I could take you to breakfast Sunday morning.” I smile at the message and type my reply, “Hello, handsome, I did sleep well.” My body tingles and I remember how Mr. Landa’s tongue made me feel. I sigh as I think this over; Sunday is supposed to be a big day. It’s the day I hope this nightmare ends. “I would love to do breakfast, but I do have afternoon plans.” I hit send and continue to the next message which is from Daniel, “BITCH, TGIF. We ARE GOING OUT TONIGHT, PERIOD. Meet me in the commons this morning, I got you a treat.” I smile and reply, “See you soon, BIATCH!”The last mess
“Ms. Jasper, did you hear me?” The cold eyes of Detective Lolly glare at me, and I slowly look up into his dark eyes. I can’t believe I am here and being questioned like some criminal. “Yes, sorry,” I say, fidgeting with my gold charm bracelet.“You told Karen and a Ms.-” he stops and looks down at his yellow notepad, “Ms. Brandy Mink, that you were almost mugged in your building and that you chased the suspect but fell. Ms. Mink says she handed you a tissue for your bloody nose and told you to report this issue to campus security, but you didn’t?” He looks at me with confusion and annoyance. I shake my head. I can’t tell him the truth. It could ruin my entire life. What’s ONE more lie?“Honestly sir,“ I begin, sitting up straighter, “I didn’t report it because I had nothing to report. I didn’t get a good look at the suspect. He was wearing all black and had a hood over his head. He didn’t get my purse and I wasn’t hurt or mangled,” tears now well in my eyes, “I get enough clout as
I look into Derrick’s eyes, and I can see hurt, but I don’t understand why. We have only hung out twice. He promised not to call me Annie anymore and we had fun, but he had called a girl over right after I left to “heal” him. He is ZERO reasons to be mad or jealous. I was feeling guilty but now I stop myself. A new feeling has taken its place; anger.“Excuse me?” I ask with my eyebrows raised. Derrick stares at me for a moment with his face frozen in shock, “Is there a reason why I can’t date, Seth?” I ask with annoyance. Derrick’s face finally moves, and he looks down, shaking his head, “No, Seth deserves a date, I guess. In fact, I don’t think he has ever had one.” He chuckles.This annoys me further. Why does everyone make fun of Seth? He seems fine to me. Even more so, he’s on the same playing field as me, nerdy and underestimated. “He seems sweet!” I shoot back, venom-coating my words, “And you know what else, he’s not a player, Derrick. You seem shocked but we aren’t dating o