Page 11 of Explosive Prejudice

I could finally breathe in relief.

He wasn’t broken.

Unlike me, he was still in one piece.

Before realizing what was happening, I was yanked away from him. The sound of a slap echoed around the ample space, and the bruised skin on my cheek burned with disgrace.

“Get out of here,” Elliot yelled. “Get out of my home, and never come here again.”

Daniel, who I didn’t notice even came in, held Elliot back while I stood in front of them, feeling more ashamed than ever before.

“Get out!” Elliot screamed again, but for some reason, my legs didn’t move.

“We ask you to leave,” Daniel said, his voice calm but unwelcoming. “And to never come here again.” All three of them had their eyes on me, looking at me with disgust and contempt, and that was when I realized that my father was right. Apart from him, no one in this world could ever truly love a monster like me.

A wide smile crossed my face as I tried to hide my nerves from being this close to Miles. “I didn’t know you were coming back today.” That was a stupid thing to say because how would I know that? We weren’t talking. The impatience on his face told me he thought the same. “How are you?” I asked, trying to sound cool.

His jaw tensed, and his brows pulled together as he remained silent.

“Miley?”

Shaking his head, he let out a strangled laugh that lasted less than a second. “You’re joking, right?” He paused, took a step back, and clenched his hold around the strap of his bag. “Don’t talk to me, just… don’t.” After making his point loud and clear, he turned on his heels and walked away.

What an epic failure.

Closing my eyes, I leaned against the locker and huffed some air. That went even worse than I thought, but I deserved it. After what I did to him and Andrei, I didn’t deserve redemption. The shit I forced them to go through was fucked-up, and saying I acted the way I did out of desperation didn’t make it right.

Someone’s hurting me, so I hurt others in return. Some people used that excuse to legitimize their actions, but not me. I didn’t see the point.

I was rotten. End of story.

Opening my eyes, I noticed the clock hanging on the wall. “Shit,” I grunted after seeing the time and realizing I was late for my next class. Busy thinking about Miles and Elliot, I’d probably missed the bell.

“Thank you for joining us on this fine day, Mr. Rogers,” said my English teacher, who, for the love of God, I couldn’t remember her name, as I stepped in.

“The pleasure is all mine.” I tried to charm her with a smile, which didn’t work based on the irritated stare she just gave me.

“Please sit down so we can all continue with the class.”

Looking around the full room, I smiled to myself. I almost forgot I took this class with Andrei and the rest of his group. Lucky for me, the only free chair was beside the mutt, aka Diesel.

“Mr. Rogers,” the teacher said, urging me to move faster.

Irritated, I made my way between the tables until I reached my final destination and dropped my ass into the chair. To my left was a window, while to my right was Diesel, or should I say, the anger-issues maniac?

Glancing at him, I huffed. The man was always dressed in oversized clothes and long sleeves as if he had something to hide. I recalled that he had dressed that way that night of the party, when I caught him fucking Chloe and her stupid friend. We were in California, for fuck’s sake. Why keep your skin covered?

“Lost something?” he hissed, his dark eyes looking at me with contempt.

“Nah.” I gave him a cheeky smile and fluttered my eyelashes at him. “I was just repulsed by your taste in clothing.” Well, that was a lie. Despite wearing baggy clothes, they were actually epic. If I weren’t planning on pursuing a career in football, I would probably do something in fashion. I loved clothes, and even though I’d hate to admit it, the mutt had style.

“At least I don’t look like a bitch.” He sneered, his lips pulling into a dark smile.

I smirked and stretched back in my chair, making the cropped top I wore rise slightly higher and reveal another strip of my already exposed abs. “I would have to disagree with you. Crop tops look the best on dudes. And it just so happens to be a Ranieri, so piss off.” Ranieri was one of the biggest fashion houses in the world. Thinking about the brand reminded me of Elliot, their leading model, and that soured my mood.

“Mr. Rogers, is there a reason you’re not taking notes?” The teacher calling my name snapped my attention away from Diesel, and I looked back at her. Why was she so annoying?

“Why are you picking on me? What about him?” I pointed over at Diesel with my thumb, and in response, the jackass lifted a paper with words scribbled on it. Fucker. Now I really did sound like a whiney-ass bitch.

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