Page 49 of Falling With a Spin

“Hey Em, are you okay?” She reaches for me, and I flinch at her touch, murmuring an apology.

I face back towards the front, gripping my desk till my knuckles turn white.

“You’re mine.”

“No one else can you.”

“I will have you again. Just wait.”

I breathe through the rising anxiety, knowing he can’t hurt me here.

But didn’t he hurt you at Karaoke and in the Quad?

The voice in my head really needs to know when to shut the fuck up.

What are they even doing here? They don’t have Professor Mikens as a teacher. Hell, they don’t even take calculus.

“Hey Em,” I know that voice from anywhere, especially hearing it for the last eighteen and half years. I turn around to see Caleb sitting behind me. He gives me a small smile, leaning back into his chair, and rubs the back of his neck when I don’t respond. Caleb has been trying to get a hold of me since the night of karaoke, and I just haven’t been able to bring myself to answer them.

“Alright, class. Those of you who are here today are to retake the exam. Once you finish, please hand me the test, and then you may go. I will have the tests graded and back to you after fall break. There will be no retakes on this test; if the grade you get on this test is higher than the one you received, it will replace it completely, but if it’s lower than the original, then I will take the average.” Mr. Mikens lays out the rules while passing out the test packet. “You all may now begin the test.”

With shaky hands, I open up the test packet and start on the first problem.

Closing the test booklet, I take a deep breath and walk to the front, handing it to the professor. I feel really good about this test, and I didn’t second guess myself on any of the problems. I double-checked my work, just like Hunter showed me.

I turn around and see that there are only three other students still here, Layla being one of them and Chad and Caleb being the other two. Layla has her head down, focusing on the problems in front of her. I hope she does really well. She deserves it.

I give her a small smile when I bend down and grab my bags. I begin to walk away, but a hand grabs my wrist, stopping me from moving. I whirl around to see that Chad has his hand around my wrist, just like how his belt was. I yank my arm away and grit through my teeth, “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.”

My gaze shifts to Caleb, and I give him a pleading look to say something to him or defend me, but he avoids my eye contact. I shake my head as I snatch my bag and storm out of the class without looking back. The professor calls after me, but the slamming of the classroom door silences it. I furiously walk towards my car, throwing the door open, getting in, and letting out a scream.

A few students were walking by that jump at the sudden noise, but I couldn’t even bother to apologize. I don’t know what hurts more, the fact that Chad still gets to me or that Caleb is still hanging around with someone who treats women like a punching bag. Chad may have been the one to hurt me physically, but Caleb just has an equal part by choosing to continue to be friends with him.

I wipe my face clear of the tears and grab my phone to send a quick text to Hunter. As I hit send, a message from my Dad comes through.

Fuck. Shit. Damn it. I forgot that I’m going back home. Part of me is excited and looking forward to seeing my siblings catching up with them. But the other half is anxious to see my father for the first time in years. To spend one on one with someone who barely knows you. I would be lying, saying that I haven’t thought about bringing Taylor with me to ease the tension.

Hitting send, I plug my phone into the car to play music as I head to Hunters. I roll the windows down, letting the cold breeze in, and let all the worries from earlier today roll off of me. It’s impossible to stay away from Chad and just impossible to avoid my father. The only two men in my life that have ever hurt me.

I was eight years old when my father stopped picking me up on the days he was supposed to have me, declining my invites to my recitals, and rescheduling my birthday dinners. I gave up on really ever seeing him unless it was a holiday or my sibling's birthdays. It became too hard to see him around them, the love he gave that I never received. I don’t know why I still entertain the messages he sends me. It’s probably the little girl in me still yearning for her dad to love her.

As I pull into the driveway, I spot Hunter sitting on the porch swing with a guitar in his lap and sheet music on the small table in front of him. He has on a regular black sweatshirt and blue jeans with a baseball cap on backward. If it were any other guy, it would be the most basic and douchbag thing they could do, but fuck, he pulls it off so well.

We still haven’t talked about the kiss we shared in the library. I’m not sure how Hunter feels about it or if he regrets it. I sure as hell don’t. The memory of his lips on mine has my body buzzing.

“Emma, pull yourself together,” I say to myself.

Grabbing my bag and stepping out of the car, my foot snags on the strap, and I fall face-first into the grass. I stay there, contemplating everything that has happened today and even my existence. I turn my head to the right when I hear a deep throaty laugh that could only come from the one and only Hunter. A whimper comes out of me from the embarrassment that only I could achieve by falling out of my car. Hunter makes his way down the steps, kneeling beside me. He brushes some of the brown hair that fell in front of my face and gives me a smile that lately has been making my heart skip a beat.

“How you doin' down their Love?” He asks. My only reply is a grunt as I proceed to get up and grab my bag. I dust off the grass and look at Hunter, who has a smirk on his face that I want to slap right off.

“It was quite comfortable, but I would rather have an actual bed, thank you very much.” Lifting my chin, I walk right past him towards the house. When I open the door, I’m hit with the smell of chocolate chip cookies and something cinnamon. My stomach instantly growls, and a sheepish smile plays on my face. I look behind me and see Hunter raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, all I ate today was the Oreos you left me in my bag.” I skip off to the kitchen to grab one of the cookies.

“How do you think the test went?” Hunter asks and comes up behind to reach for a cookie. His arm brushes past me, sending shivers down my skin.

I turn around to face him, leaning against the counter. “I think I did pretty good. Oh, but get this,” I reach for another cookie, tearing some of it off before plopping it in my mouth. “Caleb and Chad were in the classroom to retake the test, too.” The look on his face is pure rage and shock. “Yup, that was my exact reaction.” He pulls me into him and kisses the top of my head.

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