Page 59 of Hired Help

“Jesus Christ.” He shakes his curly hair, face reddening until he looks on the verge of a stroke. “Can you imagine if he came over here and started talking about going down on your mum?”

“Good luck finding her. Geography was never Harrison’s strong suit.” But my thoughts drift to Alicia who’s the next best replacement. Even thinking about him touching her causing a shudder of distress.

But I’m not the one who started this. I’m just the one currently winning.

“It was just a dance.”

Floss bursts into laughter, even when Kaden shoots her a warning glare. “It was not ‘just a dance,’” she insists, tapering into a wide grin. “I thought the boy getting stabbed last year was going to stay top gossip for the event but this…” She shakes her head in wonder. “This is the kind of gossip that never goes stale. You’re a fucking legend.”

“Glad it amuses you,” Kaden says stonily. “But even if I’d take a bullet for you, I’m not extending that offer to your friend.” He points his sausage laden fork at me. “Stop winding him up. You’re over. Get used to it.”

The brief jollity falls out of the day. I shove the rest of my plate away, no longer hungry. “Yes, sir. If I promise to be good, can I be excused?”

“I’m trying to be helpful,” Kaden grumbles. “You think just because you’ve got money, driving a boy absolutely crazy is a safe idea?”

“I don’t want to be safe,” I say, standing. “I want my fucking revenge.”

“And you’ve had it,” he immediately snaps back, eyes hooded. “Now settle down or I’ll phone your parents and tell them what you’ve done.”

For a second, I’m taken aback, then I burst out laughing, Floss joining me a second later. “Knock yourself out,” I say to his confusion. “Lead with a reminder who I am. It’s been so long, they’ve probably forgotten.”

I walk out before the sadness lurking behind that statement has the chance to catch up with me. Although I try to keep my gaze focused straight ahead, my eyes betray me, scooting to the side for one last glimpse of Harrison.

He’s staring straight at me. His jaw is clenched so hard the entire shape of his face changes, becoming sinister.

A shiver of awareness skitters down my spine. There’s no trace of his sweet, happy-go-lucky class-clown persona. This glance is from the man who bruised my throat at the dance. A new side. A menacing side. A personality change that intrigues me more than it scares me.

But it does scare me.

Oh, well. First period English is one of our only shared classes, then the rest of the day will be free of his molten glares.

A thought that fills me with a sliver of regret.

* * *

It’sfive minutes after second bell before I reluctantly concede that Harrison isn’t coming to English. When we’re meant to be listening to a recitation, I send a text to Everett, and receive word back they’ve switched teachers.

My stomach pulls so tight at the information, I think I’m about to heave. I excuse myself from the class, sprinting to the nearest stall and barricading myself inside.

The discomfort doesn’t ease, but it doesn’t progress. After ten minutes spent waiting, I flush the unused toilet and wash my hands at the sink, staring in the mirror before heading back to class.

Up till now, I kept thinking our relationship wasn’t really over. There’d been a mistake, a misunderstanding, and if Harrison would only swallow his anger long enough to talk to me, we could work out the problem and reconnect.

But you ballsed that up, didn’t you?

I could contact Daegan; tell him we’re finished. Except right now, he’s the only bright spot. If I take that away, there’s nothing for me here in Christchurch. School doesn’t matter. I attended because I had to. Now the first part of my trust fund has kicked in, that no longer applies and the urge to stay was entwined with the desire to be close to Harrison.

Floss is a good friend, better than I deserve, but she’s a year below me. Unless I get an apartment down here, we’ll drift apart no matter what I do. Maybe if I head to university, we can pick up where we left off once she graduates, but I don’t have an inkling what I would study. Tertiary education has never been part of my plan.

As I stare miserably at my laptop, barely following along with the class, I realise Harrison had been my only plan.

My ambition had been to love him, marry him, have children with him. To grow old, teasing each other, throwing popcorn at the tv when the characters didn’t behave the way we wanted, falling more deeply in love with each passing year.

I don’t know if I can transfer that to his father. Daegan probably won’t let me. He’ll come to his senses soon enough, realise I’m not worth the loss of his son.

“Brooke,” Miss Murchison says in a quiet voice, tapping the back of my wrist to get my attention. She’s holding a box of tissues, looking concerned. “Do you want to take a moment? You can leave class again if you need to.”

I don’t understand what she’s talking about until I feel the wetness on my face.

---