Page 33 of White Hole

“No. She’ll hurt him.”

“Okay.” Xavier’s brow lowered. He smirked. “If you change your mind, I got you.”

I knew he wasn’t going to let it go. I trusted him, though, even if he was a sneaky fucking bastard. He patted my shoulder once and walked out of my room. My shoulders relaxed, and I hit the shower.

* * *

The following morning, I went to the student gym for leg day. Glancing around, my lips tightened into a grimace. I missed the athlete gym’s superior equipment. When I went into the locker room to change, I pulled out my weight-lifting gloves and slid them on. As I did, red ink smeared across my hands.What the…

I ripped off the gloves. My palms, the backs of my hand, and fingers were covered in bright red dye. Running to the sink, I tried to wash as much off as I could, but the stains remained. My skin looked less red after the scrubbing and more salmon pink.

Shuffling through my gym bag, I sighed in relief, finding everything else untouched. At the bottom of the bag was a note.

Looks like you’ve been caught red-handed.

Stop trying to follow me.

- White Hole

Follow her? I wasn’t trying to follow her. Although I probably should for my own safety. Fine. If she wanted to play with my stuff, I’d play with hers.

The notion of leaving her alone and being professional was quickly abandoned. This was war. Changing the testing location hadn’t been enough to make her stop? I’d go harder.

In order to accomplish my plan, I needed to get close to her. That was the opposite of what I should do, given what I knew about her accident. But maybe I could keep an eye on her to prevent her from pranking meandsee if she was trying to get to my father through me.

If I could just get to her apartment, I could set my plans into motion. I could tag along with Xavier when he visited his girlfriend… I could pick a time when Kinsley would be out.

The perfect opportunity arose two days later. It was a Friday, which meant I had no classes. I texted Xavier, and he was with Marissa. Excellent. Making up an excuse to drop something off to him, I wandered casually into the girls’ apartment. Xavier and Marissa left me alone once I returned his computer mouse, heading to her room to fuck. No one else was home. Once I was done with my task, I dipped out without Kinsley or her roommates aware of anything.

After that, I stopped by my father’s office.

“Have you spoken with Aaron?” I asked.

“Yes. Well, I checked with his teachers and the principal. Why?” He busied himself with the stack of papers in front of him.

“But have you spoken with your son?”

“No.” Father straightened his tie and faced his computer.

“He told me he’s having a rough time.”

Without looking at me, he said, “I would expect so. Coming off drugs and having to do what you’re told or facing severe consequences is no easy matter.”

I took a deep breath. “He’s trying. He’s done his best. Don’t you think he’s learned his lesson?”

Finally, he stared at me with his light blue eyes. “No.”

“Are you punishing him or our mother?”

He sighed. “Junior, I’m notpunishinganyone. I’m helping your brother. If you can’t see that, it’s because you’re not a father.”

“Yeah, well, neither are you.” I got up before he could throw me out. I already knew he wouldn’t change his mind about Aaron, but I had to try.

After stopping by the grocery, I headed over to my mother’s. It had been two weeks since I visited. When I walked in, the smell of rotten food hit me in the face like running into a brick wall. One day, I expected to find her dead body decaying along with the bananas.

She was still alive, though, sitting in her usual chair. Wearing the same clothes as two weeks before. The meal I’d prepared for her last sat moldy on the counter in the kitchen. There was an open gallon of spoilt milk next to it.

“Hey, Mom.”

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