Page 20 of Malicious Intentions

The car ride home was a whole new level of humiliation I was completely unprepared for.

Not only did I have to deal with the aftermath of giving in to my stepbrother in the bathroom of a posh restaurant, riding his fingers before being denied an orgasm, but my mother added another layer of embarrassment in the car on the ride home. She asked if I brought my prescription sleeping pills to SRU “in case I need them.”

I glared at her, begging her to drop it, but she refused. Evan’s eyes bore into my profile while Preston pretended to be oblivious to the conversation.

“Yes, mother, I brought them. But I don’tneedthem.”

“You know how hard it is to adjust to new situations. You’ll need to sleep so you don’t have dark circles or bags beneath your eyes.” She turned around in her seat and leveled me with a look. “Remember how awful you looked when Gram died?”

I glared at my mom, the most insensitive person I’ve ever met.Who the hell worries about dark circles beneath their eyes when the only person who gave a damn about you died?The person I loved most in the world.

“I wasn’t concerned with how I looked when Gram died,” I snapped, my spine rigid. “I brought the damn pills with me, so just drop it!”

My mom refused to shut up. “I’m only looking out for you, Lexi. You know first impressions are everything.”

“They make me too drowsy, Mom. I sleep like the dead whenever I take them.” I looked out the window, hoping my next words would end this ridiculous conversation. “But I have them in case I need them.”No way in hell am I taking them.

“Good. That’s all I ask.”

I fumed the rest of the way home, my mind like a broken record, reliving the incident in the bathroom with Evan and my return to the table. He acted like nothing happened and ignored me as I picked at my food.

What a shitty day.My head fell against the window as I stared at the passing scenery, wishing I was far away from everyone in this car.

The second the car rolled to a stop in the parking lot, I jumped out, throwing a hasty goodbye and a half-assed excuse about needing to unpack over my shoulder.

I hurried to the apartment, sucking in deep, cleansing breaths, feeling like a damn fool. Not only for the bullshit that happened with Evan but my mom bringing up the sleeping pills.

She still has no idea that I was humiliated in the worst way before Gram’s death. Who wouldn’t need sleeping pills after the situation I was in? That asshole spent ten months pretending to love and adore me. When I finally gave in and lost my virginity on prom night, he recorded it and sent it to his friends to collect on a bet he’d made—that he could take my virginity before the end of the school year.

Not only did he make a shitload of money because I gave up my V-card before graduation, but his friends sent the video to others, and it went viral.

I never told my mom, partially because she was too busy working and trying to land Preston Whitmore as a client at her law firm, but mostly because we weren’t close.

Gram noticed how I acted and questioned me until I confessed what happened. Even though she was sick with cancer, she noticed something was wrong with me.

My Gram died two weeks later, leaving me devastated by grief and guilt. I worried the stress I caused her from my foolish mistake contributed to her death.

Blinking back the tears, I raced through the apartment before the tears started falling.

As I slammed the door, I broke like a dam. A river of tears ran down my face. I kicked off my shoes and threw myself on the bed.

It’s been over a year since Shane ruined my life, and Gram died right after that. Why am I still crying about it? And why did tonight set off a new wave of grief?

I hearthe din of Preston, my mother, and Evan’s voices floating beneath my closed door. Wiping my face, I sit up and head to my purse to dig out some tissues.

After cleaning up my face, I toss the tissues in the trash.

Evan’s voice carries down the hallway and through my closed door. He thanks our parents for dinner like the ass-kisser he is, then he apologizes for my rudeness and extends his thanks on my behalf.

I flick him off even though he can’t see it.

“I’ll walk you out.” Their footsteps and voices grow dimmer as the door slams shut.

Sinking onto the bed, I stare at my fingernails. My mom was too busy with her “perfect son and husband” to bother wishingme luck on the first day of classes, let alone saying goodbye to me.Why does it bother me? It’s how she is.

My thoughts turn darker as they go over Evan’s infuriating behavior.I’m not in the mood to deal with him tonight.

I hope someone runs over his smug ass in the parking lot. That’ll solve all my problems.

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