Page 42 of Cruel Legacy

This woman tempts me in ways she doesn’t even know. I’ve been mesmerized watching her flit from one emotion to the next with her friend and the guys brave enough to approach her when she’s out in town.

She’s witty and flirty, with just a little too much mischief and stubborn defiance in her eyes. I could make her yield. Submit. I groan as I think about the different ways I could go about it. If only playing with her wouldn’t end in disaster.

If I gave in, I’d destroy her. There’s no coming back from it. No amount of money anyone could throw at the problem to make it go away. My dad’s job would be in jeopardy. The league would ostracize us. My family is depending on me to keep it together. I can’t let the dark thoughts win.

As we’re heading back through the trail to the main part of campus, I take hold of my thoughts and shove them all back into the box I keep them in. Locking it down tight.

It’s harder to do than it usually is, because I don’t want to lock them up. For the first time in a long time, I want to bathe in them. Feel them. Let them drag me down.

That’s why she’s dangerous to me. The way she looks at me in the morning when she walks into class, or on the rare times when I interact and answer a question about the lesson everyone else is working on. I know she likes that. Likes that I’m smart.

It’s been too damn long since anyone has thought that was an attractive quality to have and not want to exploit it.

We’ve made it back to the dorm and I wait until Thea goes in before I circle back around to the library. It’s impossible to spend 24/7 watching her. I have homework I need to do. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to distract me from my spiraling thoughts.

I text the group chat, letting them know where I’m going.

Chapter23

Thea

My aunt’s been hounding me to come for a visit since the day they dropped me at the dorms. I finally agreed to show up for an awkward family dinner.

I drive up to the gate that closes off this block of houses from the rest of the street and wait as it opens for me, just like my first night here. I’m assuming there’s a guard with a camera hiding in one of the nooks and crannies, granting access, because I doubt it’s programmed to open for everyone. That would be a waste of a security gate.

I haven’t asked about a gate code. That would give them the false belief that I plan to spend a lot of time here.

I park the car at the top of the driveway, walk to the door, and give two quick stabs to the bell. The person who answers the door isn’t Carla. This must be one of the standby staff she mentioned.

The look on this woman’s face says it all. I look nothing like the dinner party guests she’s used to serving. I can roll with that sentiment since she’s nothing like the waitstaff I’m used to seeing in diners. She escorts me into the living room where my aunt and uncle are sitting.

“Thea, you’re here.” Moira says, standing to her feet.

“I said I would be.” We just stare at each other. Yup. Awkward.

She finally tells me to take a seat. When I settle on the couch, she asks, “So, uh. How’s school? Do you have any friends?”

Small talk? They asked me to come to dinner so we could talk about stuff she could have asked over the phone? Not that she’d get an answer. My personal life and friendships are none of her business. “School’s fine.”

“Do you like all your classes and your professors?”

I relax a little. I can talk about what I’m learning and about the teachers all day. Nodding, I say, “I do. I’m really loving History of Eastern Culture and I think my statistics class might be my favorite. But if I had to pick the one that’s most challenging, it’s probably ethics.”

Fitness training too, but I don’t mention that since my issue with the class has to do with me having fucked the teacher.

Uncle Scott looks over at me and asks, “Why is that?”

“Because I feel like my teacher is biased.”

“How so?”

“How can you teach ethics when you make it known the only acceptable viewpoint is the one that aligns with your personal belief that decimating a civilization or empire to make yourself rich is fine?”

He tilts his head to the side, considering my question all of five-seconds before saying, “Darwin would say that’s just the way evolution goes.”

He’s one of those? Great. Lemme correct his misinformation right now. “Darwin was talking about thenaturalevolution of things. Unless he was a psychic, he didn’t foresee creating weapons and wars to take over entire continents and steal artifacts to sell to museums.”

Scott swirls the drink in his glass. “So you would have suggested what?”

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