Page 16 of Redeem
I quickly find a spare seat, which happens to be beside Serena and Stella. Serena doesn’t even look at me, continuing to stare straight ahead toward the front of the class. Pulling out my laptop and notebook, I realize, in the rush to get out the door, I forgot my pencil case with my pens.
I tap Serena on the shoulder, and she looks at me, raising her brows. “Do you have a pen I can borrow?” I whisper.
She glares at me, then turns back to the front of the class, completely blowing me off. Damn, a pissed-off Serena is a stone-cold bitch. Definitely better to have her on your side than being on the receiving end of it.
“Here, have one of mine,” Stella says, sliding a sparkly purple pen onto my desk.
“Thank you,'' I whisper with a smile. She smiles in return, and Serena makes a sound in the back of her throat. Stella sits back straight and looks ahead.
At least one of my friends is talking to me...a little bit.
We need to talk. I need to apologize to Serena and Stella for not trusting them with my big secret. My identity. I miss them so much; they were the best part of Roxbury, and I feel so lost and all alone without them.
I’m glad Olivia has given up on me. She’s back to giving me the cold shoulder.
I have Emilio, Keegan, and Madden, and that’s definitely helped. Memories flood back from the weekend—the way they made me feel so wanted, so good. I push the pen into my lip and cross my legs.
A throat clears, and I look up to find Keegan a few rows in front of us, looking over his shoulder with a cheeky grin. My cheeks heat and he winks. My phone buzzes against my thigh, and I pull it out of my pocket, keeping it under the desk so I don’t get into even more trouble.
Keegan: I’m imagining that pen as my cock pressing against your fuckable lips.
Oh my god.My stomach stirs, and I can’t stop even more memories of Keegan’s cock filling my mouth invading all of my senses.
“Isabella,” Miss Veronica snaps, and everything evaporates.
I push my phone into my pocket and look up. I catch Keegan laughing, and I can’t hide my smile or my burning hot cheeks.
“What is the most abundant protein in the human body?”
She’s got me there. Stella angles her computer my way, with the answer “collagen,” typed into a document. I quickly avert my gaze, then answer, and Miss Veronica moves on to the next thing.
“Thank you,” I whisper to Stella and she smiles.
The rest of the class goes by in a blur. When Serena and Stella start packing up their things, I place a hand on Serena’s shoulder and she freezes.
“Can we please meet up at my place after classes are done for the day? I want to apologize and explain everything,” I plead.
Serena huffs, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. “Fine, but only if there’s a hot chocolate waiting for me.” She leaves, and I let out a deep breath. That's more than I expected, since I assumed she would say no.
“I’ll be there too. I miss us,” Stella says before quickly following Serena out the door.
I can’t wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the day. I finally have a chance to sort things out with my friends, and I just hope that all secrets will be out in the open. I know it won't be the same as before, but not having to hide a part of me will mean I have to open up abouteverything.
Now, to see Miss Veronica to receive my punishment—great.
* * *
Pushing open the door to my last class for the day, I walk into an empty classroom. That’s odd. I swear the text I got said English was moved here. As I pull out my phone to open the text message, a hand lands on my shoulder, and I scream, dropping the phone. Whirling around, I come face-to-face with Maximo Santoro. I stumble backward a couple of steps out of his reach, but he follows me until I hit the wall.
“Mr. Santoro, what are you doing here?” I rush out, unsure of what to say, other thanwhat the hell are you doing here, in this classroom, backing me up against a wall?That wouldn’t go down well with him and, as my father always says, we never disrespect our elders.
He closes in, pinning me against the wall. My breathing picks up and I swallow hard.
“Isabella Romano, I wanted to have a private little chat with you.” He leans closer until his breath brushes against my cheek.
I shiver as thoughts of that night with Adrian come rushing through. Of him forcing himself on me, taking the one thing I can’t ever get back. Looking into Maximo’s almost-black eyes, it’s like looking straight at Adrian, and I can’t breathe.
“Now that Adrian is gone, you must marry Emilio.”
