Page 36 of Above
Talon’s face noticeably paled, the dark shade of his skin taking on a sort of grey hue. He stood, lifting his hands as if to ward off my words. “Woah, hold on. Are you offering yourself to me right now?”
“Isn’t that what you were suggesting outside the dining hall?”
“No—I—Well—I meant—” he stuttered, his voice cracking.
“Seriously, it’s not a big deal. At least I understand what you want now. As long as we—“
“Stop! Nova, I am not trading training for sex. That’s crazy.”
“I’m confused,” I said, throwing up my hands in exasperation. Because if he didn’t want to fuck me, then what did he want? I had so little to give, and if I wasn’t bringing anything to the table, then I couldn’t trust him not to turn on me.
“You’re so strange, you know that? Why can’t you believe that I only want to help you? Strings don’t have to be attached to everything.”
“Actually, yes they do. That’s how this world works. Someone is always the puppet, held up by the strings attached to the one thing keeping them going. I’m not stupid enough to believe you want nothing. That’s not realistic.” Talon looked at me as if I had just punched him in the face. In truth, I was considering it. This whole thing was pointless. He was probably just toying with me to amuse his friends. “Why aren’t you ever with your friends and sister? Is it a game you’re playing? Am I some weird tool, or bet, or joke to you all?”
“Of course not!” he shrieked before taking in a deep breath. I noted how he began to twitch. No,shake.It was his left leg, the bounce seemingly unintentional. “What happened to make you so paranoid? The world isn’t half as bad as you think it is.”
“That’s because you lived your entire life pampered and surrounded by more than you could ever need!” I finally shouted back, losing my temper and calm. “You have never had to fear that those around you didn’t have your best interest at heart. You have never had to wonder if your family would starve or die. Every day of your life has been soaked in privilege to the point that it practically pours out of you. Not all of us had that luxury. Some of us had to lie and steal and, yes, fuck our way through life. While I don’t expect you to understand, I would hope that you are at least able to acknowledge your own biases and put away your sense of entitlement for five seconds!”
Chests rising and falling in rapid succession, we each stared the other down, neither willing to be the first to concede. A knock at the door had us both jumping, the anger enveloping me morphing into unease. Had he invited his friends to come watch as he did something horrible to me? Was everything up until this point an act?
“Stay quiet,” he whispered, grabbing my arm and shoving me toward the closet. I didn’t hesitate or give myself the chance to overthink, darting inside before closing the door behind me. Zade’s footsteps toward the door were loud and measured, almost a leisurely stride if not for his heavy breathing. I heard the door swing open, then his voice saying, “Hey, Cal. What do you need?”
“Oh nothing, just wanted to say hi,” someone responded. Cal. Who was that? The voice was loud, boisterous even. I had heard it before, but I was struggling to put a face to the name.
“Hi. Listen, I am really busy working on—”
“Not you. Tershetta was the one I wanted to see.”
Silence captured the space, making room for the tension I could hear in Zade’s voice. “Why would she be here?”
“Seeing as I heard her yelling at you, I figure we shouldn’t waste time lying.” A scuffle could be heard, and then steps that sounded almost like skips began heading my way.
“I swear, Dofrel, you better get out of my room.”
Dofrel. Caleb Dofrel. Stars help me, not another core.
The steps stopped just in front of the closet as Dofrel said, “Bite me.”
Then the doors were being ripped open, and I was face to face with the curly-haired, harmonica playing core boy. His hands continued to grip the doors, brown arms flexing in a way that made me think it was intentional.
“Hello, gorgeous, do tell why you’re in Talon’s closet,” he cooed in question.
Ice invaded my blood, freezing me to the spot and chilling me to the point of shivering. Despite my best efforts, I found myself behind a closed door with not one, buttwocores.
Zade stood behind Dofrel, a scowl on his reddening face. Had they tricked me somehow? Was that Zade’s goal this whole time?
No, wait, it was my idea to come here.
“So what, you only talk to Talon and Az?” Dofrel huffed, crossing his arms. Had I been silent for a long time? That was probably best. Speaking could get me in trouble.
“No, she doesn’t talk to Az. Now get the fuck out of my room.” Voice nearly a growl, Talon looked more like a beast than a man, and stars if the territorial edge to his tone didn’t annoy me. But I was grateful, in the end, that anyone cared, even if I did regularly question his motives.
“Well every time I’m around the two they seem to be unable tonottalk.” With a simple shrug and vague comment, Dofrel had tipped Zade off the edge, causing the latter to ball his fists and straighten his spine. As if he might hit the curly-haired prick.
“I don’t waste my time on ignorant purists with tiny cocks and bad attitudes,” I hissed out, stepping forward slightly. I didn’t need to be the cause of any fights, nor did I want to. Altair and I didnottalk anyways.
“Look at that, the real Tershetta has come out to play.”
