Page 13 of Don't Love Me
“But now you would like me to watch over her at school?” I suggested, thinking that’s where this conversation was going.
Landen sniffed like he smelled something bad. It wasn’t me. I only smelled like chlorine.
“On the contrary, I saw you with her in the pool and thought you two looked rather close. More than I’m comfortable with, to be blunt. She’s only fifteen. Innocent, because I’ve kept her that way. With the two of you at school together, she might cling to you. Look to you for support. Become…attached. I’m asking you to discourage that behavior.”
No problem there. It’s exactly what I’d already told her. There was no way I could hide how much I was faking everything from Ash. So the only strategy was to keep her at a distance.
“That won’t be a problem, sir.”
He nodded. “Good, good. George says you have ambitions to go to Princeton. Not sure if you’re aware, but that’s also my alma mater.”
I could feel my jaw get tight, and I suppressed the urge to clench my fists. I knew what was coming next. This guy was not about to wish me luck on my ambitions.
“Actually, I didn’t, sir.”
“Hmm, yes. A long time ago, of course, but I’ve kept in touch with a lot of influencers at the school. You understand my meaning.”
Crystal. Clear.
Stay away from Ash or risk him using that influence against me.
These had always been the rules at the Landen estate:
Earn my rent through work.
No friends at the main house or the carriage house.
No drugs or drinking.
Stay away from Ashleigh.
That was the hardest one to follow because she wouldn’t leave me alone. At least that’s what I told myself.
“That won’t be a problem, sir.”
He nodded. “Good. Anything you can do to discourage her attachment would be considered a boon to me.”
Most of the time I was mean as fuck to Ashleigh. It didn’t discourage shit, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t double down if that’s what I had to do. Hell, it would be my pleasure.
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
A week before school
Marc
“It was the greatest movie of all time,” Ash said.
“More potatoes, Marc?” George asked me. We were sitting around the kitchen table in the carriage house, having dinner together, which we normally did when Landen was out of town. I’d mentioned seeing the latest Avengers movie with my friends and somehow, I’d ended up here, in the most ridiculous argument of all time.
“You’re kidding me right now,” I said to Ash. To George I said, “Sure. I need to carb up before practice. Coach wants us in shape before the year starts, which means running.”
George slapped some more mashed potatoes onto my plate and I dug in while they were hot.
“Wonder Womanwas an inspiration for girls everywhere,” Ash exclaimed. “That’s bigger than a superhero movie, that’s…that’s feminism.”
“It’s a movie, not a movement,” I told her. “You got completely caught up in it, too. You do realize there were parts when you cried? And not just when the hero bit it.”
