Page 63 of Jerk
I’ve ignored him all day. He needs to know he doesn’t control me.
Then why did you almost come on his belt?
Because he’s a psychopath.
You love it.
I hate him.
I almost felt bad about what happened with Coach Winslow. But outside of the excruciatingly hot sex we have, he’s still insufferable.
My phone buzzes again, and I hang on to the little power it gives me.
Ryung: answer me or expect more consequences
My stomach twists thinking about what that means. Was it hot as hell when Rye dominated me against a tree? Yes. But I can’t keep compromising myself for hot sex. For him.
“Ma!” I call again, the only reason I’ve returned to this mansion made of thorns.
I still haven't seen Krystal on campus, and while it worries me, she has her brother. I’m all my mother has.
“She’s in the solarium,” Carrie says, coming from the kitchen with a sponge in her hand. After thanking her, I move to the solarium as my phone vibrates again.
Ryung: tick-tock, Hannah
Was choosing to work with him a bad idea? I warned him about the documents inside that email. Why is he being such a pain?
With a sense of normalcy back on campus, it got me thinking. If I’m honest with my mom about what I know, instead of being so scared to show her, we can have each other’s backs. We can be a powerhousewithoutthe men around us.
“Miss Hannah, wait!” Carrie calls as I'm close to the room. But it’s too late.
When I step into the stone and glass space, my mom’s face hides under a large Valentino hat, a copy of Vanity Fair in her hands.
Scanning the room filled with plants, books, a piano, and stone sculptures, I don’t see any signs of my father.
“Where is he?” I ask.
My mom lowers the magazine upon hearing my voice.
Holy shit.
My hands come to my face.
“Ma!” Her lip is swollen a bandage over her nose. She can hardly open her left eye, bruised and purple. It’s the worst I’ve seen. “What the hell did he?—”
“You should be ashamed of yourself, Hannah,” she says, reaching for the cigarette in the gold tray next to her. “How could you showcase our family in that way?”
“Ma, where is he?” Approaching her gives me a better view of her scars. They're fresh and irritated, red marks dotting her otherwise smooth face. “You can’t keep taking this.”
“You can’t keep disgracing this family.”
“You sound like him.” My eyes blur, staring at the state he left her in. “He’s not on our side.”
“You’renot on my side.” My brows knit at her response. “Not while you're parading around like a two-cent whore.” She pointsher cigarette at my outfit. “Have some goddamn decorum. Your father?—”
“Left your daughter on an island!” I yell. My mind flashes back to the concern on Ember's face. Hell, even the Crowns looked horrified when they heard what my father did. “Don’t let him get away with that. Please.”
My mother hauls back on her cigarette. “You made it out fine.”
