Page 67 of Cold and Broken (The Titans of Founder's Ridge 1)

“Just Miss Nelson,” she says to Connor.

“No,” he replies and keeps following me.

“Connor.” I glare at him.

“No.” He glares back.

“No one’s going to tackle me in the headmaster’s office. I’ll be fine.”

“No. You go nowhere without me or one of the guys.”

I look past Connor to Griff and see he’s just as serious about this.

“Fine.” I toss my hands up. “Are you assholes going to follow me into the bathroom, too?”

“Yes.” They both say in unison.

Oh, fuck no.

I’ll save that fight for later. I turn the corner and knock on the headmaster’s door and am surprised when Mr. Jameson opens it.

“Good morning, Lilith.” He smiles at me and then notices Connor hot on my heels. The smile instantly falls. “Connor.”

“Good morning, Mr. Jameson,” I turn the headmaster, “Headmaster Jennings, I have a note from my doctor about an injury I received this weekend.” I hand it to him. “I was involved in an accident that left me with second degree burns on my back. I can’t participate in water sports so I was hoping there was a study hall or teacher or office aid position available during that hour.”

“Are you responsible for this?” Mr. Jameson narrows his eyes at Connor.

“Fuck you.” Connor sneers at Mr. Jameson.

“Connor!” My eyes widen. “Don’t be rude.” Neither the headmaster nor Mr. Jameson admonish him for his rude behavior though. I guess he was right when he said he runs this place. I’ve never seen such disrespectful behavior go unpunished before.

“He shouldn’t ask stupid questions. Obviously I wouldn’t hurt you and he knows it.” Connor continues looking at the headmaster and ignoring Mr. Jameson’s presence.

“I could use some extra help setting experiments and grading papers,” Mr. Jameson says to the headmaster.

“Okay, check in with Mr. Jameson every day during fourth period and if he needs you, stay. If he doesn’t, come down here and I’m sure we can find something for you to do,” Headmaster Jennings says dismissing me.

Connor all but growls at this turn of events and starts pulling me by the wrist down the hall back to Griff. “Of fucking course heneedshelp all of a sudden,” he sneers.

“What?” Griff asks.

Connor fills him in as we walk to class.

* * *

“Hi Mr. Jameson,” I say from just inside his classroom door.

“Hi Lilith.” He points to the desk right in front of his desk. “Have a seat after you close the door.”

Weird.

I’m obviously spending too much time with Connor thinking that request was weird. A lot of teachers prefer their doors to be closed.

“Everything you tell me in this room will stay between us, okay?” His electric blue eyes shine with concern behind his glasses. “Is Connor hurting you?”

“What? No.” I can’t believe he’s asking me that. Connor can be a real dick but I know he’d never physically hurt me. “He would never.” I shake my head.

“Are you sure? I’ve witnessed him on multiple occasions being openly hostile toward you. I know his behavior has shifted lately but I still have trouble trusting that he’s not planning on doing something. Tell me about these burns on your back.” He walks over and sits in the desk beside me.

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