Page 25 of Sinful Desires

Raven walked by my side, completely oblivious as she buried her face in her phone. How she even managed to afford to pay the bill was beyond me.

“Who are you talking to?” I asked, attempting to find something to keep my mind off the doom that awaited me.

A small smile graced her lips as she typed out her response to whoever it was she was talking to. “Hunter,” she replied, not even bothering to glance up.

My lips drew into a straight line. Were they a regular thing now? She could make her own decisions about who she hooked up with, but the entire thing just felt…off. Once she finished typing, she stuffed her phone into the front pocket of her jeans.

The class was practically already full when we arrived, and I slipped into the same seat beside Raven, as I’d done yesterday.

I took out my things and placed them on my desk in front of me in the most unorganized manner. My heart was thudding to a deadly tune as I glanced over at Raven, who was preoccupied with eye-fucking Hunter. Their table was a little too close to ours for my liking, but what could I do about it without drawing attention to myself? Absolutely nothing.

The bell sounded, bouncing from wall to wall as it signaled the start of class. Miss Raleigh strolled to the front of the room, coming to a halt behind the wooden podium. She was a beautiful woman with long, dark brown hair, and smooth skin. Her eyes swiveled around the room, stopping on the group of boys I’d made a mental note to stay away from.

Her gaze lingered on them for a moment too long, causing my eyebrows to pinch with curiosity before she continued to look around the room. “Unless you were new yesterday, you should have your homework completed and turned in,” she began in an authoritative tone. “Failure to do so will result in detention with me.”

People immediately started slipping out of their seats and went to turn in their homework, placing it on top of her desk in a not-so-neat fashion.

The one thing I didn’t like about sitting here was anytime I looked up, there was a direct line of sight to the boys. Hunter whispered something in Collin’s ear, causing him to bark a loud, obnoxious, yet contagious, laugh. Glancing over, my heart stalled in my chest as I watched Myles’ lips twitch in amusement.

Tearing my gaze from them, my attention returned to the teacher at the front of the room. She opened her mouth to say something else, right as a girl walked in and handed her what appeared to be a note. Her eyes darted down to the slip of paper and then swept the room in a curious manner.

“Aspen?” She called out.

My heart hammered beneath my ribcage as panic seized me, a small gasp slipping past my lips in disbelief. I was glued to my chair—unable to move as my life came crashing down all around me.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, she spoke again. “Aspen Palmer.” My face heated from pure fear.

Forcing a glance over at Myles, hoping he’d been too immersed in whatever conversation they’d been having prior to notice what was going on. My breath hitched once our eyes clashed, his jaw feathering as he clenched it.

My chest tightened as I brought myself to my feet and shoved my belongings into my bag. There was no telling how long I’d be gone, and I didn’t even know where they were sending me.

Slipping my bag over my shoulder, I hesitantly started for the front of the room. Their gazes were scalding as I moved, and it took everything in me not to look back at them. There wasn’t much in this world that had the power to intimidate me, but Myles was an exception. The guy practically wasn’t even human, and that last time we spoke, he promised me death. Now he knew who I was—where I slept. My stomach flipped, pushing the bile toward the back of my throat, leaving me no choice but to swallow it down.

I plucked the note from Miss Raleigh’s dainty hand before moving out into the hallway. A weight lifted from my shoulders once I was safely away from him and could think more rationally.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I glanced down at the yellow note:

Room 502,

Kindly send Aspen Palmer to the counselor’s office. She will return to class.

Well, there goes my escape plan. Where the hell was the counselor’s office anyways? I hadn’t thought to bring my map along with me; it didn’t seem necessary when all of the buildings were within walking distance of one another.

My legs started moving absentmindedly, leading me out of the building and into the cold. Squinting, I looked around the vicinity, hoping to find some hint as to where the damn office could be.

Office…

Could it be in the main building where the main office was?

Deciding that was the best bet, I started in the direction of the office—which wasn’t far from my current location. I kept to the sidewalk, only straying from it when I reached my destination in which I moved up the steps and pushed through the front doors.

Strolling past the main office, a wooden door captured my attention. Upon approaching it, the words sprawled across the door indicated that I’d successfully found it. I brought my knuckles against the door twice before dropping my arm to my side.

“Come in,” a feminine voice replied, not leaving me much choice in the matter. But I suppose this was a better alternative than being stuck in that class with him. However, had she never sent for me, then I wouldn’t be in this situation at all.

I didn’t have a lot of luck with therapists or whatever you wanted to call them. They were always so optimistic, thinking everyone could change if they just set their mind to it. How nice it must be for them to sit in their chair and get paid to listen to other people’s problems while giving them half-assed advice that would never fucking work.

Striding inside, my gaze snagged on the older woman seated behind the mahogany desk. She wasn’t that old, mid-forties maybe. The woman didn’t bother to hide her very obvious head-to-toe assessment of me. Her expression remained blank, making it impossible to decipher what she was thinking.

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