Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Savina
I DESPERATELY TRIED to fake being sick the very next day, but my stepmother wasn’t buying it.
She even stood outside in her silk pajamas and robe, watching me climb into the car to go to school to make sure I wasn’t skipping.
And then, for good measure, Cosette told the driver to make sure I made it in the front door okay and to report back to her afterwards.
I have a feeling even if I was sick, throwing up or maybe had somehow contracted the bubonic plague that Cosette still would’ve made me come to school.
My very presence pisses her off even when I’m tucked into my room, minding my own business.
It’s like she can sense me in the house.
I mean, I do kind of feel like a ghost when I’m there, so it doesn’t surprise me that much.
I get through first period okay. I don’t notice anyone staring at me or talking about me. Maybe no one outside of English Lit heard about my disastrous presentation.
When the bell rings for second period, I want to bolt right out the front doors.
It takes every ounce of willpower inside of me to go to class.
I sit down in my seat quietly, yesterday’s embarrassing speech and the class’s reaction to it still very fresh in my mind.
I’m the only one here so far, and I’m thankful that I didn’t have to see the look on anyone’s face as I walked by their desks.
Students begin to mill in soon after, taking their seats. And then I see Brett hobble in; my eyes widening as I take in his appearance. He has a cast on his entire arm from wrist to shoulder and a swollen black eye, along with numerous other scrapes and bruises on his face.
Instead of walking to his seat, he slowly approaches me, stopping an inch away from my desk. I raise my head and meet his good eye. “I just wanted to say sorry about yesterday. I was an asshole,” he admits.
“D-Did you get into a c-c-car accident or s-something?” I ask in a whisper.
“Something like that,” he says begrudgingly. Then, he glances over his shoulder.
I peer past him at Dimitri standing at the end of the row. He gives Brett a subtle nod, and then Brett retreats to his own desk. I sit there in shock as I watch Dimitri nonchalantly take his own seat beside me.
My eyes are glued to the side of Dimitri’s face. I watch as he stares straight ahead; his strong jaw ticking as he clenches and unclenches his teeth. Did Dimitri beat Brett up because of me? For me? Why would he do that?
A million questions swirl through my head as I continue to stare at him, but he doesn’t so much as even turn in my direction even though I know he can feel my gaze.
Class begins, and I’m forced to pay attention to the teacher at the head of the room, but my eyes keep straying to Dimitri. He did something…nice. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he is the kinder one of the two brothers after all.
By the time class is over, I’m buzzing with anxiety. “Dimitri,” I say quickly as he stands to collect his books.
He picks up a pen and tucks it behind his ear, paying no attention to me as he stacks his notebooks in order.
I continue with, “Why d-d-did you hurt him?”
“Sometimes people deserve it,” he simply states.
I frown at his response. So maybe he didn’t do it just because Brett messed with me.
Maybe he did it because Brett is just an asshole and probably pissed him off in some way.
And then a new thought enters my mind. What if Dimitri is lying about protecting me?
Maybe he’s playing all of this off so that I don’t think he actually does like me.
Dimitri begins to walk out of the room, and I quickly call out his name. His entire body is rigid as he slowly turns his head to look at me over his shoulder as if I’m nothing more than an afterthought. “Yeah?”
“Thank you,” I blurt out.
And then he turns and walks out like it was nothing even if what he did meant the world to me and then some.
I’m dying to tell my best friend what happened, but she’s running late to our PE class. While I’m getting my gym clothes out of my locker, I overhear Chloe and her friends talking in the next row of lockers.
“Oh my god, his accent,” Chloe croons. I know it’s her based on her whiny, baby voice that she constantly uses. “I could listen to him talk all day.”
My stomach immediately drops at her words. And instead of simply just casually eavesdropping, I begin to hang on to every word she says like my life depends on it.
“I met him after the fight,” she continues. “It was love at first sight.”
“I thought you guys broke up?” another girl asks.
“Oh, yeah, I dumped him,” Chloe confirms. “It just wasn’t going to work out. We’re just two completely different people at totally different stages in life.”
I roll my eyes at her words.
“So, is it true? Is he huge? Britney said he’s the biggest she’s ever seen.”
Wait, Dimitri has been with two girls already?
“Oh yeah, it’s true,” Chloe says.
“I figured. He is, like, a foot taller than all the other guys in our school,” someone says.
“Tall and hung,” Chloe says with a sigh. “Well, anyway, I’m dressed, so I’m gonna go practice some cheer routines in the gym,” she says before I hear her footsteps receding.
“So, who is he dating now?” someone asks in a hushed whisper.
“Me, but don’t tell Chloe,” a girl says, but I can’t tell who she is by just her voice.
“Okay, I won’t. But, Lucia, isn’t she gonna be mad when she finds out?”
“I don’t care. It’s worth it,” Lucia says before giggling.
“Did you make it past third base yet?”
“Not yet, but tonight is the night. I’m borrowing my mom’s Oscar de la Renta little black dress. There’s no way he’ll say no to that.”
I press the palm of my hand against my chest, which is suddenly hurting at the thought of Dimitri and Lucia having sex later.
Just then, Darby walks in, overhearing some of the conversation on the way over to the bench I’m currently sitting on. “Who are they talking about?” she questions.
“Dimitri,” I whisper.
“Really? So, he’s fucking Lucia now? I thought he was with Chloe or Britney. Hell, maybe both of them. He sure does get around.”
I cringe at her words. “He’s been dating a lot of the girls then?” I ask, my mouth going dry.
“Oh yeah. He dates a new one every other day, I swear. At this rate, he’ll have fucked his way through the entire high school by the time he graduates.”
Just the thought of Dimitri dating and screwing every girl in school makes my stomach do flips.
I thought he was being nice to me by beating up Brett, but now I’m questioning his motives.
I was stupid and na?ve to think that he actually cared for me.
If Dimitri truly did care about me and the marriage contract, he wouldn’t be plowing his way through half of the school with his dick.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re going to throw up or something,” Darby says with concern swirling in her gray eyes.
“Uh, yeah. I t-think I’m g-g-gonna g-go to the n-n-nurse. I don’t f-feel very well. C-c-cover for me?” I ask before closing my gym locker.
“Sure.”
As I’m walking away, I hear Darby call out, “Feel better soon!”
I wish I could say I would feel better soon, but there’s no coming back from this. If Dimitri isn’t going to take this contract seriously, then neither am I. Until we say our I dos, all bets are off.
Anger fuels my steps as I make my way to the nurse’s office on the first floor. The room is quiet when I step into it. The nurse, who is normally seated behind the desk, isn’t there.
“Hello?” I call out.
“Be right there,” says a voice.
When the door opens, I recognize the teenager immediately.
Corbin McCall. Sandy blond hair, brown eyes, tall and attractive.
I’ve had a crush on him since I was five years old.
We’ve been in various schools together, but I don’t think I’ve so much as spoken a single word to him.
He’s a year older than me, so we’ve never had any classes together.
I’ve just always seen him in the halls and pined over him from afar.
“Oh, hi. I was l-l-looking for the n-nurse,” I tell him.
“I’m job shadowing. I fill in for the nurse every day while she takes her lunchbreaks,” he explains. “So, what seems to be the problem? Maybe I can help you with something?” he offers.
“Uh, n-n-no. I d-d-don’t know. I d-don’t think s-s-s-o.” I stumble over my words and internally chastise myself.
But I don’t see the usual look of pity or amusement on Corbin’s face. No, in fact, he looks like he’s happy that I’m here. “Are you just sick of school?” he asks with a knowing glint in his eye.
“Yes,” I confess with a deep sigh.
“Tell you what, the nurse won’t be back for an hour. Why don’t you just chill in here with me, and I’ll get her to write you a note to get you back into class later?”
“Really? You w-w-would d-do that?”
“Sure, why not?” he offers.
“Thank you,” I whisper. He has no idea how much I need the break right now.
Corbin takes me into the breakroom, and we end up snacking on juice and crackers for the entire hour. I get to know him. The real him, not just the football jock with straight As who has the reputation for being a heartbreaker.
When the nurse comes back, we make up an excuse about how I was feeling faint because of my low blood sugar but that everything is right as rain now.
She lets me leave without making too much of a fuss, and I continue on the rest of my day.
I feel lighter somehow. I feel more at ease.
And instead of my thoughts being troubled by Dimitri; all I can do is think about Corbin McCall and how nice he was to me when I really needed someone to be.