Page 12 of Midnight of Ashes
Another growl built in my chest, but I swallowed it down.
“We’ll see you in class tomorrow,” Easton said, forcing the teacher’s attention back to him.
He muttered something under his breath as he shut the door in Easton’s face.
Knox was already guiding Hayden down the hallway, away from the male none of us liked.
Easton fell into step next to me. “I don’t have a good feeling about him.”
Neither did I.
7
HAYDEN
“What happened in there?” Knox asked softly.
I knew he could feel my body trembling against his. But I didn’t want to lay this at his feet. The guys were already worried enough about me. If they knew my professor was being a total creeper, they’d lose it.
“He got on me for missing school. I hate feeling like I’m in trouble.”
It wasn’t a lie. All of those things were true. I just left out the part about his hand on my leg. But I’d dealt with that. I’d moved, scrunching my body against the arm of the couch.
An image filled my mind of Professor Brent’s face. The way it had twisted in anger just before Easton had knocked on the door.
“He thinks you were fucking shot, and he’s giving you shit about missing a few classes?” Easton clipped. “I know you already turned in all your assignments.”
My gaze flicked to him. How did Easton know about my studies?
“He knows I want to go to medical school and that I’ll need a scholarship. I have to have impeccable grades for that.”
Knox glanced down at me. “You don’t need a scholarship.”
I halted in the middle of the empty hallway. “Uh, yeah. I do.” It wasn’t like I was a secret billionaire.
Knox grinned. “If you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of rolling in it.”
“Yeah. You are. Not me.”
Knox’s amusement quickly transformed into a scowl. “Whatever is ours is yours. That’s the way it works.”
My heart beat faster. “No, it’s not. It’s yours. I’m not just going to take your money. It’s bad enough that you won’t let me pay rent. I’d never just let you cover sixty grand a year for my school.”
I slid out of Knox’s hold and kept walking. I needed Cillian to deal with the Corbetts however he was going to so that I could get back to my job at the diner. I needed that sense of self-sufficiency, of control.
Knox hurried to catch up to me, Cáel, Easton, and Pete trailing behind. “You want to work yourself to the bone instead of just letting us help you?”
“Yes,” I snapped.
He caught my arm, stopping me. “Why?”
“Because I take care of myself. You don’t have to fix everything.”
Hurt flashed across Knox’s face, and I instantly wanted to take back my words.
A burn lit in my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I sent up a million silent curses as tears filled my eyes. “I’m used to taking care of myself. Everything is changing, and I just need some of that normalcy.”
Knox wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “I’m sorry. I was pushy. I know this is new. But it’s in our nature to want to take care of you, to tend to all your needs. I know how easy it would be for us to pay for your education, so it seems silly not to. But if you want to get a scholarship, then I’ll be your best study buddy for the next four years.”
