Page 16 of Hurt Me Not
I had taken both before. But then I dropped out.
As soon as I was ready to check out, I paused, hesitancy running through me.
What if something happens like last time?
I learned very early that the universe was cruel. I had been born to parents who never wanted kids. They had me because society deemed it fit. To be honest, they weren’t even interested in each other. They had been neighbors who had grown up together, and then, when their parents pushed them to marry, they couldn’t refuse.
I came along not even a year later, born into a not-so-loving family. No wonder I couldn’t wait to leave.
But somehow my one-way ticket out of the seaside town and away from my parents turned out to be a curse instead of the dream I thought it would be.
The first few years had been hard but rewarding. I loved being on my own, even if I didn't have money. The scholarship had helped but I still had to work to afford housing and food.
I knew it would be worth it, though, and I was so excited to start my fourth year, just itching to start my post-grad life.
And then it happened.
Who's to say it won’t happen again?
My finger hovered over the purchase button. I was scared that my life would come crashing down again and there was nothing I could do about it.
ButI wasn’t the poor student who had no connections, no place of her own, and who was alone in the world. She had been easy to take advantage of.
This time, I had money. I wasn’t the same person I’d been.
All thanks to Emerson.
My high school bully who seemed to hate me back then as much as she wanted me now. Who had come back into my life unexpectedly. And while she could have brought me more misery, she’d brought me… hope. And orgasms.
Can I even call her a bully anymore?
Was she even one to begin with? Did I misread her?
At that, her words came back to haunt me.You’re the furthest thing from my type there is,she’d told me, and that had cut deep. All her words back then did. And I wasn’t even sure what I’d done for her to be that angry at me.
I shook my head. I couldn’t go back there now.
Fuck it.
I checked out and didn't even think twice as I continued to the payment section. Even if it didn't work out, I had enough money to take these courses again and again if I needed to. I could easily reenroll.
Someone slid into the chair across from me.
“Excuse me, this chair isn’t?—“
The words died on my tongue as soon as I saw who it was. Think of the goddamned devil and she shall appear.
Emerson was sitting in front of me in all her glory. Instead of the formal suit that she had worn to the club, she was wearing a casual thin linen button-up and dark pants.
“Cat got your tongue?” she asked with a sly smirk.
“Emerson, what are you?—”
“You know, they called your name like five times already,” she said and handed me a cup with my name on it. “White chocolate mocha with cinnamon, an extra shot of espresso, and whipped cream. I thought only teenagers drank that stuff.”
I puffed up and grabbed the drink from her with a frown.
“Did you just come here to insult me, or are you stalking me now? Seems a bit desperate even for you,” I shot back. As soon as I realized what I said, my mouth dropped in shock, and I was sure she was going to give me a verbal lashing for it.
