Page 7 of Humility

Chapter Four

JASMINE

I didn’t want to come to this thing. Summer break was my only escape from the war at school, and now here I was defending myself all over again. Angelo was seriously the worst, and his idea of fun was picking on me.

It was midnight, and I was trying to sleep, but no, everyone else wanted to stay up and talk about boys and do their hair. I rolled my head to the side and watched the girls. They’d moved on from hair and were now doing their nails and laughing together. This was the second reason I hadn’t wanted to come.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like all those things. Holding up my hand, I stared at my chewed nails. It was just that I didn’t seem to fit in. I felt like a round peg trying to fit into a square hole. They didn’t laugh at the same jokes, and I didn’t get their fascination with boys.

“What about you, Jazzy?” Shocked that someone was speaking to me, I blinked and looked at all the faces that had gone silent.

“Me what?”

“Who do you think Lucas will choose?”

“Choose for what?” Everyone laughed.

“See, she’s clueless,” someone said as they went back to what they were doing.

I was an alien. I was sure of it. You couldn’t feel this out of touch with everyone around you and not be from another planet.

Pushing myself up, I decided to go for a walk. It wasn’t like I was going to get to sleep anytime soon. No one said anything as I walked out, only adding to my loneliness.

I wandered the halls, not paying attention to where I was going but admiring the estate’s beauty. It reminded me of a palace. You could easily get lost with how large it was, and there were pretty decorations and flowers all over to accent the dark, shiny wood.

Poking my head in a room, I realized it was a library and smiled. Couches and chairs that looked like they could swallow me whole were spread out, and not a single person was in sight. Perfect.

Walking over to a couch, I grabbed the throw off the back and curled up in a ball. It didn’t take long for my eyes to get heavy and sleep to pull me under.

* * *

I blinked, confused where I was and what had woken me. A strange, muffled noise reached me, and I listened harder, trying to figure out what I was hearing.

“I said do it, or you’re off the list. You don’t want to be off the list, do you?”

Was that Lucas? He sounded different, mean even.

“No, but I’ve never done this before. I’m scared,” a female voice said. It was so low that I barely heard it, but I could’ve sworn it was Gemma. What the hell was going on?

“Get on your fucking knees now, or I go and get someone else,” Lucas snarled, and Gemma cried out in pain.

My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure they would hear it. Please just go away.

Then I heard the sound of a zipper.

“Please, I….”

“Just open your fucking mouth.” There was a high-pitched squeal and then a muffled scream.

“Oh yeah, just like that, you little fucking slut. You’re a liar, you must have sucked cock before.”

No, this couldn’t be happening. What I thought was going on couldn’t be real. Poking my head up from my spot on the couch, I looked around and sucked in a sharp gasp. My hand covered my mouth as I spotted Gemma on her knees in front of Lucas. He had his hand wrapped in her hair, and tears streamed down her cheeks as he shoved his thing into her mouth and pulled it back out. I wanted to gag as he pushed his hips forward again, and it disappeared down her throat. I couldn’t stay in here with this, but the only way out was to walk right by them.

“Please,” Gemma said, coughing as he pulled out of her mouth. She screamed as Lucas yanked her head back hard. The sound of his hand connecting with her cheek was loud, and the anger that ignited in my gut was immediate.

“Hey! Let her go,” I said and leaped up.

“Jasmine, I didn’t know you were in here,” Lucas said, smiling. “Why don’t you come join us?”