Page 79 of Brutal

I get up abruptly enough to make my chair screech on the floor.

“Yeah.” I storm off, going to the bathroom and turning the water on. I shed my boxer briefs and step under the stream, not even waiting for it to warm up first.

Mimosa doesn’t join me, and it makes my resentment grow.

I shower, scrubbing at my skin hard enough for it to turn red, then get out.

She still doesn’t come.

Mechanically, I dry off, taking time to shave and style my hair before getting my suit out. It looks as boring as it always does, but I put it on anyway. Maybe I’ll change the dress code so I can wear something less stifling.

First, I have to get through the day, though.

“I’ll be back by six,” I tell Mimosa, grabbing my keys and wallet.

I don’t wait for her to answer before leaving, hitting the “door close” button on the elevator so I don’t look back at her.

CHAPTER 20

Mimosa

I shower and get dressed in the ankle-length jeans and simple t-shirt we’d bought yesterday, and for a very long stretch of time, I sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing. The cell phone, elevator key card, and credit card Drake gave me are on the coffee table, and I have no idea what I want to do.

I’d been honest with Drake that I wasn’t sure if I’d leave him.

The smart thing to do would be to get out of here. It’s what I would tell any of my friends if they told me about their situations. Abuse is abuse, and most men are terrible, and you have to get out of a situation before you can see it clearly.

I should hate Drake more than I do. I shouldn’t find him endearing, I shouldn’t enjoy toying with him.

“Why the fuck am I still here?” I ask the room at large—and it is a large room, designed for parties and not for intimate family gatherings.

Everything around me is too fucking rich. I grab the phone, key, and credit card, stuff them in my jeans pockets, and head for the elevator.

I take it all the way to the ground floor, where the bellhop gives me a strange look. I keep my head high and ignore him.

I’m used to strange looks. I didn’t dye my hair blue because I wanted to avoid attention.

I don’t know my way around this part of New Bristol, but after a few blocks I find a subway station entrance. From there, I end up on the train to New Bristol U.

I don’t know why I’m going to the university. I missed the last two months of the previous semester, and I doubt there’s any way they’d let me enroll for fall classes three weeks into the current semester.

Maybe they can make an exception for me, if I explain the situation.

I snort. Yeah, right. Let me just tell the administration all about how I’d been kidnapped and sex trafficked and then bought by multi-billionaire Drake Brutal. That’ll go over well.

It sounds about as believable as all the grandparents that just happen to keel over dead in time for finals.

It’s about forty minutes to the university, and I almost change my mind before I get there. But I transfer lines, and as I get closer to the university, the amount of college-aged people around me increases, and my feet just keep moving on their own.

I end up in front of the cafe, which is completely full, but I decide to test out Drake’s credit card on coffee and a snack. They’ve always had the best muffins, and I could use a pick-me-up.

I head inside, but after grabbing my drink and muffin, I realize there are no empty tables.

There is an empty seat, though — and it’s directly across from someone I know.

She’s typing intently on her laptop, pausing only to push her glasses up as she stretches back in her seat.

Janine and I had met during Freshman year because we were both taking the same psych classes. I don’t know that I’d call her a friend, but we chatted often enough and I never hated any group projects I’d done with her.