Page 38 of Evil King
My phone rang in my ear, and for as much as I wanted it to be Deon, Avery’s face smashed next to mine in a picture we’d taken at her birthday party the year prior appeared on my phone. I pressed the green answer button and then the speaker button and dropped the phone on my bed.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Avery replied. “Where are you?”
“I’m still at home,” I grumbled.
“What? You’re gonna be late,” Avery replied.
“I don’t care.”
“What’s wrong, babe?”
I sighed. “I just finished sexting with Deon, and now I don’t want to move.”
“If you thinkthat’sfun, just wait until I tell you about actual sex.”
“He won’t have actual sex with me.” Images of a naked and sweating Deon skipped across my mind and slowed my body’s cooling process.
“Uh, correction. He’dhappilyhave sex with you. He just doesn’t want to be your mistress. I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” Avery retorted. She wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t make me feel better. “I don’t get it. Why don’t you just break up with Nathan? You were all gung-ho to do it a few weeks ago. Did what happened while we were shopping freak you out?”
“Kind of, but not in the way you’re thinking.” I sat up in bed and pulled the phone up so that I could still hear it clearly. “That wassoout of character for him. He’s never done anything like that before. I think something may be wrong.”
“I mean, it’s not like he’s normally great,” Avery replied. “How he’s acting now is more unbelievable than that.”
I didn’t agree, but it felt pointless arguing it. “Anyway. I think I’m gonna be a little late. Can you ask Nathan to make sure I’m covered?”
“Of course.” In the background, I could hear a bell sounding off. “Oh, there’s the warning bell. I gotta go.”
“I’ll see you at lunch. Bye.”
“Bye.”
With my bases covered for the morning, I took my time taking a shower and picking out a comfortable sweatshirt and pair of jeans to wear, and then I made my way out the door and to school. When I arrived, second period was already in session, so I was able to wander the halls without resistance. My plan was just to take my backpack with me to second period and lunch and then make a locker exchange before third. I held it tightly over my shoulder and started for my class, but the sounds of light moans filled my ears. I stopped and looked around for the source of the sound. My eyes landed on Miss Abrams’s closed classroom door.
As much as I didn’t want to accept it, the moans were definitely coming from behind the door, and I could have bet an entire college scholarship that I knew who the culprits were. Still, I stepped up to the door as quietly as I could and pressed up against the door. The small, vertical, rectangular window that would normally give a view of Miss Abrams’ classroom and been covered by construction paper, so the only way I’d be able to confirm what I was certain I was hearing would be to take a risk.
I placed my hand on the handle of the door and carefully and slowly twisted it. Being extra careful not to make any noise, I turned it just a bit at a time until the handle was fully turned so that I could pull the door away from the frame. I opened the door only as much as I needed to in order to peek inside, and my fears were confirmed. Nathan was sitting on Miss Abrams’ desk with his pants around his ankles, and the teacher herself was on her knees in front of him, servicing him at an expedient pace. Nathan had his head dropped back and his eyes closed, and Miss Abrams was focused entirely on the task, doing everything she could to try to bring Nathan to finish. My skin started to burn, and my heart started to beat with anger. At least the year before, I hadn’t seen it for myself.
So much for him not wanting to lose me.
I wasn’t as careful with shutting the door as I was with opening it. If it jolted them out of their torrent, I didn’t care. Strangling the strap of my backpack like it was Nathan’s neck, I turned around and rushed back toward the front door, eventually bursting through it and back out into the morning air. Tears started to roll down my face, but I had no idea if it was from heartbreak, anger, or a combination of both. There I was, staying with Nathan simply because I thought something might have been wrong with him, and he thanks me by screwing our teacher.
Again.
My parents weren’t due back until the next evening, so I was able to return to my house and rush up to my room with no questions. I dropped onto my bed and buried my face into my pillows. The more I thought about Nathan, the angrier I got. Why was he such a master at seeming sincere when he was really full of shit? Why was he so hell-bent on hurting me? If he wanted to be single so that he could sleep with whoever he wanted, why didn’t he just do that?
It wasn’t clear exactly when I’d fallen asleep, but I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I expected it to be Avery or Colette, maybe even Nathan, but I didn’t care much and just pressed the button to answer without taking a good look at the screen. “Hello?”
“Cherri?” Deon’s voice sang into my ears, which sent my heart fluttering.
“Deon.” I sat up in bed, fixing my hair and creasing my clothes down as if he could see me. “Hey.”
“Hey, are you okay?” There was genuine panic in his voice when he asked.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I said.
“Well, you aren’t answering your phone. You told both Avery and me that you’d be at school, and then you weren’t there, and it’s been over six hours since anyone has spoken to you.”