Home > Absolution (Youngblood #5)(2)

Absolution (Youngblood #5)(2)
Author: Monique Orgeron

She smiles and says, “I expect for you to allow me to corrupt you. This good girl act is doing nothing for you and your fine little tush, momma.” She slaps my ass and laughs out loud. “You’re coming out, end of story.”

Pinching my lips to the side, I bite the inside of my cheek. I know I should go with her. Hell, I want to go with her, but I’m so close to the end and I screwed up a lot last semester. So much so that Brittany had to save my ass from getting kicked out of the nursing program. I promised her I would go back to studying hard and graduate with no more problems.

“Hannah, I can’t. Maybe next time. Look, I’m late. I have to go.” I run off yelling back, “I’ll call you later.”

Trying to sneak into class, I open the door with sweat dripping down my neck, hoping like hell not to be noticed. But nothing gets past my professor. “Ms. Duplantis, nice of you to join us.” Shit!

“Sorry, Mr. Baudoin, it won’t happen again.”

He turns his back to me and goes on with class. As quietly as I can, I make my way to my study partner and friend, Jean Paul.

He helps me with my bag as I take my seat. “Why are you late?” he whispers.

“I had to talk to my other professor to clear up my last grade.”

Right when I think it’s safe and I’m out of the limelight, Mr. Baudoin yells my name without turning around.

“Ms. Duplantis, if you’re here to disrupt my classroom, you can leave now.”

“No, Sir. Just getting…”

He cuts me off with an angry tone, “I am not interested in your excuses.” He turns around and stares daggers my way, causing me to shrink in my chair.

“You used to have so much potential, Ms. Duplantis. Now… well now? You’re just ordinary.”

“Fuck!” Jean Paul says under his breath, taking the word right out of my mouth.

I have some other words for him, too, but I won’t express them. However, I am refusing to act like a shrinking violet for another second. With just a touch of rebellion in me, I sit tall in my chair and stare right back at him, which he finds amusing. He snickers while returning to his lesson plan.

 

 

When class is over, I grab my bag putting all my notes away.

“You want to go out for dinner tonight?” Jean Paul asks.

“God yes, but I can’t. I need to study.”

“You want help?”

Yes… yes, I do. But I can’t bring myself to tell him. He’s been a large part of why my grades are coming back up. It’s just not fair to keep counting on him.

“I’m fine. Go out. Have fun. Maybe you could go out with the girl you told me about instead. You still into her?”

He blushes and kicks his foot out with his head held down. “Yeah, but she doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

I feel bad for the guy. He’s cute and all, in a nerdy, quiet kind of way, too shy to talk to whoever she is. He deserves to be happy though, and in love. Laying my hand on his shoulder, I tell him, “Why not try to ask her? You never know.”

The puppy dog look he gives me is completely adorable and he opens his mouth to say something when Mr. Baudoin interrupts,

“Ms. Duplantis, I would like to see you for a minute.”

Both I and Jean Paul freeze.

“This can’t be good. You want me to wait for you?”

Yes… yes, I do. “No thanks. I can handle him.”

Jean Paul walks past me, leaving me to my scolding. Once I’m finished closing my backpack, I walk to the front of his desk, waiting for the professor to quit pretending like he doesn’t know I’m standing right here.

He is sure taking his sweet time. Gripping the strap of my backpack, I hold back a sigh as he lays all his supplies out on his desk in a nice organized line before finally looking up at me.

Now, he proceeds to lay my future all out on the line, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this is your last chance in my class.”

“I understand.”

“Do you? You were lucky. Not everyone has a family like yours.”

My eyes widen, but then it shouldn’t surprise me. Of course, he would happen to know exactly who my brother-in-law is.

“I have an offer for you.”

Standing, he leans against the corner of his desk, and crosses his arms, hitting me with a heavy stare before putting me out of my misery.

“I have an opening for an assistant. You will work along with two others, and hopefully it will keep you on track. I will also be more readily available to you for any questions. Plus, it will help you earn more credit. Interested?”

No, but I have no choice. “Thank you.”

Giving me no response, Mr. Baudoin turns around, grabs his leather satchel and strolls away, showing me how far beneath him he thinks I am.

My shoulders slouch and my head falls back, leaving me to gaze up at the ceiling, muttering, “What the fuck! Just another thing on my already full plate.”

Heading to my dorm already frustrated, I dig through my backpack, pulling out my phone. Brittany called five more times and sent texts. She’s the last person I want to talk to right now. This is all her fault. So, I go out a few times with my friends, meet one or two guys, and she explodes on me. For what? My grades? Yeah, sure, I’ll give her that one, but she has no right to tell me what to do or how to live my life anymore. Not after learning how she’s lived hers.

Entering my new dorm, the one Brittany didn’t know was co-ed, I get hit on the shoulder as a boy runs past me to get out the door.

“Hey, watch it!”

He turns back and has the nerve to wink at me. This day is total shit. I almost regret switching to this dorm until I remember the look on Brittany’s face when she found out, then it makes me smile. It’s the first defiant thing I’ve ever done, and I refused to let her switch me back. Threatening that I would quit school all together if she didn’t back off a little. The only thing I did agree to was a private dorm room. I like my privacy, what can I say?

Unlocking my door, I walk in and close it with a sigh, shutting out all the loud noises and the antics of the boys. They call me fresh meat around here. It was cute in the beginning. Now, it’s just plain annoying.

Throwing my bag on my desk, I sit down on my small but comfortable sofa. Another plus of not having a roommate, I can have my twin size bed and a place to sit. I’m all cozy until my damn phone rings, again. She has to get the hint sooner or later, right? Because I’m still ignoring it.

A couple of hours later, I am almost done with my assignment when Brittany calls one more freaking time. This time I decide to answer, or she will never stop.

“WHAT?!”

“Chloe, where the hell have you been?! I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

“Where do you think I’ve been? Here at school. Going to my classes. Doing my homework, just like you expect me to do.”

“Chloe, you have to stop ignoring me. I’m just worried about your future.”

“Bullshit. You’re just worried about yourself.”

“How can you say that to me? After all I’ve done…”

“What, Brittany? Spell it out for me. What have you done for me? Lie! That’s what you’ve done. You kept me in this small little bubble while you were…” I can’t even bring myself to say it. Instead I go with, “You’re still trying to control me. I am twenty-three years old, Brittany. You can’t keep telling me how to live my life. Not after learning how you lived yours.”

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