Home > Immoral Confessions(8)

Immoral Confessions(8)
Author: R Holmes

When she finishes her speech, I’m still stunned upon hearing Rhys Blackwood is in line for Valedictorian. I guess I just assumed he was absolutely ignorant by his lack of manners and behavior. Of all the rumors I’d heard of Rhys, St. Augustine’s fallen angel, being intelligent wasn’t one of them.

After our conversation, I leave the classroom astounded by Sister Camille’s proclamation. I make it to my locker and put everything inside in preparation for PE, but I’m still lost in thought. Senior year is going to be nothing like what I expected, and now suddenly my dreams of getting into Harvard seem even further away. I walked into class today completely confident. I took summer classes, I volunteered at the soup kitchen all summer, I worked in the library in the evenings, all to put on my application to Harvard. And now, my future rests in the hands of the one person who could ruin it. I’d rather do the entire thing myself and submit it with his name. Anything other than working with him.

One thing is for certain. I wish I had never been in the library that night. I wish I never crossed paths with Rhys Blackwood to begin with.

 

 

Watching her cheeks flush with anger, and the fire behind her eyes when I embarrassed her is something I want to replay over and over in my head on a constant loop. It still won’t be enough to quell the anger raging inside me, but it makes me feel better knowing I’m the one to cause her hurt.

I didn't want to just hurt her, I wanted to ruin her for what she'd done. I want to break her apart, piece by piece until there’s nothing left.

I will ruin her.

“Wow, little Valentina is a bit of a closet freak,” Sebastian laughs, leaning against my locker once the bell dismissing class for the day had rung.

I cut my eyes to him and he shrugs.

“She’s going to pay for what she did, Sebastian. This isn’t a fucking joke.” My jaw clenches until I feel an ache. I slam the locker door shut and turn to face Sebastian and Alec.

“No, but it can be a game. One we can all partake in. You know how much we like to play with our toys before we break them.”

“How about we start by getting her alone, and we go from there? We have to get Sister Camille out of detention. I don't care how you do it, but get it done. Something to get her out of the room for at least fifteen minutes. I need to be alone with Valentina Carmichael." Alec finally looks up from his phone and nods. He’s been so far away since the shit went down.

I make a mental note to talk with him alone, soon. Before we have a bigger situation on our hands.

"I have the perfect fucking idea," Sebastian says excitedly.

"Don't get caught. There’s too much at stake as it is." I clench my jaw when I think of where Ezra is right now and how helpless I feel at not being able to fix it.

“I got this, bro, trust me.” And I do. If there’s anyone I trust, it’s my brothers.

A few minutes later, I'm sitting behind the heavy wooden desk in the library, twirling my pencil through my fingers, when Valentina stomps through the door. The second her stormy eyes meet mine, they harden and she scowls angrily.

She takes her place as far away from me as she possibly can, then slams her book bag down on the table. She’s mad after I embarrassed her in class and put us in detention.

Good.

The library is a large, towering stone structure that sits directly behind the main building where classes are held. There are floor-to-ceiling cathedral style windows of stained glass, and everything is old. Including the musty smell of aged books and their years of use. It's also my favorite place on campus. It’s the only place I don’t hear my demons the second I walk over the threshold.

Ironically, it isn’t the chapel next door that offers any reprieve and it never has been. Church has never saved me from the demons who have taken me wholly since I was a child. I knew better than to turn to God to save me. I had to save myself.

Sister Camille walks through the door a minute later and greets us both, looking down her nose in disapproval.

Good thing I don't give a fuck.

"For today's detention, you will be dusting and re-shelving all of the returned books for Sister Rose. I expect this section done by the end of your hour here. No talking, no cell phone usage, and no leaving until your detention hour is up. If you need me, I'll be over here at the desk grading papers."

She sits down at the desk opposite of us and pulls a large stack of papers from her bag, along with a red pen, and purses her lips in a firm frown. It seems to never leave her face.

I don't wait for further instruction and walk over to the bin of returned books, picking up a few and shelving them. Valentina does her best to stay as far from me as possible, busying herself with our task, but I catch the way her eyes follow me as I walk to and from the bin, then back over to the massive shelves.

There’s a tense, uncomfortable feeling in the air each second spent in her presence, and it only grows.

Like she, too, can feel the ominous tone in the room.

Oh, but you have no idea, little lamb.

A few minutes later, Father William bursts through the doors, almost tripping on his way over the threshold, into the library.

“Sister Camille, I need you in the girls’ dormitories now, please. There’s been an uh… Incident that needs your immediate attention,” he squeaks. The white collar around his neck is too tight around his pudgy neck and his entire face is beet red.

Perfect timing.

Valentina’s eyes dart over and catch mine, widening in fear when Sister Camille runs from the library after Father William, leaving us completely alone.

She knows the last place she needs to be is alone with me. That makes her drop the book she was just clutching, and she turns to run, but I’m quicker. I’m after her before they’ve even stepped over the threshold.

I catch her arm in a firm grip and spin her around until her back hits the shelf behind her roughly, and she cries out in pain.

It’s like music to my fucking ears.

“You can run, Valentina, but I’ll always catch you. I’ll always be one step ahead.” I place my hands on each side of her head, boxing her in against the bookshelves. I step closer until I’m pressed tightly against her, pinning her to the shelf behind her.

No running. Not now, not ever.

“Let me go! Why are you so obsessed with messing with me?” I see the fire flare behind her eyes, and instead of showing how afraid of me she is, she tries to put on this brave front.

But the way she’s trembling shows me she’s fucking terrified of me.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” I curl my lip in disgust, yet still drag my eyes down her body. Her chest heaves, and I know if I were to put my hand over her heart, it would pound wildly. Frantically. I rub my finger along the soft piece of flesh that peeks out between her button-down, and drag it lower, and lower, over the buttons of her uniform, her pleated skirt, to the top of her thigh-high socks, and I hear a sharp intake of breath.

“What I wanted from you, Valentina Carmichael, was for you to keep your fucking mouth shut. Isn’t it a bit ironic, here we are again, all alone in the very place that sealed your fate only days ago?”

I skim my fingers back up the inside of her thigh until I feel her shudder beneath my touch. My eyes meet hers, and she holds my gaze steadily.

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