Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
I hadn’t thought it was a big deal, but Sir had made me come twice that night because of it. It made him proud in this way that shouldn’t feel like someone is handing me my very own star, but everything with Sir seems to make me feel that way. And speaking of orgasms, those have been plentiful as well. We keep them to video calls the way we should, though he often gets me off by telling me things he would do to me at school…in my office…in a classroom. I’m ashamed of how much that turns me on, so I try not to think about it. He teases me about making me go to work plugged or in a cock cage, but he hasn’t made me do that either. Apparently, Sir is the king of edging, and he wants to make me suffer.
It’s Friday today, and I didn’t go to campus, instead opting to work from home. The basketball I got Nash is on the bench by the door, and as far as I know, he hasn’t used it once since I got it for him. Sir says I need to give him time, and I know he’s right, but it makes me feel like a failure. Some days I wonder if I’m any better than Sandra. When our caseworker visited last night, she seemed satisfied, though, and the kids, despite not being happy with me, must’ve told her they’re happy here, so I take that as a good sign.
The door opens, and I look up from where I’m sitting at the island with my laptop to see Sadie walk in first. Her face is red, and she runs past me, down the hallway and to their room, slamming the door behind her.
“What happened?” I shove off the chair, heart in my throat.
“None of your fucking business,” Nash curses, heading her way.
“Yes, it is my business.” I catch up with him, reach for his wrist and stop him. “What happened?” I’m choking on nerves, trying to bite them down, counting backward in my head five, four, three, two, one…to settle myself.
“I have it under control. I’m the one who’s helped her through everything her whole life because you weren’t there, remember? I’ll fix it.”
I jerk my hand away. “I wasn’t there because I didn’t know. Are you going to hold that against me forever?”
“Yes.”
He heads for the room, and I linger there for a few seconds before following. He can hate me all he wants, but Sadie is coming around, and she’s hurting. I’m not going to let her hurt because he can’t forgive me.
I open the door just as Nash sits on the bed with her. He has his back to me and doesn’t seem to know I came in or has decided to ignore me.
“What happened, Sades?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she says, head in her arms, lying on her stomach. Nash rubs her back, trying to soothe her. He’s a lot of things, especially with me, but I’m not sure there’s a brother in this world who loves his sister as much as he does. My heart pinches at the thought, the longing there growing.
“Come on. You can always talk to me. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong,” he tells her. As angry as he makes me, as hurt as I am by him, my heart breaks for Nash too. There’s nothing he wouldn’t try to fix for her if he could.
Sadie rolls to her side, her face streaked with tears. Her gaze catches on me, then shoots back to Nash.
My gut tightens, nausea rolling around in there. “I can go, if you’d like. It’s okay if you only feel comfortable speaking with Nash, but I’d like to help too, if I can. We’re…family.” There was no one there to take care of me. I spent most of their lives not taking care of them either, but I’m trying now.
“You can stay,” she says softly, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her legs.
Nash scowls at me.
“Some girls at school were making fun of my hair because I don’t know how to do it.” She doesn’t look at either of us, instead staring at her bed as if she can’t bring her eyes to look anywhere else. “They were being mean, is all. It’s fine.”
“I’ll call the school,” I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “What are their names?”
“No!” Sadie shouts, panicked. “You can’t do that. It’ll only make it worse!”
“Fuck them. Who cares what they think?” Nash says.
But it’s not always that easy to ignore bullying. I know from experience. Maybe Nash is better at it than I’d been or maybe he’s never had to deal with it.
“Kids can be mean.” I slowly make my way into the room. “I was relentlessly bullied when I was younger, and Sandra…she didn’t do anything about it. I don’t want to do the same with you.” I stop beside the bed, watching them.