Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
I don’t get far before his hand is on my shoulder.
“You can’t get me kicked out.” It’s almost a question rather than a statement.
“We both know I can. My last name isn’t Patton for nothing. My grandfather practically funded the endowment here himself. There isn’t anything the administration won’t do if I ask.” I shrug his hand off and keep walking.
He chases after me. “What the hell, Patton? I was complimenting her. Do you get it? Girls want to feel wanted. I was making her feel good.”
I stop and face the dumb ass. “No. You were scaring her, and you did it repeatedly. I’m not interested in your excuses. Just pack your bags and get out, or security will come and do it for you.”
“I’m going to sue this fucking college and you personally.” Even in the dim light, I can see his face turning red.
“Go for it.”
“Fuck you, Patton. Fuck you and fuck your money and fuck your grandfather!” Nathan screams. The few students around us stop to watch Nathan fall apart. Ignoring him seems like the best plan, but he has a different idea. This time when he grabs my shoulder, he tries to pull me around. His fist comes up, but Nathan’s not a fighter. I duck low, causing him to lose his balance. He stumbles and catches himself on the ground. When he straightens, there’s a rock in his hand.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Nathan. Don’t embarrass yourself like this. Go to counseling or cut your dick off. I don’t know which one you need to do, but straighten your life out and stop acting like a fool.”
He mutters something unintelligible and then comes at me, a roaring, sputtering mess of a child. I almost feel some regret when I plow my fist into his jaw. He falters but surprisingly manages to stay upright.
“Let’s not do more of this,” I say. I want to get back to Autumn. She’ll be wondering where I am. I push past him.
Someone gasps and yells, “Watch out!”
I lean to the side and hear the whistle of wind as the rock thrown by Nathan zips by my ear. I close my eyes and then retrace my steps. Nathan is scrambling for another weapon. I grab the back of his collar and haul him toward me. He tries to squirm away, but he’s weak, and I’m angry. I punch him three times in quick succession, his head bouncing against my fist. Blood spurts from a cut on his cheek. I toss him down and wipe my bruised knuckles against my jeans. “I can either turn your face into meat pudding or you can go back to your dorm and pack your bags. You’re leaving tonight. Someone will escort you to a hotel. I’ll even pay for it, but you are not spending another night on campus.”
Nathan’s right eye is swelling up, and I think I might’ve broken his jaw. “Just nod if you understand.”
He gives me a short, miserable bob of his head. I wait for campus security to show up and watch until he’s hauled away. The witnessing students give statements. In the meantime, I send Autumn a text.
Sorry for the delay. Had a run-in with a punching bag and had to fix things. Will be home soon.
A punching bag?
Yeah, those things aren’t made like they used to be. Weak, easily broken.
Ok. CU soon
I tuck my phone away. One asshole down. One more to go.
CHAPTER 16
AUTUMN
“Babe.” Noble’s hand comes to my chin to turn my face toward him. My attention was lingering on other people as we made our way across campus.
“Huh?” When I stare up into his eyes, I forget about everyone else. I don’t know how Noble does it, but when he looks at me, I feel like I’m the only girl in the world.
“I said good luck on the test.”
“Oh, right. Thanks.” He drops a kiss on my mouth. Noble is wicked smart. He’s always down to help me study, having done all of his core classes years ago. “Have fun in your Comparative Economic Systems class.” I’ve looked over some of his coursework for that class and wanted to jump off a cliff.
“I’ll try.” He kisses the tip of my nose before he taps my ass to go into my classroom.
I head inside, almost running into someone. The guy jumps back, holding his hand up. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t see you, I swear.” His eyes are wide, and he looks a little jumpy.
“It’s fine. It’s my fault, I wasn’t paying attention.” He nods and quickly goes to the other side of the classroom to find a seat as far away from me as possible. Which is weird because while we might not have assigned seats, people tend to sit in the same spot, and I believe he’d been two seats in front of me in this class up until now.