Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 24098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
The whole thing makes me insanely angry. After all, my ex-stepdaughter is a wonderful woman, both inside and out. The pretty brunette is smart, funny, kind-hearted, and she wouldn’t hurt a fly, so I don’t understand how anyone could dislike her at all, let alone dislike her enough to pull something of this magnitude.
Those fucking bullies. They’re just a bunch of mean girls who have nothing better to do with their time than get their jollies off by humiliating others. What were their names again? Fuck it. I don’t even care.
But still, my heart hurts seeing my sweet girl suffer. A silent tear skims down Cleo’s cheek when she thinks I don’t see, and my heart breaks all over again.
“It’s going to be fine, sweetheart,” I growl, trying to cheer her up. My arms are full at the moment, but otherwise, I’d envelop the curvy girl in a big bear hug.
She nods, the tear dripping off her chin.
“I know,” she says in a defeated voice.
My jaw clenches because this woman means the world to me, and those fuckwads out there have hurt her! I’m going to fucking wring their necks, and then kick their asses to the moon. Goddamn bitches.
Finally, we’re done moving. The final box is a small one and Cleo carries it in, heaving it onto the floor before closing and locking the door behind her. The pretty brunette stands there for a few moments, looking around blankly at the spartan dorm room. It’s okay I guess. Standard fare with an extra-long twin, a desk, a dresser, and not much else, save for the boxes on the floor.
“Cleo,” I rumble, my eyes serious. “How are you feeling, honey?”
The young woman looks at me, shrugging weakly, her lips trembling. “I’m not doing well,” she admits quietly. I quickly take a seat on the dorm bed and hold my arms open to her. She comes rushing over, and I pull her into my embrace, caressing those soft curves as she sits on my lap and buries her face in my neck.
“Sweetheart, I know this sucks, but this too shall pass. It’s no consolation at the moment, but trust me on it, okay?”
She sniffles a little, hot tears coating my neck.
“It just feels awful,” Cleo says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Why?”
I shake my head grimly.
“I don’t know why, but we won’t let them get away with it.”
Cleo takes a deep shuddering breath, and nods, her face still buried against my neck.
“But how? I mean, I know it has to be Katrina and Morgan because it can’t be anyone else. I must have accidentally left my room door unlocked when I took off, and then those two must have gone in and trashed my stuff. But of course, they’re pretending that this is a total shock to them too. Katrina even offered to help me pack for this move.”
“Fuck that,” I growl.
Cleo nods miserably.
“Yeah. I don’t know what to do now, or even if there’s something we can do. I mean, the housing office has been responsive, but they also want me to report the incident to the campus police. I don’t know. Should I?”
I frown and pull back to look into her beautiful, tear-stained face.
“Yes, of course. Sweetheart, what happened is a big deal. It’s not as if it was just some prank, like teenagers toilet-papering your house or some other bullshit. This is far worse and veers into serious vandalism. Plus, it must be a hate crime too. I mean, fuck it – scrawling “SLUT” on your wall? They mean business.”
Cleo nods and buries her face against my neck again.
“Yeah, that’s part of the reason why I think it’s Katrina and Morgan. Only they know about my interlude in Santa’s lap. As long as they haven’t told anyone,” she adds in a barely-there whisper. “But I think they already have.”
I pull back again, staring at those terrified brown eyes.
“What do you mean?” I ask in a slow voice.
Cleo bites her lip, looking down.
“Well, there have been rumors going around…”
Oh shit.
“Rumors?” I growl, raising my eyebrows. “What kind of rumors?”
The curvy girl sighs, readjusting herself in my lap. “When I walked into my English class this morning, I heard whispers, and people were staring at me. At first, I thought that I was being paranoid because of everything that’s happened, but then I realized that that’s not it. They were definitely talking about me.”
“What were they saying?” I immediately demand.
Cleo looks down again, her lips trembling.
“I couldn’t hear everything because the lecture was going on at the same time. But I definitely heard the words ‘slut’ and ‘Santa’s slut.’ So yes, I think Morgan and Katrina are telling other people what we did over Christmas break.”
I begin to growl as the rage rises in my chest.
“Fuck!”
The pretty girl nods miserably, swiping at her eyes again.