"Get the fuck out of here," August said to Matt.
I turned around slowly, hoping that maybe the appearance of August was only a figment of my imagination, some apparition I could blink away. But there he was, smirking and chomping on a piece of gum. He was a truly hypnotizing human being; August possessed all the looks of a Greek god. Tall and muscular and smug, his dark eyes threatened to steal your soul if you looked into them for too long. Who would he be in ancient tales of mythology: the brave hero or the crafty villain?
"Sorry," Matt mumbled, ducking his head and hurrying off, "I'll catch you later, Ruby."
"No, you won't," August responded with a wave of dismissal.
I frowned at his retreating back. So much for loyalty. By that point, the classroom was bubbling over with conversation as everybody settled into pairs and began to discuss the assigned question. August and I were the only two people standing. I turned to leave, but stopped short once I spotted the enraged glare my teacher was giving me. His patience with our class had finally snapped. There was nothing else I could do. Casting one last longing glance towards the exit, I sat down with a sigh and flipped open my textbook.
"Your disguise is ass," I told August as he settled down beside me. He had attempted to tuck his hair into a beanie, but chunks had come loose and spilled out from under the folded brim. And although the hood of his sweatshirt had been pulled low, you could still make out the indistinguishable scar that marred the side of his face.
"And what do you think would've been better, princess?"
A fake mustache, I thought all in seriousness.
"How about a fake mustache, huh?" August continued with a snicker, "That would've been real fucking incognito."
Whoops. "Whatever," I huffed, concentrating on flipping through the textbook. "I don't care. Either way, we're supposed to be talking about—"
August's large hand suddenly came down and clamped over the page right where I was reading. For a moment, I was distracted by the veins that ran under the surface of his skin. His hands looked worn out and rough— years spent working on cars had calloused his knuckles. He's got such long fingers, I thought before I could stop myself. August slid the book towards himself, snapping it shut and tucking it smartly under his arm.
"Hey," I exclaimed, "We're supposed to be discussing the question on page—"
"Ruby," August interrupted, "Please. Nobody else is even answering the question."
This was true. The girls sitting behind us were talking about the diarrhea they both got from eating sushi from the dining hall. The pair of boys sitting a little to our left were in a heated argument about whether or not they would rather have both their feet cut off or never be able to masturbate again.
"What bright classmates you have," August said.
I tried to snatch the textbook back, but August grabbed my shoulder and held me at an arms length. I shoved him off, fuming. Did he have to ruin everything in my life and leave nothing left to be sacred? This school was my sanctuary. It wasn't even like I had been abused or anything growing up, but my childhood home had been small and cramped. My room shook whenever a train rolled by on the tracks that ran at the edge of our backyard, knocking dust and drywall down into my eyes. Bills were often unpaid, leaving us without running water or electricity for sometimes days at a time. I would do my homework in the weak glow of a flashlight, dreaming of a place where, at the very least, everything stayed on. And I had found it, made my escape to campus. Now here was August, tarnishing everything I ever worked for with that irritated glare of his.
YOU ARE READING
They Owned the Night
Romance"Do not try to escape," he warned me, "They'll find you. They always do. And when they do, princess, they'll make sure that you never try to leave again." Ruby always knew that there was something strange about Pine Creek. But it isn't until she mee...
