The Darkest Swan

Chapter 7

-𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮-

Two words,
Christan Storm.

I can not, for the life of me, get that man out of my head.

It bugs me that he hates me for whatever reason. It bugs me that I can't get in his pants. It bugs me that he's my teacher.

It bugs me that I never know what he's thinking but he always knows what's going on inside my head. Isn't that unfair? Isn't that against the equality code? It certainly feels like a disadvantage on my part.

"Next time, just ignore the asshole. Don't show him how angry he makes you." Aunt Wanda pours me a herbal mix of her homemade tea.

"I know, I know. I'm stupid." I shrug, putting my hand to my forehead. "I'm still trying to figure him out." I furrow my brow in concentration. Last night was unredeemable. No, worse than unredeemable. It was putrid, vile, and now that I think about it, he was messing with me the whole time. The way he touched me. The nicknames. It was all a weird joke and I let him do it to me. I completely blanked. Never again will I let him get that close. Never again will I tolerate that snobby stuck-up attitude of his.

"You want a little of this." Aunt Wanda waves around a small canteen of liquor playfully.

"It's 6 in the morning." I raise my eyebrows in disbelief.

"Live a little, Genevieve."

I laugh when she pours some into her cup of tea. "What concoction are you brewing?"

She shrugs. "Breakfast?" She adds honey and sugar packets while I blow on the hot minty tea.

She's vibrant this morning. Her cheeks are rosy with blush and her hair is all pinned up pretty and out of the way of her face. She's got her Jesus sandals on, paired with one of her long skirts and a matching cami. She'll bring out her usual matching sweater when it gets cold in the evening and she switches between her reading glasses and the ones I made her get after she had to tape the other ones back together. Flimsy old things were a gift from my mother. She can't bring herself to throw them away. I don't think she wants my mother back, I think she wants the person she was back. The memories are what she holds onto. I don't blame her.

She's got a good memory too. It doesn't take her long to recount her favorite events.

I almost chug the rest of the tea when I see the time. "Well, I'm off." I kiss her on the cheek in a goodbye. Fuck, I wish I could stay here forever. I'd be able to avoid my hatred for Christan for another day. Mr. Storm needs to be smacked silly. He's very obviously having a laugh out of this. Whatever this is.

"Don't work too hard." She yells from across the room as I open the door.

"No promises." I say before the door shuts.

Surprisingly I find Lionel and Tomas out on the sidewalk. Are they actually having a conversation? By the smiles on their faces, it's an enjoyable conversation nonetheless. Weird. I almost thought that their personalities were way too different for them to be friends.

"Hey, guys." I say suspiciously, sautning down the steps.

"I came to walk you." Lionel says, beaming with a handsome smile. He's wearing his favorite sweater--
I smile in appreciation. "Oh, that's nice of you."

"I got you coffee." Tomas says handing me the dark roast. "No sugar, extra cream." He smiles.

Cuteness overload.

"Ugh, what did I do to deserve two special guys like you?" I kiss Tomas on the cheek then Lionel. I pull them in for a group hug and I find it oddly disturbing that they both tower over me.