Four Months

25. Stairwells

I knocked on the mahogany wood, waiting for a voice on the other end. I knocked again after hearing nothing. I raised my hand to knock again, but the door swung open.

"I heard you knock the first time." Tanner said to me with a stern look.

I nodded my head and preceded inside. It looked like a regular office inside. A grand presidential desk, nice black rolling chair. Pictures of his sons accomplishments wall to wall. Pictures of him with random white men who held wealth just from the sight of their authentic smiles. Classic. Everything looked normal. No signs of a killer. No signs of someone who is abusive and hindering to all species of life in every lethal way possible.

"What do you want," He sat down in his chair, shuffling some papers into a stack and setting them aside.

"I know that me and Ashton aren't making as much progress as we need. And the Banquet was perfect until I was sent home, so I just wanted to make it up. I think that atleast every two weeks we should just spend a day going to the campus restaurants, car washes, library, activity building. Simple things so that actual students who aren't leaving the house every night can get the chance to notice us. The banquets and hockey's dinners only targets a certain percentage of the student body..." I looked down at my hands.

"
Repeat everything you just said." Tanner replied, grabbing the nearest whiskey and opening the top on it.

"I'm sorry, excuse me ?" I looked at him in confusion.

"When you're talking to a man, you look him in the eyes. Not play with you fingers. Going in to his banquets and hockey dinners are meant to prep you to have the conversational skills with the big dogs, so that when you do start doing campus outings, it will look natural and effortlessly. You aren't forcing my people anything, you're forcing the student body. Those high-end appearances I have you making are your practice before going out into the real world. Learn how to sit through an entire dinner or banquet or interview without leaving after you fucked the damn appetizer slave in the back room and then you can go shit on the campus grass together for all I care." Tanner said to me taking a hit to the head.

"I didn't have sex with him! I've told you this before! Those dinners and banquets mean nothing to me or Ashton. It's full of people that I want no part with," I explained to him from across the desk.

"I don't care if it does or doesn't fit with your parting committee, what I said is what I said," He looked at me in the eyes.

"I'm transferring." I said short and stern.

"Not if your transfer is denied." Tanned shrugged.

"You're cruel. You're disgusting. You're everything no one would ever look for in a person. But you flaunt it as if it's a luxury to be like you. It's not. It's a monstrosity." I stood up from my seat grabbing my purse.

"You seem upset," Tanner raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you did with those papers. But I will find out. So that no matter how much authority you think you can hold within the school walls over me, I'll have something bigger, better, and valid. I spread it everywhere, I'll make copies and mail them to every university. I'll post flyers. I will make it sure and well known of what you did to her. So you can threaten me all you want, but don't forget I know your darkest secret. So don't think I don't know what you've done or forgotten." I turned on my heel and turned the knob to his office.

I waked down the halls trying to maintain my breathing. I turned the corner right before the elevator abruptly. I stuttered back quickly before quickly putting my back on the wall. I peeked one eye around the corner to assure what I saw.

There he was. Kaiden. His hand wrapped around the others boxed framed waist, pulling his abs closer to himself, their tongues locked. The other held his hand gently under Kaiden's neck for support, before he slid the other to his ass. Kaiden smiles into the kiss before pulling away. 

"I'll see you later right?" The tanned boy with dark loose waved curls and slanted dyes said to him.

"Yeah, our spot right?" Kaiden tucked a curl behind his ear.

"Perfect. We really need to be more careful by the way, just saying." The tall boy laughed. He was taller than Kaiden and hovered slightly over him.

"I know. I just couldn't help myself really," Kaiden grinned at him.

"See you later then," he leaned over Kaiden, lips positioned for another kiss.

"You got it, water-boy," Kaiden smiled tilting his head up to receive the puckered lips.

I turned on my heels back the way I was coming and went around the corner. I walked in a fast pace constantly turning corners and hallways I was unfamiliar with. I didn't turn back.

I pushed open the heavy pale door that read "Stairway" and I galloped down each step with a purpose. My feet made a paced rhythm as I treaded down the flights. I skipped the last four and pushed onto the door to the parking lot. I held my head down low. Following nothing but sense back to the car. I briefly looked up to scan the lot and I spotted the black car. I rushed over it to, wanting to breakout into a sprint, but only elongating my strides.

I reached the door and I opened it wide. Sliding myself in, and slamming the door behind me. I pulled a handful of fallen curls back behind my ears, as I nervously stroked my eyebrows and ears.

"Why did you come out that side door instead of the main entrance?" Ashton asked me, his eyes observing the amount chest raises performed as I tried to control my breath.

"I don't know, I got lost I guess. The elevator was packed so I thought I'd just find the stairwells, but I got lost." I kept my head faced towards the panel in my hindsight.

"Then why are you breathing so hard?" He kept pushing.

"Because Ashton. I just walked down like 5 flights of stairs! Everyone isn't as fit as you. I just lost my breath that's all, can we leave now?" I scanned the parking lot, attempting to leave before Ashton possibly caught sight of his best friend kissing the water boy.

"Are you lying to me?" Ashton asked. He moved out a hand to turn my chin towards him but I snapped my face away from the attempted embrace.

"Can we leave now? There's nothing to lie about after going to the admissions office department because of a few glitches with the online psych class. It's handled. I got it fixed," I wrapped my arms around my waist.

"If something else happened you can tell me. Was it my dad? Did you run into him? Did he say something to you? Did he threaten you?" Ashton asked.

"If he did what would you do about it? What can you do about it? Do you even care? Just take me home. The only reason I called was because it's too far to walk, Levi was busy, and plus I don't even have a campus bus pass." I shook my head.

"Who's Levi?" He asked me.

"Fuck," I whispered to myself. "No one, he gave me a ride one day this week after class when it was raining. That's all," I strapped in my seat belt.

"Why didn't you call me?" His jaw contracted.

I ignored it and replied with, "I don't call you unless your daddy arranges it. Today was almost the same as that. Your father is the one who notified me of the grades glitching, so today was just as set up as any other day. Can we go now, I really need to start on this chem write-up," I glanced at him.

He looked at me once more. Then put the gear into reverse and we left from the parking lot. He did not say a thing. Silence was present and I was the third wheel.

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