Chapter Five: Tutoring
1161 Words
Laughter resounded again, but this time around it was just his alone. The sound burrowed under my skin, equal parts fury and dread.
I forced my feet to move, quickening my pace until I was back in my classroom with wet cloth. My chest heaved, every breath heavier as I wiped at my tears.
**
By evening, I was pacing in my room, with my bag packed, and books stacked neatly to go tutor Lucien.
Finally, I went downstairs. The living room was dim except for the television, and the stench of whiskey filled the air. My father sat down slouched in his armchair with a glass in his hand, his jaw set in that permanent scowl he always wore.
“I’m going for tutoring,” I said, about to leave.
For a moment, he didn’t react. His eyes stayed glued to the screen. But then, as if he just heard the words, his head looked toward me.
“Tutoring?” His voice cracked.
My stomach twisted. “Yes. I have…”
“You haven’t prepared dinner.” His fist slammed against the armrest, rattling the glass in his hand. Whiskey sloshed over the rim. “But you’re going tutoring?! Damn half-breed!”
The words hit me harder than a slap. I froze, heat crawling up my neck, shame and rage clashing inside me until I could barely breathe.
He leaned forward, eyes burning holes into me. “What is wrong with you? Why can’t you do anything right?”
My throat tightened but I still tried to speak my mind. “I don’t ask for anything from you, I do my best to lessen your burdens all the time. I try not to be a burden to you… I… ” I whispered, my voice shaking despite my effort to remain calm.
His lip curled. “If you really don’t want to be a burden to me, then maybe you should quit school altogether.”
My nails dug into my palms until they burned. “Quit school?” I repeated, the words tasting like poison.
“Yes.” He leaned back, sneering. “If you can’t run errands for me efficiently, then stop wasting your time with school.”
The anger tore out of me before I could hold it back. “You’re not sponsoring my studies, I don’t ask anything from you, and now you want me to quit school? Why do you hate me so much, Father?”
The word Father felt like poison on my tongue, but I forced it out anyway.
His face turned to stone. “Because you’re a stain and a mistake.”
“I don’t care what you say.” My voice cracked, but I didn’t stop. “I’m going tutoring. And I will still do my best to make sure everything else in this house is attended to. But I will never quit. Do you hear me?” I lifted my chin, my nails digging into my palms. “Never. It’s what Mother always wanted for me, and I’ll do it no matter what!”
His face twisted, ugly and red. “Don’t mention that b***h’s name in my house!”
I stumbled back, my chest heaving, heart pounding so hard it hurt. But I refused to look away.
“You don’t get to call her that insulting word, my mother is not a b***h!” I whispered, every word trembling with the fury I had buried for years.
“Enough!” He lurched to his feet, staggering from the drink, but the fury in his eyes was sharp. “You think you can stand here and lecture me? You think you can defy me in my own house? You’re nothing! A mistake that never should’ve been born. I should’ve…” He cut himself off, with his chest heaving, and fists clenching.
I knew the remainder of the words he was about to say. And a part of me wanted to scream at him and continue arguing but I bit down on the words until they dissolved bitterly in my throat.
I breathed in deeply, stepped outside and ordered an Uber.
The ride was a blur and when the car finally slowed in front of the Blackthorn estate, my jaw dropped. The house looked like something out of a fairytale painting, it looked immaculately beautiful, and everything about it screamed power and wealth.
“Wealthy people,” the driver muttered under his breath as I climbed out.
I almost asked him to wait, to stay, to give me an escape route. But pride made me straighten my shoulders. I took out my phone and called the contact that the principal had given to me to call.
It didn’t take long for the call to go through and I quickly said that I was outside the estate.
I was led in by a butler, and very quickly I was waiting in their gigantic parlor. Lucien soon came out, he had his hands in his pocket. His shirt hung loose, and his sleeves were rolled to his elbows, exposing the veins along his arms.
“Well, well,” he murmured. “The nerd really did show up.”
“I’m here to tutor you,” I said stiffly, clutching my bag tighter.
He smirked. “Come to my room, teacher.”
The house was eerily quiet, as he led me upstairs, then we reached his room.
“Don’t just stand there,” he said, opening his door. “I don’t bite….”
I rolled my eyes, forcing myself past him. His room was exactly what I expected, it was very clean and elegant.
Setting my bag on his desk, I pulled out the notes. “Let’s get this over with. We’ll start with your history assignment. Here, please take these.”
He sat on the bed instead of the desk chair, stretching out like a king at rest. He didn’t even look at the papers.
“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” he said, his tone mocking. “So diligent, and so boring.”
Frustration flared in me as I eyed him. “This isn’t for me, Lucien. It’s for you. So either you take it seriously, or I leave.”
His smirk deepened, as though my anger amused him. “Leave? Already? But we’re just getting started.”
I clenched my jaw, putting the papers back into my bag with hasty movements.
Swinging the strap over my shoulder, I turned for the door to leave. But in an instant, his hand caught my wrist, dragging me back. The strength in his grip was startling.
My breath hitched. “Let go of me, Lucien,” I shouted, trying to struggle against him.
He twisted me, pushing me backward until I fell on the bed. My bag had already fallen from my shoulder and fallen to the floor.
Lucien’s smirk was completely gone now. “Where do you think you’re going, little nerd?”
- Writer
