Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 123922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
I hated myself the instant the words left my mouth. The look of hurt that settled on Kane’s face broke my heart.
“Guys, please,” Ryder pleaded. “Don’t fight over me.”
I was about to cry, and I didn’t want to do it in front of the lads so I turned and exited the kitchen. I got the fright of my life when I shut the front door behind me with no attempts from Kane to try and stop me from leaving.
He never let me leave so easily... but this time he just seemed to let me go.
“Miss Collins?”
I looked up when Caleb Marks called me. He was a sixth-year student and was also the only student in detention this evening. I didn’t particular like the kid that had me sitting in my classroom at five pm on a cold winter’s evening.
Couldn’t he have been a brat on another day?
Preferably one when I wasn’t pregnant and feeling like utter crap.
“Yes, Caleb?” I sighed. “What is it?”
“I think the school should invest in new tables. This one is really old and has a bunch of names carved into it.”
I inwardly rolled my eyes. “I’ll be sure to bring that up at the next staff meetin’, Caleb.”
He snorted as he read something on the desk he was sat at. “They’re degradin’ to women, too.”
That piqued my interest.
“Go on then, read out loud what it says.”
Caleb snickered, “It says, ‘Bronagh Murphy has a phat ass’. It's spelled with a ‘ph’ instead of an ‘f’. Is that correct?”
I burst into laughter, but quickly had to cover my mouth.
Nico.
This was Kiera’s classroom, and she was both Nico and Bronagh’s tutor when they were in sixth year. That must have been one of their old desks.
“Miss, why’re you laughin’?”
I looked at Caleb, still smiling. “I know the lad who wrote that. He goes out with the Bronagh written on the desk. They’ve been together since they were in sixth year.”
Caleb blinked. “If he goes out with her, why did he call her fat?”
See? It wasn’t a compliment.
“He is from New York, and apparently in America if the word fat is spelled with a ‘ph’ at the start it means it’s a good big. He really likes her big arse.”
Caleb laughed, “Okay, that makes sense.”
No, it didn’t!
I shook my head and stood up from my seated position. I walked over to the desk and looked at the writing Caleb was talking about. Bronagh Murphy was written in capital letters while the rest was in lower case letters.
I’d bet my life that Bronagh carved her name into the desk over the years in school, and Nico added the rest to it when he moved here.
What a fucker.
I snickered to myself as I took out my phone, took a picture of it, and sent it to Nico and Bronagh with the caption: Vandalising school property. I’m ashamed to know both of you.
Nico instantly replied with a ton of laughing emoji faces and it made me snort.
“Why did you take a picture of it?” Caleb asked me.
“So I could send it to them. Chances are, Bronagh will kill Nico for writin’ it in the first place.”
Caleb snorted, “You’re a shit-stirrer.”
Usually, I’d scowl at a kid for using bad language, but in this instance, Caleb was spot-on.
“I know. It amuses me.”
Caleb laughed as I returned to my desk and sat down with a sigh.
“When is your baby due?” he asked.
I counted on my fingers. “Nearly ten weeks left.”
“Ah, that’ll fly in.”
I grunted, “Not when you’re the pregnant one.”
Caleb laughed but said nothing.
“So,” I began, “what did you do to get stuck here on a Friday evenin’?”
Caleb smirked. “Got caught in the girls’ dressin’ room with Charlotte Price.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Please don’t tell me you were doin’ what I think you were doin’.”
Caleb held up his hands. “The teacher who caught me didn’t see anythin’ because I pulled - I mean, I walked out before they could see any hanky-panky. You can’t get in trouble when there is no proof. I just got detention for being inside the girls room, not for shaggin’ Charlotte.”
The dirty little bastard.
“Condoms are left in the school reception for a reason, I hope you know that.”
Caleb continued to smirk. “I do.”
I shook my head.
Men were all the same.
“Are you really gonna keep me here until six, Miss?”
I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was only twenty to six. I wanted to leave just as much as Caleb did. I caught his gaze and gave him a stern look. “If anyone asks, you didn’t walk out of this school until after six. Understood?”
Caleb stood up and saluted. “You’re brilliant, Miss.”
“I know.”
Caleb laughed as he swung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door.
“Are you walking or do you have a parent to collect you?” I asked for my own peace of mind.
“Me da is in the car park.”
I nodded. “Okay, off you go.”
“See ya, Miss.”
I smiled then looked down at my own bag when Caleb all but ran from the room. When I no longer heard his footsteps patter down the hallway, I gathered up all of my things. I was moving at a snail's pace because I was tired. I was ready for this day to be over. When I got my things together, I hooked my bag strap over my shoulder, groaning under the weight. With a sigh, I moved away from my desk and towards the classroom door.
I looked up to where I was going and gasped when I realised I wasn’t alone. There was a man standing in the doorway of the classroom. A familiar man.
“Oh, hello.”
The man smiled. “Hello, Aideen.”
I stared at the man, and suddenly a sick feeling consumed my stomach. I recognised him as the man who I spoke to briefly in the hospital and later in the pub a few weeks ago.
What on earth was he doing here?
“Can I help you...?”
“Philip.”
Right, he already told me that before.
“Sorry, Philip.” I smiled, forcing sincerity onto my face. “Can I help you?”