Both of us stay still for a second until I move to lie beside him. He keeps his arms around me and has me pulled close. “How mad would you get if I faked crying?” I ask and he chuckles then finally opens his eyes to look at me. “I’m okay, Marco. I will be here for a long time to annoy you.”
“Does that mean you might stay, even after we handle your dad?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “This is the weirdest way to start a relationship but… what else do I have to lose? You make me happy, even if you also make me mad. I can tell you care about me and that’s the best thing I could hope for.”
“I promise I’ll take care of you, Stella,” he says softly.
“And I promise I’ll do the same,” I say. “You deserve love and comfort just as much as I do.”
Marco kisses me again before getting me out of bed and leading me to the bathroom. We take a shower, and he washes my hair and body before we dry off and get back in bed. Snuggled up to him like this, I can picture myself having a real life with him. There is so much more to Marco DeLuca than I thought, and I want to learn everything about my husband.
Chapter nine
Silent Stacks
Rich/poor stalkers
It’s still early. Thelibrary opens in about an hour and there is still so much left to clean before I can go to class. I am attending Wexford University on a partial scholarship. It is a private and expensive college that specializes in business. I want to get a bachelor’s degree in business administration, but I don’t have the money to outright pay for school. So I am on a work study program. I clean the library every morning and I get to attend classes and get my degree.
There aren’t many of us on the work study program, so we stick out like a sore thumb. Most of the people who go here are entitled little rich kids and look down on people like me. They don’t care that I was the top of my class and I still am, they only care how much money I have. I tutor people for cash right now, and you wouldn’t believe how much these people will pay to not fail. Most of them only care about passing, so I help them. It’s allowed me to save up a lot of money, so if I go through a period of time where I’m not tutoring that I still have that to fall back on. When I’m onbreaks from classes, the school still allows me to work, only they pay me an actual paycheck.
The dean of the school was a friend of my fathers before he passed away from cancer five years ago. He’s made sure that I’m set up but not even he can stop the other people from torturing me. They all have a stupid nickname for me. I’m satisfied no one actually knows my name.
Luckily, everyone gets their own dorm room here. I don’t know if I would survive sharing a room with any of these girls. All of them are so focused on fucking and gossiping that they make up most of the people I tutor.
I have all of the trash thrown out and books put away. Now I just have to vacuum and wipe the tables down. I start downstairs and vacuum so I can end upstairs. By that point people should be coming in.I don’t like being down there when they start coming in. I get through everything and get started upstairs before I hear someone come in. They are thirty minutes early, but whatever. I’m just here to clean, not be a security guard.
I get done vacuuming upstairs and start wiping down the tables when I hear someone approaching. I have one earbud in but I take it out and shove it in my pocket so I can make sure I am paying attention. It makes me nervous being in here alone. No one has tried anything, but they have said enough to let me know that I need to be vigilant and aware of my surroundings.
“Mmm. Look at the ass on Charity, man,” Connor Evans says from behind me. I am leaning over a table slightly to wipe it off but suddenly I feel exposed and on edge with them so close.
“I can think of a few ways to use that ass with her bent over like that,” Dillon Mitchell says.
Connor and Dillon are the two richest people here. Their parents own an equity firm together in New York City and have done very well for themselves. That means they spoiled the fuck out of their kids and turned them into privileged little shits who think women should just fall at their feet. The real problem is they know they’re hot so it should show through their ego and childish behavior.
“My name is Chloe, but you were close,” I say, turning to another table.
“So, when are we picking you up?” Connor asks.
“What?” I ask, turning to face him.
“When are we picking you up?” he asks again with a smirk.
“Never… the fuck?” I ask but don’t wait for a response before walking away to get the last table.
“Oh, come on. We will pay for dinner,” Dillon says. I ignore him and wipe the table down. When I turn they are both directly behind me.
“No,” I say. “I am not going anywhere with you two. Go find someone else to annoy.”
I try to push past them but they both grab me and pull me back in front of them. I put my hands up to show that I’m not fighting so maybe they’ll get their hands off me. “Why?” Connor asks.
“You call me Charity. Why the fuck would I want to have dinner with two entitled assholes who have done nothing but pick at me for the last four years?” I ask. “You have an entire school of girls topick from. Go take one of them to dinner. I’m sure they’ll bend over a table for you.”
They both stare at me in disbelief that I’ve turned them down. They’re not used to being told no. This very well could go terribly for me. Sometimes men don’t like being told no, so they just take what they want anyway. I am not getting that vibe from them right now, but they did just grab me when I tried to walk away.
“Do I need to try a different language?” I ask. “Here… here it is again in Spanish…. no… now go away.”
I push past them and go to the supply closet. I set my rag down and grab my bag. When I turn around, there they are again. This is the moment that my heart rate doubles and starts pounding in my chest. I just trapped myself in a closet and by the looks on their faces, they don’t approve of me turning them down so harshly.