Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

15

Camilla

My heavy eyelids opened to the familiar tune of my phone’s alarm ringtone. For a moment, I didn’t recognize my surroundings. As the haze of sleep faded, I became aware of the reason I was in this lavish room.

A groan escaped me as my fingers gripped my hair.

Noah, Corey, and Caleb betrayed me in the worst possible way. They lured me away into this bedroom to hurt me without mom and Brian knowing a thing.

Glancing down at my phone, I saw the time. It was seven A.M., the time I usually woke up for my early morning classes.

A part of me wanted to crawl back under the warm covers and stay there, but I quickly decided it wasn’t the safest place to hide. They would be able to find me here and do the same thing to me once again.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” I whispered to myself.

The decision gave me a new kind of strength.

I climbed out of bed, surprised that my body didn’t hurt as much as yesterday. The sleeping pills made me sleep for over twelve hours, forcing me to rest and recuperate.

Noah knew what he was doing, I thought bitterly.

Heading into the bathroom, I took off the bathrobe, only to find an odd stickiness on my breasts. Looking further down, I found dried cum spread all over my navel and pussy.

When did this happen? I thought as panic gripped me. Did I sleep so deeply I didn’t realize they fucked me again?

Glancing up at the mirror, I stared into my wide blue eyes. Other than my pale cheeks, there wasn’t a scratch on my face. All the bruises were concentrated around my waist and thighs, places that were easy to hide if you wore a long dress or jeans.

Pain and anger rose inside me. I couldn’t believe something like this happened to me. How could they do this to me? Caleb had sounded so earnestly grateful when I saved Corey. Noah thanked me too. Was that all just a show?

My eyes squeezed shut tightly from the pain of their betrayal. Turning away from the mirror, I strode toward a glass-walled shower stall in the corner.

This was the last time I’d let them take advantage of me. I might not be able to expose them at the moment but I’d make sure they couldn’t touch me again.

Hot water gushing from the four shower heads was pure luxury. I cleaned up every inch of my body with the soap and shampoo left there for me.

The shower relaxed and calmed me, allowing me to go back to the room and find my clothes. Someone cleared away the remnants of my torn panties. My dress was folded up on a chair with my bra placed neatly on top of it. 

They were good at cleaning up, making it look like I’d just taken off my clothes to sleep. Drowning my anger, I looked around the room for a scrap of paper or a notebook.

Mom would surely come to wake me up in a few hours. It was better to leave a note than to make her worry about my absence.

After searching around the drawers of the bedside table, I found a small notepad.

Grabbing the pen beside it, I wrote a note telling her I was going to school and would be living in my apartment over the coming week. I told her I loved her to soothe some of the disappointment and to enjoy her time with Brian.

Tearing the page, I folded the note and wrote ‘MOM’ in big letters. Next, I took my phone and walked out of the room.

The house was still and quiet. Going down the stairs, I reached the ground floor and came across a few maids going about their work.

I kept my gaze averted, steadily heading toward the entrance hall. My heart pounded heavily, afraid someone would stop me and question me.

Relief spread through me when I finally stepped through the front doors and walked down the green lawn. The morning air was chilly but it also felt like freedom.

It took me a while to reach the gates leading out of the property. The guards were polite, opening the gates for me without any question.

I couldn’t help but think of Brian at the moment. He wasn’t keeping me prisoner in his home. The people working for him knew exactly who I was.

Nobody who saw me this morning asked me anything. I was free to move wherever I pleased in Brian’s estate. The thought warmed me up but also brought an intense sadness that made tears sting my tears.

If only Noah, Corey, and Caleb could treat me with the same respect. I couldn’t believe the horrible things they assumed about me and my mom.

They’d eventually see the truth. Mom didn’t tell me how long she had to live but I was sure it wouldn’t be for long. That’s the only reason she and Brian were so impatient to get married and live together.

Noah would see he had nothing to worry about. We weren’t there to take anything from him and his brothers.

Would they feel guilty about hurting me? I wondered.

Probably not, my mind whispered. They do this shit to women all the time.

My hands balled into tight fists. I wouldn’t let those entitled bastards treat me like shit anymore. They’d never get a chance to hurt me again.

Taking my phone, I used an app to book a cab and started walking down the path leading toward the main highway.

By the time I reached the intersection, fifteen minutes had passed. The cab was already there, waiting for me.

Climbing in, I let out a long breath. Relief surged through me, soothing the helplessness I’d been feeling since waking up. I told the driver to take me to Silverlake’s campus and settled back in my seat.

It took almost an hour to reach the university campus but the familiar sight made me feel better at once. Paying the man, I climbed out of the car and walked toward Jerry’s Café, one of the most popular hangout places.

I also worked as a part-time barista there. However, this morning, I was going in as a customer.

I’d just stepped through the glass doors of the café when someone called my name.

“Over here, Camilla,” said the unfamiliar voice.

Following the sound, I looked ahead, meeting the gaze of a familiar face. I didn’t know the guy’s name but knew him from some of the classes I shared with him.

“Yeah?” I said, wondering what he wanted. “How can I help you?”

The young man strode toward me with a smile on his handsome face. His sunshine blond hair was neatly combed to the side and his pale gray eyes were framed with big glasses.

As he came closer, I realized he was tall. A heavy backpack was slung around his shoulders, making him look nerdy as hell.

“Hey,” he said, still smiling. “I’m so glad I got to meet you. It’s been so hard to get a hold of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you checked your emails lately?”

I felt struck by the question. He was right. I hadn’t glanced much at my phone since the day before yesterday.

“I guessed right, huh?” he asked, staring at me closely.

“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping I hadn’t missed something important. “I was going through something personal. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Dr. Cooper gave out the list of partners who’d be working on the statistical analysis assignment,” he explained. “She partnered us for it.”

“Oh.”

“I’m Luke, by the way,” he said, extending his hand toward me.

“I’m Camilla,” I said, realizing a second later that he already knew my name. Cringing internally, I took his hand and shook it. “Please, call me Milla,” I added.

He gave a nod and grinned. “Do you mind if we talked before Davidson’s class?”

I took a deep breath. Talking to Luke was distracting me from drowning in yesterday’s awful memories. I gave a nod. “Sure,” I said, agreeing to talk.

“Grab a table and I’ll get us some coffee,” he said. “Any special requests?”

“A caramel latte, please,” I said, taking out my tiny purse that easily fit into my dress’s pocket.

“It’s my treat,” said Luke. “You make coffee for me and my friends all the time.”

Surprise flickered through me. He’d noticed me working at the café before.

Before I could say anything, he walked toward the counter to order our drinks.

I grabbed a table at the far deserted corner of the restaurant. It was quiet and if we got loud, no one would be disturbed.

Being in the familiar surroundings of the café and talking about classes was starting to make me feel better. This was the place I belonged in, not in Brian’s lavish mansion. I loved and respected Brian but I had no place in his world.

Luke came back with our coffees and handed me my cup.

“Thanks,” I said and gratefully took the first sip of the hot, sweet coffee. “Mmm,” I moaned.

“That’s some reaction to coffee,” Luke said with a chuckle.

“You have no idea how much I needed the caffeine and sugar rush,” I said, feeling ten times better as I took more eager sips. Pure strength and vitality seemed to flow through my veins and I suddenly felt alive again.

“I’m guessing you haven’t checked the assignment we were given,” he said, bringing out his laptop.

“No, sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’ve got it all in here.”

Getting up from his chair, he came over to my side of the table and sat down beside me. We sat in comfortable silence as the computer booted up.

Luke clicked on a few folders and finally opened a PDF document. Pushing the laptop toward me, he added, “Take a look.”

I sipped my coffee and read through the assignment. My mind whirred, already working out a list of calculations we needed to do.

“We have to run a lot of simulations,” I muttered, my eyes still glued to the problems set for us.

“We’ve got to explain each step in detail as well,” Luke supplied.

I gave a nod, liking the fact he wasn’t one of those guys who depended on others to do most of their work for them. He’d already gone through the whole assignment and figured things out for himself.

Looking up from the screen, I asked, “How do you think we should divide the work?”

“I was thinking of taking up the analysis portion,” said Luke. “I’m weak at running software simulations, so I want to work on them. You could check them out for me and make sure the work is right.”

“Running the simulations is about seventy percent of the job,” I said. “Are you sure you want to do them all on your own?”

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “Think about it. If two people write up a report, there would be no cohesiveness. It’s best one of us writes the explanation parts. Besides, you’ll be checking over my work to make sure I’ve done things right.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Luke sounded like a great partner to work with.

“Deal,” I said and took another sip of my coffee.

He raised his glass of iced coffee. “Here’s to getting an A+.”

I chuckled. Luke sounded like an ambitious guy. I was starting to like him more and more. It was rare to find someone as serious about grades as me.

Relief spread through me. I was going to get through the next few months by drowning myself in work. Mom could stay with Brian while I continued living in my apartment with my flatmate.

From now on, I was going to stay away from my stepbrothers. Avoiding them was the best way to make sure my mom’s last days were peaceful.