The Heir

Chapter 51

Warning: mentions of abuse

When I woke up this morning there was a crisp white envelope on the floor of my room; slipped under the door. And for a brief moment, I thought it was him; that it was Will. In my sleepy haze the memory of killing and disposing of him had faded away. It wasn't until I opened it that I took a breath.

On thick parchment, the Montrose crest stamped at the top, was a formal request for my presence in the Headmaster's office.

So I got dressed in my very best uniform, complete with my red prefect tie. I went to breakfast with my friends and, as always, pushed the food around so no one would notice. And they didn't, they were all far too hungover from last night.

I step into the brisk morning air and pull my jacket closed a little more. While everyone else heads towards the academic buildings, I trek towards the main building.

"Hey," Duke falls into stride beside me. "You get one of those letters too?"

"Yeah," I reply. "At first I thought-"

"It was him," he cuts me off. "Me too."

I look at him and my brows furrow. There's a bruise on his cheek, maybe a week old, that I hadn't noticed last night. As I scan over him I note that there's another on his wrist. He tracks my movement and quickly embeds his hands in his pockets.

"You get in a fight?" I ask curiously.

"Uh, yeah," he replies hesitantly. "Something like that."

"You better have won," I flash a teasing smile. "I don't associate with men who can't hold their own."

"So I'm a man now?" he chides.

I roll my eyes, "shut up."

"So last night," Duke starts. I glance up at him and he continues. "Do you remember last night?"

"Of course I do," I scoff. How the fuck could I forget?

"Do you regret it?" he asks. "Kissing me, I mean. And inviting me to your room."

"No," I reply honestly. "Not for a second."

"You're not fucking with me, are you?" he hesitantly asks.

I roll my eyes, "I'm not fucking with you."

He laughs and drapes his arm around my shoulders. And for the first time, I don't shove him away. He wraps me in his warmth and I smile to myself.

As we get closer to the main building my brows furrow. There's a couple of SUVs parked in the driveway; about half a dozen. And beside two of them stand my father's men. I eye them up cautiously as we continue to approach.

"Wonder what that's all about," Duke nods in their general direction.

"Yeah," I reply. "Me too."

Duke holds the door open for me and I shuffle inside. Confused, I look around the lobby quickly. There's another girl in my year with what appears to be her parents. They whisper to one another on the wooden bench. But that's not the weird part. The weird part is my parents curiously looking at one of the display cases.

My dad looks up when the door shuts, "tesoro."

I don't know why they're here. They never come to visit me at Montrose. Like ever. And here they are, waiting for the headmaster.

Mom rushes over to pull me into a hug, "come sei stato?"
(How have you been)

"Sono passati tre giorni," I laugh nervously. "Sto bene."
(It's been three days. I'm fine.)