Incubus

| Twenty-Three |

The sound of the door to the principal's office slamming made me jump in my seat. Anxiety consumed me. I had been waiting for him to come for hours. I had to do my homework while I waited. Mr. Cruise's name was still on his desk, but all of his belongings were gone. My heart was in my throat and I gulped when I heard the click of the lock. My foot tapped anxiously against the wooden floor. Looking at the back of Mr. Knight's head, I wondered why he was so miserable and rude. Nikki had called him Robert. How did she know him personally? Slowly, he turned around and my stomach lurched at the gleaming smile on his face. Did he take pleasure in my fear? How sick was this man?

I opened my mouth to protest, to say anything, but with each step he took towards me I shrunk lower in my seat. I now knew how a deer felt as a lion slowly approached them before pouncing and tearing them apart. The analogy made me gulp. My thoughts weren't exactly helping my nerves. He stopped in front of me and my eyes dropped to the floor, landing on his shiny black shoes. I hadn't been more scared in my entire life. Why hadn't Lucky said anything - did anything to stop this monster. He said he was scared of losing me. I now knew that was bullshit. If he cared about me I wouldn't be here in this situation right now. He wasn't going to save me. I didn't need him to. I didn't need anyone.

I felt my lip begin to quiver. Mr. Knight placed his hand on top of my head. The silence in the room was killing me. "Why are you being punished today, Ms. Thompson?" His voice was low and dangerous.

Truth was, I didn't exactly know why I was being punished. He was being an asshole and I was standing up for myself. I guess I could have handled it in a more appropriate and respectful way, but he didn't deserve my respect. "I was rude to you, sir." I whispered quietly.

"And?" he prompted.

"And," I wracked my brain for another answer. "I used inappropriate language?" I made it a question.

"What else?" I glanced up in frustration at his words to watch his mouth twitch into a cocky smirk, plastered across his face. I'd never had a stronger urge to punch somebody in the face than I did in that moment.

"Uh, I yelled at you?"

"And?"

My eyes snapped to his. There was a gleam in his cold blue eyes. His pupils were dilated and there was more black than blue showing. Was he trying to make me agitated so he could worsen my punishment?

"I can't remember anything else, sir." I answered calmly and stared directly into his eyes without flinching. I would not give him the satisfaction of giving in to his bait. My punishment was already terrible enough.

"Fine." he walked behind his desk, his index finger trailing across its wooden surface. "So I heard about you and Mr. Smith," he sat down in the leather chair. My body stiffened and my heart stopped at his words.

"What about me and Mr. Smith?" I asked cautiously and nervously crossed my legs.

"He informed me that he was responsible for punishing you before. Am I correct?" he raised his eyebrows at my expression. I let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know about us. At this point I didnt really care if Mr. Smith lost his job. It wasn't like it was his dream job. He was a demon. The only reason he was here was because of me. I still couldn't understand that.

"Yes, that's right." I replied absentmindedly.

"Alright. How did he punish you?"

My face flared. "Sir, we're not supposed to discuss punishments with other people." I was praying he wouldn't make me tell him.

"Well, I'm asking you directly. Tell me now or I'll spank you until you do." he warned.

I sighed. "He spanked me."