Heart of a Stripper (16 page)

“Bullshit!
Mitchell was helping me!” she shouted irate.

“
Is that so? That’s not the story your father will tell in court. With a little
persuasion
, your father willingly pressed charges against Mitchell.” Bruce informed her, and she knew he meant with money.

“It’ll never hold up in court because I won’t let it.” She barked.

“I’m sure if I wanted to, my son would go away for a long time.” Bruce assured running a hand through her long dark hair.

“
Don’t touch me.” Nevaeh whispered as he eyed her.

“I can see why my son is so—
taken
with you.” Bruce insisted caressing her face, but she pulled away.

“What do you want from
me
?” she asked again, with tears burning her eyes now.

She wasn’t stupid; she knew Bruce had showed up for something.

“Stay away from my son. It’s that simple.” He answered.

“And if I don’t?” she asked glaring at him with rage filled eyes.

“He’ll rot in prison for the long haul, not to mention lose his inheritance that keeps the school going. Now I’m prepared to pay you—”

“I can’t be brought!” she shouted
, and Bruce laughed.

“Can’t you? If I’m not mistaken, you’re a stripper, and people pay to see you get naked.” He snapped and she frowned as her tears finally drenched her cheeks.

“Tears are for the weak sweetheart. Now—your father is ready to tell them all about the relationship my son has with you.”

“Why are you doing this? He’s your son! Don’t you love him?” she sniffled.

“I’m doing this
for
him. He doesn’t see the error of his ways. He’s supposed to be married, and he will be.” Bruce insisted.

“If I leave him alone, will things go back to normal for him?” she asked looking down into her lap.

“Yes. He’ll be home tonight, but I need you to break it off with him. Tell him you don’t love him; that you
never
did.” Bruce made clear.

“I can’t do that.” She said shaking her head
, as more of her tears fell. She was still looking down into her lap.

“What’s more important? Making him lose
everything
or just letting him go?” Bruce inquired.    

Chapter Fourteen

Mitchell raked his hands over his head, as he shut his eyes tight. Dropping his head into his hands, he sucked in a hard breath. He didn’t know how things had gotten to this point. He had been booked and fingerprinted for battery and assault, before being thrown into a tiny dark holding cell. Hours had ebbed by, and he wasn’t sure how many. He suddenly heard footsteps approaching his cell, and looked up. The guard was standing there with the keys.

“You’re free to go
, McCallister.” He barked, unlocking the cage.

Shooting to his feet,
Mitchell saw Kaitlin standing there behind the guard. She was wearing fitted black jeans, and a white and black blouse. The moment the cell opened, he rushed out and Kate hustled over only to throw her arms around his neck. Standing frozen, he had no clue what to do. A huge part of him wanted to push her off, but she had been the one to bail him out.

“What are you doing here?” Was all he could
ask.

“I saw what happened. It’s all over the news
Mitchell. There are tons of paparazzi outside.” She replied letting him go.

A light bulb went off in his head as he stared at her. It was more than likely that she had only come to be seen on TV, not to be with him genuinely. All he could think about was
Nevaeh. He wanted to know that she was ok.

“We have to go out the back entrance.” She insisted
, trying to grab his hand, but he moved away.

“I don’t want anything to do with you Kate.”
He snapped walking to the front to get his things.

Going to the front desk, he gave his name and waited for his
stuff. After waiting for a moment, they handed him a bag with his belongings. From his G-Shock watch, to his wallet, everything was inside. Grabbing his things, he slipped out the back door only to be bombarded by cameras and reporters. Throwing his hands up, he tried to block the bright lights as he and Kaitlin made it through the crowd. They were all shouting questions at him and his heart sank. He had been portrayed as a monster and could only wonder what his father was thinking of him.

Getting to her car, they pulled off and he ordered her to take him to get his car from the school, but she refused.
She drove him straight back to her apartment building and he grumbled. She had a valid point, which was that his house would be bombarded with reporters. As she pulled up to her apartment building, they saw a few reporters lounging around. Kaitlin drove to the parking garage and parked in her spot. Hopping out of the car, a woman rushed over to Mitchell with a tape recorder.

“Mr.
McCallister, can you tell us about the incident that got you arrested?” she inquired jamming the tiny recording device in his face.

Mitchell
stood stunned by the question. It was something he didn’t know how to answer. How was he going to say he was defending a student he just so happened to be having sex with? He couldn’t, that’s how. So instead, he just stood like a deer caught in the headlights.

“He has no comment!” Kate shouted jumping in the way.

“Just give me a statement so the world can hear your side! How does your father feel about you being arrested? Is this type of behavior why he never hired you at McCallister Enterprise?”

“Have you ever seen him in trouble?! You need to get off this property before I call the police!” Kate shouted, grabbing
Mitchell by the arm and pulling into the back of the apartment building.

Making it to her apartment,
Mitchell sank onto her pink couch. Placing his face into his hands, he sighed as everything whirled in his head. Kate sat beside him and caressed his back.

“
Thanks for what you did outside.” He muttered.

“You don’t have to thank me.” She insisted.

“I need to get home.” He replied finally looking up, and Kate placed a finger under his chin before making him look at her.

“I want you to stay the night.” She replied softly.

Before he could think, she had leaned over the sofa and placed her lips on his. Pushing him, she laid him on the arm rest of the couch.

“No.” he said shaking his head, and grabbing her hands as she went for his belt buckle.

“Why? You want me.” She said breathy. “I know you do.”

“I don’t want anything to do with you.” He said looking her in the eyes.

“Mitchell we love each other. Doesn’t that count for anything?” she asked kissing his neck.

“You never loved me Kate.” He muttered hurt.

“I did—I do. I know I hurt you, but give me a chance.” She replied unbuttoning his shirt. “I want to fix us.”

Lying back,
Mitchell stared aimlessly at the ceiling as Kate kissed his chest and trailed down to his stomach.

Nevaeh drummed her fingers against the desk as scribbled on her note pad. Whatever the teacher had been yammering about for the past half an hour had went into one ear and out the other. Her mind was stuck on
Mitchell. She needed to know he was ok. She had seen the news report that he had been released, but she’d also seen Kate trailing behind him. Bruce had been right, and so far everything he wanted was happening. Scribbling harder, she snapped the pencil point off. Just the thought of Mitchell with Kate was sickening.

The classroom door opened, and the teacher grew quiet. Looking up, Nevaeh spotted
Mitchell leaning halfway into the classroom. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a regular t-shirt. She had never seen him dressed like a regular person before. He was either always in a suit, or naked. Ok, occasionally he would wear boxers and a t-shirt, but never jeans. It was cute.

“Can I speak with Nevaeh?” he asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

“Sure.” Ms. Howard, her heavyset, red headed teacher answered.

Nevaeh stood, and immediately walked out of the classroom with him. Going into the empty hallway, the faced each other. Grabbing her hands, he tried to embrace her, but she brushed him off with an awkward smile.

“Are you ok?” she asked, not making eye contact with him.

“I am now that I see you. Your dad—”

“I heard.” She muttered still looking anywhere but at him. “Sorry I couldn’t help.”

“It’s ok. I got a call from my lawyer this morning saying the charges were dropped.” He smiled.

“Really?” she asked finally looking him in the eyes.

“Yeah, Nevaeh I came to take you home with me. I can’t stay here
today, I just need to clear my head.” He responded.

“I
can’t. I have class.” She replied looking away again.

He picked up on the fact that she
was being distant. It was like he was having a conversation with Kaitlin. That damn sure wasn’t a good sign. The fact that she was throwing school at him as an excuse let him know something was wrong. Being principal, he could always excuse her for a day that
he
pulled her out.

“Come on Nevaeh, I
need
you today. I just want to be with
you
.”

“I can’t!” she snapped, and he frowned as she eyed him.

“Is it because of what happened yesterday?” he asked, noting that him being arrested may have scared her.

Moving closer to her, he grabbed her by the hands and tried to ease her, but he could tell she didn’t want him touching her. His heart was racing as dread swallowed him whole.

“That’s not it.” She assured, taking her hands out of his and stepping back.

“Then what is it? What did I do wrong?” he inquired heartbroken.

“Nothing, you’re—we’re just not good together.” She protested glaring at him coldly.

“What do you mean by that?” he frowned.

“I was toying with you ok? I wanted to see if I could get you—and I did.” She insisted, still giving him the cold stare.

Mitchell’s heart shattered as her words left her mouth, and burrowed into his brain. Running a hand through his dark hair, he let out a strangled sigh. All he could think about was how stupid he must’ve looked. Falling for a student. Sure it was all a game; and he fell for it. It also made him wonder why no one wanted to love him. What was so wrong with him? He could never seem to find anyone to give a shit about him truly. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and because of that it was always being demolished. 

“Please don’t do this. I need you today.” He insisted, hoping she was just scared.

“Mitchell, you’re better off being with Kate.” She huffed.

“Kate?!” he asked glaring at her furiously. “After knowing everything she did to me you of all people have the nerve to say that?!”

She heard the despair in his tone, but kept her composure.

“I saw you two together last night. You belong together.” She smiled.

“I can explain.” He offered.

“There’s no need. I was serious about what I said. I’m sorry I pulled you away from her.” She insisted.

“Nevaeh—”

“Things just got out of hand.” She whispered. “I lost interest a while ago. I’m sorry.”

With that, she disappeared back into the classroom. Mitchell stood quietly as he tried to pull himself together. Walking off, he left the school. Hopping in his car, he sped off and reeled from the words she’d thrown at him. Gripping the steering wheel, he zoomed down the freeway and pondered the time they spent together.

How could he now have known she was toying with him?

Just like Kate had. He was too trusting, and always fell flat on his face for it. Tears burned his eyes as he tried not to dwell on the pain tearing through him. Thinking of the night before, he sucked in a hard breath. Kate had pushed and pushed to sleep with him, but he threw her off. Nevaeh had been the only thing on his mind, and hurting her in that way was something he never dreamed of. But had he known she was going to trample his heart a few hours later, he would’ve probably taken Kaitlin up on her offer. Having meaningless sex would’ve numbed him for a while he supposed. Driving, he drove until he couldn’t drive anymore.