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I could tell that Chase was trying not to let Aurora hear when he was thanking me earlier, but I could tell from his expression that he was grateful for me being there to beat the shit out of Harrison

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I could tell that Chase was trying not to let Aurora hear when he was thanking me earlier, but I could tell from his expression that he was grateful for me being there to beat the shit out of Harrison. Maybe this time he'll finally get it through his thick skull that he can't do shit like that and get away with it. He's most likely going to get kicked off the team once news gets around to coach, and I doubt there will be one person who defends him for his actions.

Deleting the compromising picture of Aurora off of his phone was my original plan, but caving his face in was a good bonus. I couldn't care less about what he will do to me legally. I have my own team of lawyers. Harrison isn't the only one with a rich dad in his pocket. The last thing I want to do is ask my father for anything, but if it prevents me from getting arrested, I'd do it.

Aurora comes back from the bathroom with water dripping down her face and onto her shirt. I smirk to hide my genuine smile at the fact that she feels comfortable enough for me to see her like this. She doesn't usually wear any makeup, which I prefer on her, but her face is slightly red and blotchy from crying earlier. It immediately makes me feel guilty.

I watch her stand in front of the mirror and brush her long, light blonde hair. She smiles at me from the mirror but I can still notice the slight hesitation in her expression, the same one she's been wearing since witnessing the fight.

She comes over to join me in sitting on her bed but doesn't face in my direction. Looking over at her questioningly, she continues to look at her hands in her lap, fidgeting nervously. I have a feeling she's about to tell me about something that makes her uncomfortable, so I wait patiently for her to start, not wanting to push her.

"I know that most people would think that I overreacted earlier when I tried to break up the fight. You probably thought I overreacted too." She looks up at me but I stay silent, confirming her thoughts. She nods and looks back down. "My parents sent me to a boarding school when I was nine. It was the best school for producing exceptional, disciplined students." I notice her wince when she says the word "disciplined" and I shake my head, not liking where this is going.

"At first, I was upset that I was separated from Chase. We were always so close, so I acted out. I wouldn't do my work, I'd purposely disobey teachers, anything to get my parent's attention. They love me, but when I had anything to say about how I didn't like it there, they wouldn't listen. At first, the school let me off with warnings." She takes a deep breath and I clench my fists. Her green eyes meet mine before she continues.

"Eventually, I got sent to the principal's office. She told me that I couldn't continue to get away with my behavior, so she bent me over her knee and...spanked me. After that, I stopped acting out because I was so humiliated. I did everything that I could to avoid getting into trouble, but it was too late. By then, all the teachers hated me and every single thing I did gave them a reason to punish me. Sometimes, they would even do it in front of the rest of the class." I see a few tears run down her face and by the red hue coloring her skin, I can tell that she's extremely embarrassed by this story.

Moving closer to her, I wrap my arm around her shoulder. Aurora nuzzles her face closer to my body. "You don't need to tell me any more if it makes you uncomfortable, Princess. I'm so sorry that this happened to you. Nobody deserves to be treated that way. Sick bastards." I say the last part under my breath.

"I've never told anyone this before. I want to tell you though." She says and the grateful look in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. She wants me here, she trusts me enough to tell me her biggest secret. "When your punishment was severe enough, they would use wooden canes. It's a form of corporal punishment that they used. Most schools stopped it in the '70s but the academy believed it was necessary for the development of controlled learning and exceptional behavior." She says, sounding like she was reading that last part straight out of a pamphlet.

"Aurora. You know that isn't okay right? Please tell me that you told someone." I ask, desperate to hear that she didn't go through this for nine years. She shakes her head and I feel my body begin to tense in anger. She climbs onto my lap and hugs me to her thoughtfully. "Leave it to you to tell me something like that, and then comfort me after." I put my hands around her waist, leaving them on her lower back. She leans back with her arms still around my neck and smiles softly, but genuinely at me.

"I'm okay now. I'm safe and I know that won't happen to me anymore. And now that I know what you'd do to someone with just a picture of me, I'd feel bad for anyone that tried to actually touch me." She jokes but I don't laugh. "Do you not want to hear the rest then?" She asks sheepishly and I groan.

"No fucking way that there's more." She grimaces and nods. I hug her closer, burying my face into her soft neck, and she finishes up the rest of the story for my sake.

"One of the teachers, he―"

"He ?" I practically growl.

"He would use his hands to hit me, but he wore multiple rings. I didn't realize it at first, but as I got older and more obedient, the female teachers stopped punishing me because I was a good student, but it was the male teacher that would continue. I told my principal that he would hit me still, and eventually, he was fired. The principal didn't want a whole investigation to be done, so she took matters into her own hands. That's why I'm here, I needed to get away. I didn't want to spend even one more term there. In those classrooms." She breathes deeply and looks at me for my reaction.

I try not to react by repeating over and over in my head that it was in the past, and that nobody can hurt her now. My thoughts are interrupted by Aurora's soft lips meeting mine and I immediately give in and mold my lips to hers, caressing the seam of hers with my tongue. Her tongue meets mine in an eager race and she pulls back with a cute smile. Or is that a smirk?

"Thought that might distract you."

"

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