After a long while, Morticia had left his home for school. Klaus received a message from one of his people saying Morticia might be in trouble.
Cursing, he drove straight to the school to find her. He spotted Valerie, her roommate, and asked about Morticia’s whereabouts. Valerie tried to shrug him off, but he was persistent.
“She left in a hurry, probably pressed for something.”
Klaus rushed to the nearby restroom and spotted a familiar feminine figure. She fidgeted at the sight of him, and he immediately knew Bunnie was there.
Grabbing her by the collar, he roared, “Where the fuck is she?”
Morticia’s scream caught his attention, and he immediately dashed into the restroom to help.
As Morticia attacked the guy again, Klaus’s eyes widened.
“Bunnie!”
Klaus pulled her away from the guy and snapped at her. “Stop it, you could get hurt!”
The guy finally opened his eyes and swung the knife at Klaus.
“Watch out!” Morticia yelled.
With a swift move, Klaus spun to grab the guy’s hand holding the dagger. He twisted the man’s wrist, and a sickening crack pierced the air, followed by the guy’s scream.
The knife slipped from his hand, and Klaus caught it. He considered stabbing the guy’s hand into the wall, but the thought of Morticia watching shattered that impulse.
He couldn’t get brutal with her there.
He hissed and punched the guy hard in the face.
Morticia’s chest heaved. She quickly took out her inhaler and took a few breaths. Closing her eyes, she felt much better.
Later, Klaus and Morticia stepped out of police custody. Klaus looked like someone trying hard to control his anger.
“Thanks, Klaus,” Morticia said, adjusting her glasses.
“You’re welcome.”
“I was wondering how you found me.” She blinked with curiosity.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it does. Did you follow me to school? How did you know I was in trouble?”
“I…” Klaus quickly thought of an excuse. “I wanted to apologize for acting like a jerk this morning and thank you for staying by my side. So I asked your roommate, Valerie, where you were and then heard your scream in the restroom.”
Way to go, Klaus… You’re such a good liar.
“Oh… well, I was mad at you, but I guess we’re even now.”
Klaus scrutinized her and asked softly, “Are you alright?”
She hesitated, battling with her feelings. “Yes… I guess.”
“Cool. I need to be somewhere. Take care, Bunnie.” He ruffled her hair and left, while Morticia fell into her own thoughts.
She glanced down at her slightly torn dress and sighed.
Was she really okay? That had terrified her.
—
“Indian pig!”
“Look at her, so disgusting!”
“Pig!”
“Pig!”
“We hate you, get the fuck out!”
Rhea jerked as the orange hit her back. Her eyes shut as she faced her locker. Her basketball teammates had ruined the clothes she was supposed to change into.
With teary eyes, she held her clothes tightly, her heart clenching hard.
She thought she could handle this, but it was getting out of hand.
Lecturers and school authorities wouldn’t do a thing. Changing schools wasn’t an option since this was the only one her father could afford.
But the humiliation, the hate, and the abusive words thrown at her were unbearable.
She knew if she kept going like this, she might lash out and end up getting expelled.
That would mean no chance of getting into another college.
Rhea slammed her locker shut and stormed out in tears. She climbed onto her bike and rode straight home.
She noticed a strange black car leaving their house but ignored it and walked inside. Her father was sitting on the couch with a file in his hand.
“Papa!” she called, walking toward him. “Papa, I can’t go to that school anymore. They keep bullying me. It’s better if I stay home and work to…”
Her voice trailed off when she saw his face. He was crying.
“Papa, why are you crying?” Her voice softened, concern etched on her face.
“Oh no, sweetie, it’s not something bad,” he stood with the file. “I… I got the contract. The one my company dared to go for.”
Rhea’s eyes widened. “Really? The five-billion-dollar contract? You got it?”
“Yeah, and they paid me half already.”
They stared at each other and screamed in unison. He picked her up and twirled her around while she swayed her upper body, dancing.
“We’re rich! We’re fucking rich!” she screamed.
Her father set her down. “What were you saying about your school again?”
“I get bullied every day, Papa.”
His eyes finally noticed she was wearing her jersey instead of her usual dress. Even the jersey was stained, and her face showed dried tears.
“You know what? You’re not going to that school anymore. Since we’re better off now… you’re transferring to Washington, the school you wanted to go to…”
Rhea jumped and hugged him before he could finish. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can finally be with Morticia! Oh my God, I missed her so much!”
“Anything for you, babygirl.”
“Papa, first… I need to do something. I’ll be right back.”
Rhea went back to the dorm to pack a few important things. Thankfully, her roommates weren’t around.
She had bought ammonia on her way, and she poured it on her roommates’ clothes and beds. After she was done, she left.
Her two roommates returned and screamed in horror as soon as they opened the door.
“What the fuck is that smell? This is horrible!”
“Where the fuck is Rhea? Did she pee all over the house or something?”
Their eyes snapped to a piece of paper glued to the wall with Rhea’s bold writing:
SO LONG, COCKSUCKERS!!!
“Ah! That fucking bitch!”
—
“Ahhh!!!”
Morticia’s scream pierced the air as she rushed downstairs.
Ava jerked at the sound, almost spilling the popcorn in her hands.
“What is it?” Ava asked.
“Guess what!”
“You have a boyfriend now?!”
“Huh.. what no? No, that’s not it!… Rhea is coming to Washington!”
“Oh.” Ava blinked, not much excitement in her voice.
“What do you mean, ‘Oh’? Aren’t you happy for me?”
“I am, sweetie,” Ava said, munching on her popcorn. “It seems like you don’t like your new roommate. You never talk about her.”
Morticia hesitated. “Uh, she’s cool… she’s Sienna’s sister. Valerie.”
Vincent, who was coming down the stairs, choked on his saliva. “Did you just say Valerie?”
“Yeah?”
“And you just called her cool? Wait… how are you even alive?” Vincent blinked, and Morticia rolled her eyes.
“Is she not a good person? Tell me,” Ava panicked.
Morticia pretended to glance at her wrist. “Oh, I’m late for class.”
“Morticia!” her mother called after her, but she didn’t stop.
At school, Morticia met Jamie. He was finally at school. He removed his bag and let her sit beside him.
“What happened? I’ve been trying to reach you,” she inquired.
“I’m sorry. My phone had issues, and my dad returned home yesterday after several weeks on a business trip… I’m sorry,” Jamie said.
“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“Care to have lunch later?”
“Yeah,” Morticia nodded.
“Cool”