Baby Doll(24)



From the first day he saw her, her freshman year, he’d been drawn to her fresh face and sun-kissed blond hair. Her dimples and open smile nearly did him in every time she walked into his classroom. He’d been teaching for almost fifteen years, and his instincts and understanding of his students were exceptional. He could spot the class clowns, the rejects, and the sluts (though it didn’t take a Rhodes scholar to recognize them). He’d had occasional dalliances with students, but he chose carefully. He’d let the girls break things off, pretending to be heartbroken when all along he’d been pulling their strings. They meant nothing. Casual distractions, easing his boredom until he was free to indulge in what he really wanted—a girl of his own to do with as he wished.

He knew that Lily wasn’t the type to engage in an affair with an older married man, much less her teacher. But that knowledge, that innate goodness, only made him want her more. Watching her in class, so inquisitive and bright-eyed, challenging him and her classmates, he’d longed for her to be his. He saw Lily’s kindness, the way she always made time for the outcasts and loners, in spite of her popularity. He’d study her long, tanned, toned legs, sometimes heading to the stadium to observe track practice, hoping to catch another glimpse of her and all her beauty on display. The more he watched her, the more he wanted her. He’d have to control his rage, seething when he’d spot her in the halls draped all over her worthless jock boyfriend. The way she’d look at that kid drove him crazy. Rick deserved to be the one she stared at longingly.

He’d urged Lily to join the school paper, and they’d spent countless hours together, working on stories. Hearing her bubbly, infectious laugh, getting to know and love her almost made up for having to listen to her prattle on about that idiot boyfriend.

“Wes this” and “Wes that” and “Isn’t he amazing?” Rick would nod, pretending to care. It drove him insane. He’d wanted his name to be the one she spoke of with lust and longing in her eyes. As the year came to an end, he made the decision that she was the one. She had to be his.

He knew Lily’s twin sister as well. Abby was in his other English honors class, but there was something about her, a harshness, an underlying edge to her personality he found unappealing. Besides, he wasn’t selfish. Lily was more than enough.

Rick realized that taking her would be a challenge. There was the possibility that the right moment might never present itself. But that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be prepared. “Luck is preparation meets opportunity,” was one of Missy’s bullshit catch phrases, but Rick figured it couldn’t hurt. What if he got lucky? He’d spent months working on the cabin. The construction of Lily’s new home, all the shopping he needed to do, convincing Missy that his writing space was sacred, and it was best that she not visit and interrupt his work. The preparations took months of planning and thousands of dollars to orchestrate. But he’d done it all for Lily. And now here he was. She had made him into a fool.

He hadn’t reacted when they arrested him. That’s what they were expecting. Some sort of freak-out or emotional tell that would prove his guilt with a capital G. He knew that defying expectations would play in his favor.

In a measured tone, he’d ordered his students to sit down. “Guys, get back to work. I’ll be back in class soon, and I expect you to have read the last three chapters.”

They didn’t listen. He knew they wouldn’t; they were teenagers after all, total shits who loved a circus, but it was important that he appear unfazed by all of this.

That was easier said than done when the heavy one came at him, hitting, kicking, and biting. Abby was disgusting—a whale of a woman—and looking at Lily, he realized what a smart choice he’d made. His Lily would never let herself go like that.

But the more Abby hit him, the more excited he became. Her actions reminded him of Lily’s in the beginning, during her training. When the cops pulled the beast off him, Rick wondered if he’d chosen the wrong sister. Maybe that one wouldn’t have betrayed him. How was he to know? He’d given Lily a wonderful life. He had given her a child, one of the hardest decisions he’d ever made. He’d spent the entire seven months thinking about what he was going to do with it. Drown it. Drop it at a fire station. Bury it in the woods. In the end, he realized this baby was a part of him, his seed, his creation. And they’d built a life together. In fact, he almost liked the child. She was a mini Lily, and he’d enjoyed watching her grow up. But that didn’t matter now. Like Brutus turned on Caesar, Lily had betrayed him.

He sighed inwardly. Too late for regrets. He had to be smart. Strategy was an important part of any plan. He’d known the risks all along, and he’d figure something out. Yes, he’d been caught. But if Lily thought she had the upper hand, she was a fool. Rick saw two guards approaching his cell, both of them wearing black leather gloves and stoic expressions. He recognized the look in their eyes. They wanted him to suffer.

Bring it, Rick thought, needing to feel something, needing some kind of distraction. As the officers came at him, readying their assault, Rick couldn’t help but laugh. There wasn’t anything they could do that would hurt more than what Lily had done. His heart was already broken. That stupid bitch had torn it in two.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


ABBY


Get these f*cking things off me,” Abby demanded as she fought against the arm restraints that bound her to the hospital gurney. “I’m not going to hurt anyone. I want to see Lily. I need to see my f*cking sister.”

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