Page 6 of Conceal

“No.”

I grin, feigning innocence, and raise my hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Leave it alone, Lev. I mean it. It’s not worth it. I don’t want the drama.”

That’s when it clicks for me. Leo told people. Or the girl did. Or someone saw her leaving his building and put two and two together. But if I had to guess, it was the snake walking towards us with his hair parted too perfectly and a smug grin on his face.

“Please,” she begs, her hand fisting my shirt. Fuck. I can’t deny her anything.

My shoulders slump.

She takes this as my submission, which it is. She presses her shoulders back, not willing to make herself smaller because of his betrayal.

But when they pass, and Leo makes an exaggerated cough with “brother fucker” underneath, I break my promise. I go to swing, but Mik grabs my arm and hauls me away from the prick. It’s a good thing he stepped in, because I can’t protect her from prison, and there are cameras all over this campus. But I’ll get my revenge later, when no one’s watching.

Leo’s stupid grin falters when I smile at him like a maniac and blow him a kiss as Mik drags me into the building. I’m going to enjoy knocking his teeth in.

Tatiana finds her seat, and I sit beside her, Mik on her other side, as she cuddles in underneath his arm. I can’t help but stare at his stupid hand on her stupid shoulder. Touching her in a way I’ll never be able to.

Tati arranges her notebook and her cute little pens and highlighters as the professor, a fat guy who peaked in his thirties, begins the lecture.

I scan the room for threats, noticing the whispers and stares, noting who is the loudest.

And when two girls a few rows behind us whisper “brother fucker” and Tati tenses, I’m apparently not done making bad decisions today.

Chapter five

Tatiana

"Brother fucker."

I tense. Not because I care what anyone thinks of me, but because I know Mik feels responsible for a lot of my bad luck in dating. I'm sure Leo spread rumors about Mik and me to make himself look good and to make me look bad, but he truly never knew me if he thinks I'd ever be ashamed of my relationship with Mik. Do I see Mik as a brother? Not really. I've definitely had inappropriate thoughts about him before.

He wears baggy long-sleeved shirts, baggy jeans, and a beanie sometimes. He completely rocks the bad boy, emo look that I love so much.

Do I see him as a best friend? Of course, but he's more than that. Best friends fight and break up or outgrow each other all the time. Losing Mik would feel like losing my left arm. I'd never recover.

Mikhail is just... Mik. He's in a category all on his own.

So, I snuggle into him deeper, trying to offer support. I'll remind him after the lecture that I don't care what people think about us. They'd never understand what we are to each other. And it's not our job to explain it to them, either.

"Can I help you?" Lev says, turning in his chair and leveling the girls with a glare. I freeze. Please, no. Please don't make this a scene.

"What?" one of the girls squeaks. Bullies don't get called on their shit most of the time, so I'm sure they weren't expecting any pushback.

Lev just gets louder. "I thought I heard you say 'brother fucker'..." He's shouting now, I'm sure, for the benefit of the entire class. My stomach sinks as I try to shrink in my seat. "... but that can't be right, can it? Because how would you know if someone fucked their brother? Did you watch? Do you like to watch incest, Brittney?"

"Lev!" I whisper-shout, but he's on a roll now, and my embarrassment means nothing to him. I'm not even sure the girl's name is Brittney, and I know for sure he doesn't.

"Someone might need to check this chick's browser history," he says loudly, getting a few nervous chuckles from around the classroom. And yeah, I'm beet-red now, my mortification on display for the entire class. I might not care what people think about me, but I do care about causing a scene.

"Excuse me, sir," the professor says once Lev's done. "Are you even enrolled in this class?"

I use that as my opportunity to shove Lev out of his seat. "No, he's not!" I shout, mouthing to him to leave - to please go.

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the professor continues.

"I'm Miss Chernov's private security," he replies, looking at least a little contrite, now that he can see how embarrassed I am.