Empathy by Ker Dukey Read Free Book Online Page B

turns towards the stairs. Tucking her hair behind her ear she looks up at me. There’s something different about her. She’s lost weight and her eyes hold… grief. She makes her way up the stairs, her jean skirt giving me a wonderful view of her toned legs. Reaching my seat she looks at Sean who doesn’t hesitate to shift over, leaving the seat next to me empty for her.
    “Thank you,” she says, and slides into the seat he vacated. “I’m so sorry I missed our assignment arrangement.”
    “I texted you.”
    “My phone got misplaced. I haven’t caught up with messages and things yet.” I search her eyes for the truth and that’s what I see. Truth and sorrow. “I’ve had a really shitty couple of weeks, Ryan. I could use a friend right now so can you just accept that I wouldn’t deliberately ignore you and let me make it up to you?”
    I raise an eyebrow. “Make it up to me how?”
    I half smile and she relaxes. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I’ll buy you lunch and drinks if you agree to come out with me to get trashed tonight.”
    “Find a way to reply to me in future.” I narrow my eyes at her, watching her shocked expression for a second before I relax my features. “My mind likes the gutter, and you’re on. Sean and I were just talking about hitting a club tonight.”
    She turns to Sean. “Do you mind me tagging along?”
    He studies her for a few minutes then looks at me. “Of course not. The more the merrier.”
    She turns and nods at me. “Thank you.”
    I want to ask her why her week was so bad but I don’t. We all like to keep secrets and have dark corners in our minds that don’t need anyone shining light on. I can see her eyes have darkened; maybe hers are even darker than mine. She’s troubled, haunted and I want to delve into her darkness and swim in her hurt, but I’ll wait.
    The rest of the class passes quickly, Melody never once touching pen to paper. “Where are we going for lunch?” I ask as we leave the class.
    “Melody!” Clive calls out her name and she turns. “What happened to you last night? I went back for you.”
    She shrugs. “I went home. I got tired.”
    His narrowed eyes in my direction cause a curve in my lip, my smile taunting him. Taking her wrist he gently coaxes her away from me but she pulls free.
    “Listen, Clive. I thought I made myself clear last night when your hands groped my ass and I told you I’m not interested.”
    He glares at her. “Then why did you come to the party with me?”
    “Because it was a party and I wanted to have fun. Just because I went to a party with you two,” she gestures to Clive and his wannabe boyfriend, “doesn’t mean it was an invitation to grope me.”
    She turns and leaves him heaving with anger. I follow her and sling my arm over her shoulder, just to wind him up further. She notices the cast peeking out of my shirt and wrapping around my thumb. “Shit. What happened?”
    I smirk and point behind her. “He happened. He tripped me on some stairs.”
    She turns to glare at the shrinking figure of Clive. “That son of a bitch!” Sean has fallen in step next to me and he chuckles.
    “So, just so we’re clear on this, just because you’re coming out with us that doesn’t mean we can freely grope your ass?” I ask with a straight face, earning a slap to my chest and a giggle. It’s a pretty sound but a thunder storm rolls into her eyes, making her laugh falter and stop abruptly. She is probably the only female I’ve ever been around for longer than five minutes and not got bored of. I don’t like the company of women… or men really. It’s hard to find someone on my intellectual level. People enrage me but there are a rare few who intrigue.
    She looks between Sean and me and lifts a shoulder. “Depends how many drinks you buy me.”
    We both laugh, only mine is for show. “Didn’t you agree you’re buying the drinks?”
    She smiles. “Does that mean I get to grope your asses?”
    Sean pushes the