Wild Bastard by Ella Savitskaya (book suggestions .txt) 📕

Matthew

"Quit? Do I have to live on your money? How's that? Become a kept woman?"

If she could tear me apart with eyes, Rie would have done it already. But only after me.

"Not a kept woman" I explain the simple truth, "You'll be the girl I'm in a relationship with. And you won't have to work in a bar where every drunkard mentally fucks you in every position.

"So you're the only one who should be fucking me, and only while I'm at home?"

I clench my fists, reminding myself that one of the reasons I'm addicted to this bitch is her metallic nature, which now I want, if not to break, at least to break through.

"Yes, I'm the only one who should be fucking you, but use your brain, Reenah! And answer for yourself. How long are you gonna be a bartender? Do you have any plans to apply next year? Or will you still be working as a bartender without a degree?"

"I'll do it!"

She whispers through her teeth, raising her chin even higher.

"The same way you did this year? Or do you manage to combine studying for exams with your work?"

Savage takes a few seconds to think. Her furious gaze darts to the floor, and then to my eyes. Black, sharp, piercing. She's angry, and I know why. Because I'm right.

"It's my business, Matthew! And I can do it by myself. As I've done all my life. Without anyone else's help. You don't have to tell me what to do. I`m not a little girl. Leave your dictatorial habits to your family, and don't you dictate to me!"

Bitch turns around and walks loudly across the laminate flooring, intending to leave the apartment. Only it won't work. With a few steps I catch up with her and nail her to the wall.

"My dictatorial habits will be practiced first and foremost on you, Reenah! Do you know why? Because if you don't get it right the first time, I'm gonna have to repeat it to you! Now you're not fucking alone! And you're not climbing your way through life on your own anymore! Turn off your proud, misplaced autonomy and use your brains." Rie moves her shoulders in an attempt to throw my hands off, but I squeeze my fingers tighter. "Why didn't you go to the university? Because you were working. Why would you need a job? To rent a place to live! Now we're making a logical fucking chain. I'll provide you with a place to live. All you have to do is prepare for the exams. Although, of course, I could offer you admission to this one through a bribe, but something tells me that you will refuse."

"I'll enter on my own"

 Fury hisses, but no longer twitches, as if thinking over my words.

"That's what I'm talking about. But you won't enter, not even in a year, if you're slaving practically every day. And your dream of medical education will still be a dream, and before you know it, five years pass, then ten, and they won't leave you in the bar. They'll find a younger chick"

She is looking at me, her chest rising and falling, fighting the urge to sink her claws into me, but her common sense prevails. The savage is not stupid, so she understands what life is all about. Without an education it is difficult to achieve something in life. And knowing her, slaving over desks is not her ultimate goal.

"It's not an attractive future, is it?" I squint, squeezing her frail shoulders.

How much time passes? Seconds? Minutes? I don't count, because I'm busy considering all the thought processes transpiring in reaction on the pensive face. Reenah gradually regains her breath, but her lips are still tightly pressed together.

"I can't not work at all" She says confidently after a moment. "I agree that the bar is not the best place, but there are no more options"

"There are always options" I soften the pressure, because I can see that she's already drawn the right conclusions. "And we can find you a suitable part-time job, so that you have time to study."

"We?"

The question echoes quietly down the hallway.

"We, Reenah"

After an hour and a half of reconciliation, we lay on the couch in the living room, exhausted, sweaty, and staring at the TV. We couldn't make it to the room. The couch here was comfortable and stable, and I think it will be enough for a month of active reconciliation, and then we will buy a new one.

The man in the movie is running away from some paranormal freaks, while I, with my nose on the top of Rie's head, twist a dark curl on my finger. The savage is beside me, throwing her leg over me and resting her chin on my chest. I hung onto her, and I don't notice how I start smiling myself. Who would have thought that I would enjoy just lying on the couch after sex? 

And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Hall's profile pops up in my memory. It's strange. For the second time in one day, I see the incredible resemblance between them again. I examine Reenah's sharp cheekbones, her snub nose, and her huge eyes, squinting from the intense scene. I figured out that we were going to live together on her third orgasm, and now I need to figure out something else that bothers me.

"Rie"

long hair slides through my fingers as the savage's gaze is fixed on the screen.

"Hm?"

"How did you end up in an orphanage?"

Reenah's gaze drifts away from the television and toward me.

"My parents brought ma there," She answers quietly, "or rather, my father. When I was two months old"

"Why just the father?"

A heavy sigh hints that it's hard for her to talk about it, but I need to find out, so that the itching thought doesn't gnaw at my mind.

"I've been looking for them. Found my mother. Her grave. The date of death coincides with the time I was placed in an orphanage. I tried to look for my father for a long time. But he vanished liked he never existed."

"Do you want to find him?"

"I don't know. For a long time I thought I did. Now I'm not sure. Why?"