The Tutor
Synopsis: Raine Hepper is a college student that’s on the fast track for greatness. He’s smart, athletic, and well on his way to a full scholarship to MIT. Everything is going his way until one drunken night in Vegas with a few friends. Now Raine owes nearly $15, 000 to a man who’ll do anything to get it, or watch his dreams and family go up in smoke.
Kya Gaines is determined to make something of herself. As the first female in her family’s known history to go to college, she has plans to make it all the way to the top of Western Pharmaceutical’s corporate chain and have the life she always dreamed of. But Kya is finding that the road to success can be very lonely when your dreams are your only priority.
Raine thinks that all is lost until a popular trust fund baby in the form of Jason Wilks offers him the way out of his financial difficulty. All Jason asks in return is that Raine seduce the widely known shrew that is Kya Gaines – and get proof. Raine enlists for Kya’s tutoring services, and what starts out as a mission to save himself turns out to be a journey of love and lessons for the both of them.
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Kya Gaines
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Raine Hepper
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Adelaide "Addy" Hepper
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Soleil "Sunny" Hepper
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Tucker Hepper-Brown
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Michelle Potter
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Nora Gaines
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Lauralee "Mama" Potter
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Jason Wilks
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Preface:
~ Late March ~
Raine managed to block the punch that the burly, mustached man threw at the side of his head. He immediately regretted it. The larger, even burlier man behind him then grabbed both of his arms and pinned them to his sides with force that Rain could only describe as inhuman. The smaller man swung again, landing his fist just below Raine’s ribcage, winding him.
“Think you’re a tough guy, pretty boy?” his attacker asked, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. “You wanna take a swing at me?”
Raine managed to shake his head ‘no’ while gasping for much needed air. He felt his face being grabbed roughly, and he could smell the cigar tobacco on the man’s fingers. The man pulled his face up, forcing Raine to look into his beady, brown eyes.
“I asked you a question, college boy,” the man said, moving closer to Raine’s face. “You wanna hit me? Show me how tough you are?”
“No,” Raine wheezed out, before coughing. He felt the fingers on his face tighten.
“No sir, Mr. Bixby.” The man said. “SAY IT!”
“No…no sir, Mr. Bixby,” Raine repeated, still fighting for air. Mr. Bixby smiled, revealing a row of crooked, yellowed teeth.
“Good boy,” Mr. Bixby said, slapping Raine’s cheek a bit too hard. “Now, on with business. Let ‘em go, Harvey.”
The giant behind him released his grip on Raine, and Raine nearly fell over. He didn’t realize that Harvey had been holding him up.
“You know why I’m here, don’t ya kid?” Mr. Bixby asked casually as he pulled a cigar out from his breast pocket. Raine held his throbbing side and looked up at him.
“Yeah.” He answered. Mr. Bixby stuck the cigar between his teeth as his hands patted his pockets for a lighter.
“Good,” Bixby said. “I’d hate to have to explain it to ya. So, do you have it?”
Raine took a deep breath. He wanted to scream at this Neanderthal in front of him that there was no way he could have assembled $20,000 over the course of two weeks. But his shallow breathing warned him to keep his cool.
“No,” he answered simply. “All I have is what I gave you.”
Raine had to sell the one thing he ever possessed in his life. Caroline, his 1973 Dodge Charger, which he’d bought for $3500, and restored practically from the ground up. He didn’t have the money for original or even particularly brand new parts when he restored it, so he wasn’t able to sell it for what he wanted. In the end, he’d only gotten $4000 for it, which didn’t even cover half of what he put into it. But he didn’t have the time to wait for the perfect buyer. Between the car and selling a few other small luxuries he owned – his iPod, some CD’s and his laptop, Raine had managed to scrounge together about $6300. He thought it was a good down payment. He was wrong.
“This is all you got?” Bixby asked, patting the front of his jacket where the brown envelope containing all of Raine’s money sat. “This is just fuckin’ sad, junior.”
Harvey let out a guffaw behind Raine and Bixby let out a chuckle as well. Raine didn’t think it was funny. Bixby shook his head as he lit his cigar. He took a long drag of it once it was lit and blew the smoke into Raine’s face.
“Well, this ain’t shit, kid.” Bixby said slowly. “This ain’t even half of what you owe to Mr. Townsend. You really expect me to go all the way back to Vegas and tell him that we came all the way out to Collegeville to pick up some pocket change?”
Raine eyed Bixby through the cloud of smoke between their faces. It stung his eyes, but Raine refused to give Bixby the satisfaction of letting him know it.
“It’s all I have, sir,” Raine repeated. “I need more time for the rest.”
“More time?” Bixby asked. He then started laughing in a high-pitched giggle that started Harvey laughing again too. “You hear that Harv? The prima donna wants more time!”
Harvey responded with another resounding laugh, and Raine fought the eye roll that he wanted to make at the stupidity of the situation. Where did these millionaire casino owners find these low-lives anyways? He thought. His reverie was interrupted by the searing pain through his gut as Bixby landed another hard punch, this time in his stomach. He followed that punch by another in the same region, and another dangerously near Raine’s temple. Raine’s vision was suddenly marked with grey and white spots as he fell to his knees.
“You don’t tell me you need more time to get my fuckin’ money! You hear me you little pissant!” Bixby screamed. “You think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know that you little Ivy League punks are rolling in fuckin’ cash? Don’t insult me!”
Raine brought his hand to the side of his head where he’d been hit. The pounding in his head now matched the throbbing in his abdomen and chest.
“I’m…not,’ Raine said slowly. It was taking all he had not to pass out. “I – don’t have money…scholarship.”
Bixby grabbed a handful of Raine’s hair and pulled upwards, forcing Raine to follow. When he was standing again, he swayed as the room spun around him.
“What did you just say?” Bixby asked, looking closely at Raine’s face. Raine swallowed hard and forced his eyes open wider.
“I said,” he panted. “I don’t have money. I’m here on a scholarship.”
Bixby continued to study his face, small puffs of smoke coming from his mouth as he breathed. He finally released Raine’s hair and stepped back.
“That would explain that shithole your Mom and sister live in.” Bixby said thoughtfully.
Raine squinted at Bixby. How the fuck did he know about his mom and Sunny? As if reading his mind, Bixby grinned and said,
“Oh yeah, kid. We know all about your little family. Gotta say, pretty runs in your family. Especially that hot mother of yours.”
Raine felt his fists clench shut as rage surged through him. It must have shown in his face, because Bixby’s smile faltered slightly and he raised an eyebrow. Raine turned his eyes away and bit the inside of his lip until he tasted blood, forcing himself to stay calm. Now was not the time to pick another fight. Bixby chuckled.
“Good choice, pretty boy,” Bixby said, noting Raine’s change in disposition. “So, where’d you get the coin you were playing with in Vegas?” Bixby asked.
“Scratch ticket,” Raine said. “I had one of those lottery scratch tickets, and I won $5000. I still have it if you don’t believe me.”
Bixby stared at Raine again before shaking his head.
“You know what?” Bixby suddenly said, his crooked smile reappearing. “I’m a nice guy. I understand that shit happens. I’ll tell ya what. I’ll grant your wish. I’ll give you some time to get my money.”
Raine slowed his breathing. He wanted to be sure that he’d heard Bixby right.
“You…will?” Raine asked slowly, hoping it didn’t earn him another punch. Bixby nodded.
“That’s what I just said, wasn’t it? Shit, and you’re supposed to be a college student.” Bixby said. “What time does college get out, Harv?”
Harvey took one of his thick hands and scratched it against his stubbly jaw.
“I think around May, boss.” He boomed back. Bixby looked skywards for a moment before looking back at Raine.
“Two months, yeah, that sounds more than reasonable,” Bixby said. “You got until the end of May to come up with the rest of the cash, pretty boy. And I mean all of it.”
Raine swallowed thickly. Two months? To come up with almost $15,000? He didn’t know how he’d do it, or if he could do it. Bixby tilted his head.
“What? You think that’s not enough time?” Bixby asked, stepping closer to Raine again. “I think that’s right fuckin’ sweet of me, don’t you Harv?”
”Like a got-damn genie, Bix” Harvey replied. Bixby smiled.
“Yeah, a genie. And this is the one wish I’m granting you, Hepper.” Bixby threatened. “And when I come back here at the end of May, if you don’t have all my money sitting here waitin’ for me…”
Bixby shook his fist before grabbing Raine’s face again.
“Let’s just say that by the time I’m done with you and your pretty little family, today’s gonna look like a walk in heaven. You got it?”
Raine nodded firmly.
“Yeah. I got it.”
Bixby looked intensely into Raine’s eyes once more before releasing him and straightening his jacket. He beckoned to Harvey.
“Let’s go Harv. We’ll leave our little college genius to figuring out how to get our money.” Bixby ordered. He waved mockingly at Raine. “Toodles, pretty boy.”
Harvey stepped out from behind Raine and fell in stride with Bixby. Raine watched them until they disappeared inside the black Lincoln they’d arrived in and drove off down the dark street. He then exhaled and let his aching body fall back against the brick wall behind him.
He wondered how the hell things had gotten so out of hand so fast. One day, he was just like any other college kid, just doing his best to make it through. Now, he owed a Vegas kingpin more money than he’d seen in his life, and he’d managed to jeopardize both his future and that of the people he loved. He needed an out. God help him, for the first time in his life, he needed an out more than anything. He closed his eyes and did something he hadn’t done in over ten years. He prayed. He prayed to God to give him a chance – a way to get out of this mess. He opened his eyes when he felt cool wetness against his cheek. Around him, he watched as the ground darkened in little spots as his namesake fell from above. Maybe that was his answer. Maybe even God had nothing but tears for him now.
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Chapter one will be coming eventually; I already have four other stories that are being worked on concurrently, but I had to get this one out lol. Anyhow, that's that for this story.
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