30. LOOK OUT
When I got to school the next morning, Patrick was waiting for me in the parking lot. He parked next to my usual spot. I was still sore from yesterday, so I was slow to move. Patrick hurried over to my door and helped me out.
I wore my hair down, partially covering my face. Thankfully, the weather was on the cool side, so the long sleeved shirt I wore didn’t seem odd. I didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. Last thing I wanted to do was be asked a million questions or be the focus of any gossip.
“Here.” I handed him his sweatshirt from yesterday.
“Hang onto it.” He looked me up and down and shook his head. “You didn’t bring a jacket. You might need it later. It’s supposed to be cold today.” He took my backpack off my shoulder, opened it and put the sweatshirt in it.
As we walked to physics, Emily and Bobby came up to us. They wanted to know how I was doing and make sure I was okay. They hung out with us in Mr. D’s room until the bell rang. Joey walked in after the first bell.
He walked over to my table. “Hey, Liz. Patrick.” Joey was terse when speaking to Patrick.
“Joey.” Patrick nodded hello.
“Hi.” I was glad he came over.
“Joey, thanks for looking out for Liz yesterday.” Unlike yesterday at lunch, Patrick wasn’t glaring at him. He was nicer to Joey.
“Yeah, no problem.” Joey still kept his distance a bit, still wary of Patrick.
“Patrick, could I have a second with Joey?” Patrick nodded and got up. Joey seemed surprised that Patrick left us alone so easily. Well, as alone as you are in a room that is filling up before class starts. “Seriously, Joey, thank you. I don’t know if I had a chance to say that yesterday.”
“You’re welcome. Are you sure you want to still be hanging around him?” Joey pointed in Patrick’s direction.
“Yes. It’s not his fault for what happened. I’m not letting Becca rule over me and decide who I’m friends with.” There was a slight edge in my voice as I took offense to his question.
“Okay, just as long as you’re sure.” He didn’t seem sure. I didn’t care. It wasn’t his choice either.
“I am.” That I was sure of.
“You know, she won’t be happy about that.”
“I know.” This time, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. “That’s her problem. I’m not going to let her get away with treating me like that.”
He smiled. “Nice to know it wasn’t just me that you fight back with. Let me know if you need any help. I’d be glad to take her down a notch or three.”
“Really?” That piqued my interest.
“Yeah. Just let me know.”
I grinned, “I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.” It was reassuring to know that someone would help me if I wanted. I couldn’t ask Patrick. That wouldn’t be fair or right. I would never ask him to pick sides. He shouldn’t have to. No, he needed to be innocent of anything that would happen. He needed to be protected from any other fallout and from, more importantly, Becca. Not that I had figured out what I was going to do exactly. I had a complete blank on that part.
The bell rang to start class. Joey went to his seat and Patrick came back and sat beside me. Mr. D started reviewing the chapter for the upcoming test. It was good to focus on physics, well, any class work really, and not on Becca. I was not going to let her ruin the sanctuary that class has always been for me.
After physics, Patrick walked me part way to my next class. It was obvious he was worried about me walking alone. At a certain point, he didn’t have much of a choice. His class was in the opposite direction and different part of campus than mine. Besides, I doubted that anything would happen between classes. There were so many students walking to and from class, I really wasn’t alone. This wasn’t after school with no one around or an alley in a strange city. Then again, I guess, technically, there were plenty of people around me in San Francisco, but still, no one noticed what happened. Okay, I just successfully freaked myself out again. I hate this feeling.
After Patrick and I split, I walked as fast as I could to my computer science class. I clutched my backpack and kept looking around me, like I was on red alert or something. Once I got to class, I felt like I could breathe. Ahh, sanctuary again.
I hurried once again, by myself, to my next class, choir. We were still in rehearsal mode since the concert was tomorrow night. So much to do… It felt great to sing. To just release my anxiety and stress and just sing. It was like what a good workout or run would be to an athlete. I wouldn’t run or lift weights to relieve stress, I’d likely trip or drop a weight on my foot. No, that wouldn’t be good. But, singing… Singing gave me that same rush of adrenaline. It made the world right, at least for the moment.
After choir, I felt better, calmer. I didn’t have that overwhelming feeling to sprint to my next class. As I walked outside, it felt like it was colder than it was before class. I was glad Patrick put his sweatshirt in my backpack. I put it on and felt instantly better, warmer. I rounded the corner of the building to my English class. I was almost to class when someone ran into me. Their shoulder pushed into mine and their huge shoulder bag barreled into my side, right into one of my bruises.
“OW! Son of a …” I yelled. That hurt. My face and body tightened.
The girl and her friends didn’t stop. She spun around to walk backwards. I looked back at her and saw her roll her eyes and laugh, “You should watch yourself.” She turned back around and laughed with her friends as she walked away into the crowd.
Was that a threat? I kept walking to class. I was a few feet away from the door when Patrick came up to me.
“You okay?” He could see the pain streaked across my face.
“Yeah. Someone accidentally ran into me.” I managed to say through gritted teeth. “Got me right in a sore spot.” The girl looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her. It was like knowing that someone went to your school, but not knowing much else about them.
Once English class was over, Patrick wouldn’t leave my side. He stayed right next to me all through lunch. Okay, with the exception of when I had to go to the restroom. In which case, he made sure that both Emily and Cassie went in with me. He walked all three of us to the restroom, though. Patrick was definitely in full bodyguard mode.
I had to admit, while I didn’t want him to be stressed out and worry so much about me, it did make me feel better. I felt safer that it just wasn’t my pair of eyes, and apparent pathetic sense of intuition, that were on alert and watching out for me. He had the rest of the crew keeping an eye on me as well.
Patrick and I walked to math class together. I saw the girl who ran into me earlier. She seemed so familiar. She was staring at us. Patrick followed my gaze back to her.
“Do you know who she is?” Why was I seeing this person again?
“Umm.. yeah. That’s Nikki. She’s one of Becca’s friends.” He was hesitant in his response. I never really saw Becca with her friends, or rather, didn’t pay much attention to her when she was. But, that’s how I knew her. She was there yesterday. She held me while Becca kicked the crap out of me. I couldn’t help but tense up and ball my hands into fists, it was instinctive. He noticed my reaction. “What is it?”
“She was there.” I snarled in a whisper. He shot at look at Nikki, put his arm around me and we hurried to math.
“I’m walking you to sixth period.” He wasn’t asking or offering, he was telling me.
“Won’t you be late for your class?” I didn’t want him to get in any trouble.
“Don’t worry. I can make it in time.” He was adamant. “And you stay there after the bell to wait for me. I’ll walk you to rehearsal.”
I wanted to argue more. But I was almost as much scared as I was ready to fight back. I wanted to run up to her and kick her ass. That would not be wise. I knew that. It wasn’t time yet. The way I saw it, he was just as much protecting me from Becca as from myself. No, if I did what I wanted to do
at this moment in time, I’d get suspended. I could not have that happen. I’ve worked too hard and she wasn’t going to ruin it.
Falling (Bits and Pieces, Book 1) Page 70