I reluctantly let go of Hunter and reached for the door. “I should probably go before Victoria can see us.”
Hunter nodded, but before I could get out of the car, he grabbed my sleeve to hold me back. “Wait…Emily was worried about you when you didn’t come to school today. Maybe talk to her before you go.”
I shot him a smile. “Will do.”
Before I got out, I pressed another quick kiss to his lips, leaving him stunned as the door fell shut behind me. I couldn’t hold back a stupid grin as I walked towards the school building. My heart was still racing from the kiss, and I suddenly felt so light, like the only thing that had been holding me down was the distance from Hunter. Now that it no longer existed, everything felt possible.
By the time I reached the front doors, the corridors were quiet, and the rooms were vacant. Pretty much everyone had left already, but Emily was always the last one to go because she usually took her time putting all her stuff into her locker.
My own steps echoed loudly through the halls as I walked around looking for Emily, but they weren’t enough to drown out the loud voices I suddenly heard.
“Come on, babe. I want to see more than that.”
I passed it off as nothing, just two horny teenagers using the empty corridors to make out, but I came to a halt when I heard Emily’s voice.
She sounded annoyed when she exclaimed, “Bryan, stop it. I’m not going to do this at school. There are still people around here…and have you seen the cameras? I’d rather not film a sex tape for the principal.”
“Come on. Don’t be like that. I know you want it…”
Feeling nauseous as I heard the tone in his voice, I sneaked closer to the corner leading to the corridor the two of them were in. From where I was standing, I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear well enough to pick up on the sound of fabric rubbing against another.
“Bryan, stop,” Emily said, more insistent this time. “I don’t want to…Bryan, let go!”
“Come on, loosen up…Don’t you want to have some fun?”
Chapter 32
“No! Let go of me! I don’t want to—You’re hurting me!” Emily shrieked. Then there was a thump.
I immediately started sprinting and slithered around the corner, just in time to see Bryan pinning Emily against the wall, two hands ripping her blouse open. Her hands were pushing at his chest in a desperate attempt to shove him away, but she was trapped between the concrete behind her and his body.
Before I could reach them and do anything, a tall figure appeared at the opposite end of the corridor.
Liam was at Bryan’s side in seconds, hauling him away from Emily with more force than I had expected him to have, and slammed him against the opposite wall. Bryan crashed into the concrete face-forward with a sickening crack.
When he turned around with a pained scream, there was blood gushing out of his nose, dripping onto the front of his shirt.
“What’s your fucking problem?” he howled, staring at Liam.
“You’re my fucking problem,” Liam hissed and swung at the other boy, hitting him square on the left eye. “If you fucking touch her once more, I’m going to kill you. Do you understand?”
Before he could lunge again, I gripped his arm and pulled him back a little. “C’mon. That’s enough. Liam, it’s enough, okay?”
After a second, Liam lowered his hand but didn’t take his eyes off Bryan for a second.
“Keep your fingers off my girl, asshole,” Liam spat.
Blood sputtered when Bryan threw his head back and laughed. “Your girl, Wilson? As far as I know, you’ve spent the last few weeks running after her, staring longingly and not doing a damn thing about it like the sissy you are.”
I reached for Liam’s shoulder as he stepped closer to Bryan, in case I needed to keep him from knocking Bryan unconscious. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded, but I knew that it definitely wouldn’t look good in Liam’s school report.
Liam merely shrugged my hand off and said, staring the other boy down with a death-glare I had never seen on him before, “If doing something about it means sexually assaulting her and doing something against her will, then I’d prefer to keep running after her. Because unlike you, I actually care about her.”
Next to me, Emily’s eyes widened, and her lips parted to say something, but no sound came out.
Bryan opened his mouth, probably to object, but before he could make things even worse for himself, I roughly pushed him away and pointed at the door at the end of the corridor.
“Go to the nurse’s office and shut up. One more word and you’ll end up with worse than a broken nose.”
Bryan only glared at all of us once more before he strode towards the office, leaving a trail of blood drops behind him.
Liam and I spun around to look at Emily as soon as the door fell shut behind him.
“Are you—” I began and scanned her for any injuries, relieved to spot none.
“I’m fine,” Emily said, but her voice broke on the last word.
Liam stepped closer but then stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to do. “No, you’re not, Emily. Did he…Did he hurt you?”
Emily shook her head, but at the same time, her knees gave away, and she nearly fell if not for Liam, who slung a steadying arm around her waist.
And that was when the rest of her self-control disappeared.
Her dry sob got stifled by Liam’s shirt when she let herself be pulled against his chest, her face nestled in the crook of his neck. Shaking hands clung to his jacket, while he tentatively stroked her hair with one hand, muttering quiet reassurances.
After a moment, Emily started an attempt to button her blouse up again, but her hands trembled, and she couldn’t do it.
Liam and I were both quiet, giving her the opportunity to try it herself, then Liam gently said, “Let me.”
Only when she nodded shakily, he carefully started to do up the rest of the buttons.
I watched them for a few seconds but strangely felt like I was intruding a personal moment. So I turned around and walked over to the nurse’s office, where I found Bryan sprawled on the couch with a self-pitying look on his face.
The nurse was nowhere to be seen, so I entered and closed the door behind me.
When I turned back around, Bryan was staring daggers at me. One hand pressed an ice pack to his nose. “You’re Hunter Adam’s lapdog, aren’t you?”
I settled for not answering that and sent a blank stare his way instead.
“What do you want?” he sneered.
“See you in pain?” I suggested and looked him over. “You’re not bleeding anymore. Pity.”
“Dude, what’s your problem? What did I ever do to you?”
I narrowed my eyes at him and straddled a chair in a safe distance to the couch. “Are you really asking me that right now? You just sexually harassed my best friend. Should I be delighted about that?”
Bryan sniffled and wiped the back of his hand over his nose. He studied the red traces on it with great interest while he said, “Don’t worry. I won’t touch her again. If I would’ve known she’s a stuck-up prude, I wouldn’t have even looked at her twice.”
I was on my feet in a heartbeat, stopping only inches away from him. Without thinking twice about it, I raised my hand and brought it down hard on his cheek. A satisfying smack ricocheted through the room. I probably would’ve enjoyed the baffled look on Bryan’s face even more if it hadn’t been for the nurse returning to the room just then.
The curvy lady shook her head at me with her hands on her hips and a scolding look on her face. “What do you think you’re doing, young man? I’m not patching people up in here just so you continue brawling as soon as the bleeding stops!”
“Sorry, ma’am,” I said and took a step back. “I was just asking Bryan to follow me to the principal’s.”
“Fine, go on then. I don’t want to clean any more blood off this couch today.”
I didn’t need to be told twice and was
surprised to see that Bryan was following me obediently out of the door and to the principal’s office. Now that he had been on the receiving end of Liam’s anger once, he wasn’t acting as cocky anymore.
Obviously, the principal wasn’t happy to have to deal with a fistfight between a few immature teenagers, but he started really listening when I explained to him what Bryan had done to trigger Liam’s violent reaction.
Bryan’s punishment, a few weeks of suspension, was milder than I would’ve wished but better than nothing. Bryan bolted as soon as we were back in the hallway. I looked at him until I heard the front door slam shut behind him.
Then I made my way back to where I left Emily and Liam behind. They were still there, but they were now sitting against the wall. Emily was talking while Liam watched her intently with a worried look on his face.
My heart jumped when I saw that Liam’s hand was resting on Emily’s in the space between them.
About time.
I felt guilty for ruining their moment, but I wanted to get the hell out of there, so I cleared my throat and watched in amusement as they jumped and Liam immediately pulled his hand back.
“I went to the principal with Bryan. He’s in for a few weeks of suspension and will get expelled if something like that happens again.”
“That asshole deserves worse,” Liam said with an unhappy curl of his lips as he stood up.
Emily took the hand he offered her and let him pull her to his feet. I pretended to overlook that their hands were intertwined for longer than necessary.
Em made a feeble attempt of smiling at me, even though she was still unusually pale and looked thoroughly shaken. “I’m so glad you were here. I was worried when you didn’t show up to class, especially today…”
“Yeah, I had to…deal with some stuff,” I muttered.
Emily nodded understandingly before she asked, trying to sound cheery, “So, are we getting out of here? I need a hot shower and some comfort food.”
Liam, who had been quiet during our exchange, immediately perked up at that. “I have an awesome recipe for brownies. If you want to, I can make some, and we could watch some movies? Star Wars, maybe?”
Judging by the look on Emily’s face, I was almost certain that this was the exact moment when she realized that she was in way deeper than she had thought.
“That sounds amazing, actually.”
“Jules, are you coming, too?” Liam asked.
I rolled my eyes at him behind Emily’s back. “Sorry, I can’t, still have to prepare my presentation for Biology tomorrow. You two have a nice time though.”
Internally, Liam was probably bursting with joy, but he tried hard to conceal it and shrugged casually. “Oh, okay. See you tomorrow then?”
I nodded and beamed at them. “Yeah. Have fun.”
After hugging Emily and doing that man-hug thing with Liam, I went back to my car.
For now, Emily was okay. I knew that Liam would take care of her and make sure she was alright before he brought her home. He pretty much worshipped her, and right now I was incredibly glad about that, smiling to myself as I headed home.
***
Emily seemed almost normal the next day. The only things hinting at what happened yesterday was the strain in her smiles, the way she held her head lower than usual, and the fact that she was wearing a turtleneck instead of her usually lower-cut tops.
Liam hardly ever left her side. They drove to school together in his car, chatting over their Starbucks cups when they crossed the parking lot. After the first period, Liam waited for her by her locker and walked her to her next class.
Now, they were sitting together on a bench on the parking lot. Emily was resting her head against his shoulder while they were watching something on his phone.
“You think she’s okay?” Nate asked, directing my attention back to him.
I told him about everything that happened yesterday. His reaction was exactly as expected. First came disbelief, then a steady stream of surprisingly creative swear words, then concerned questions about her well-being.
“She’s as close to okay as she could be right now,” I said.
After a moment of silence, Nate said, “You know, I thought maybe we could have a sleepover tonight? Emily told me that her parents are out tonight, and I kinda don’t want her to be all alone.”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea.” I agreed. “I’ll just have to ask my parents.”
“Cool. My parents won’t be at home, so we can do it at my place. We could also invite Alexis, Liam, and Adam. Oh, and Hunter, of course.”
A smile spread across my face. “Can you ask him?”
Nate nodded, but there was a weird look on his face as he did so.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Uhm…It’s just…” Nate huffed and ran a hand through his hair. “Every time I tried to talk to him over the last few days, Victoria was with him. And Alex told me that he spends most afternoons with her, too…”
My jaw hardened at the thought of that. “Apparently, she’s taking what she can get, now that she has some control over him.”
Nate opened his mouth and said something, but his reply got drowned out by the sound of the school bell announcing the start of the next period.
I groaned and adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder. The next class was Biology. I had spent the better part of last night working on the presentation and read it so many times I knew the words by heart by now, but the thought of presenting it in front of the others made my skin crawl.
“You coming?” Nate asked and pointed at the school entrance.
I followed him inside wordlessly, going over the text once again in my head.
My loathing of presentations and speaking in front of strangers, in general, had started around the same time as my anxiety, which was after Luke’s death. The shrink I had seen back then, Mrs. Meyer, said that an anxiety disorder wasn’t rare after a traumatic experience.
I had been dreading this day for the past week now, knowing that I would have to speak for at least five minutes with everyone listening and staring at me. When Nate and I slithered into the classroom only seconds before Mr. Smith waltzed in, my eyes darted to the last row immediately. As usual, my heart skipped a beat when I spotted Hunter, and then continued to beat twice as fast. I wondered if it would always be like this, or if I would someday get used to this feeling.
Hunter was on his phone, strands of dark hair falling into his eyes while he cradled his chin in one hand. His mouth was curled into the tiniest smile, making me wonder what he was looking at on his phone.
As if he had sensed me staring, he looked up just then. Our eyes met almost instantly, and Hunter’s lips broke into a secretive grin. I smiled back timidly and started to walk towards him when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, gripping so hard that I spun around with a startled yelp. To say that I was surprised to see Victoria would have been a lie.
As always, there was a cruel sneer playing around her bright red lips.
“Watch where you’re going,” she said, nodding towards Hunter, who was watching us warily.
He looked like he was about to get out of his seat to break us up, so I lightly shook my head at him.
“I don’t think that’s where you’re supposed to sit.”
I slapped her hand away and walked off to where Nate was sitting without another word. When I turned around again, Hunter wasn’t looking at me, too busy glaring at Victoria.
The first few minutes of class went by, and the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach grew, accompanied by a nervous fluttering in my chest. It wasn’t only because of the knowledge that Victoria was sitting next to Hunter, so close that she was almost in his lap, but also because I knew I was about to give my presentation in the next few minutes.
By the time my name got called, I felt like I was about to choke. I went up to the front of the class without looking at anyone, keeping my head down and my eyes on my notes.
Mr. Smith
silenced the class and told me to begin.
I took a shaky breath and willed myself to face the students in front of me. My voice sounded thin even to myself when I started. “Index fossils are fossils that can help archaeologist determine the age of other archaeological finds in the same sedimentary layer. Uh…”
I swallowed and looked around for a moment. Everyone was gaping at me with more or less bored faces. Emily and Nate both seemed slightly worried. The only person looking remotely friendly was Hunter. He gave me an encouraging smile and gestured for me to continue.
“Uhm…Common index fossils are ammonites and…and different kinds of corals…”
Whispering arose in the last row, making me look up from my notes.
“Can you understand what he says?”
“Why is he stuttering like that?”
“Am I supposed to take notes of this gibberish?”
My breath quickened until it came in short pants. The urge to sprint out of the class was overwhelming, but I knew that would ruin my grade, so I stayed where I was.
“There are also—” I muttered, but before I could finish the sentence, Victoria cut in.
“Hey, I didn’t understand anything you just said…Could you repeat it, please? And try to talk a little louder.”
Approving murmur sounded, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “I said that index fossils a-are…”
“Louder.” Victoria demanded again.
I looked over at her smirking face. She didn’t even seem to notice the dirty looks Hunter sent her. Or maybe she just didn’t care.
“Index fossils are—”
“Sweetie, no one can understand you,” she said.
For a few seconds, I just stared at her, too perplexed by her audacity to even say anything. Then my gaze dropped to the sheet with notes in my hand. I tried to read the next sentence, but my vision seemed to blur. The letters were nothing but swirls my brain refused to decode. None of it made sense.
My palms were sweating, and my heart was racing. My tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of my mouth. More and more people started to grow impatient and whispered loudly, their voices like a swarm of hornets in my ears.
Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes Page 35