23. Juliet
23
JULIET
I work double shifts over the rest of the weekend just so I don’t have to think of the Scorpion Kings, but each night as I lie down on my futon—praying I’ve exhausted myself to the point of no dreams—I’m disappointed to return right back to that damn forest. By the time Monday morning rolls around, I regret ever wishing that my usual nightmares would disappear. I’d take being chased by zombies or falling from a twenty-story building over the three assholes now haunting me every night anytime.
When the bus arrives Monday morning to shuttle me and the others waiting in the pre-dawn light, I keep my hood up and over my head and don’t look at anyone. Despite my obvious desire to remain invisible, there’s really no avoiding notice at school now. Maybe I should’ve thought better about the bright, electric blue hair—but then, it’d been something I'd always wanted to do before and I have no parents now to tell me no.
“ Bitch .” Someone hisses at me as they pass by.
The first bell of the day rings, announcing that school is about to begin. I ignore the stink-eye from a few of Silverwood Public’s finest and make my way to my locker to grab my books. Despite hoping I could avoid using it due to all the vandalism, the more assignments that pile up, the more space in my backpack is needed. That means resigning myself to dealing with daily trash and cruel notes.
A shoulder slams into mine as I turn, slapping the locker door shut.
“ Whore .”
I grit my teeth and don’t respond. I’m doing so much better at this turning the other cheek thing—it’s hard, but hopefully the more I ignore the comments and general shitty behavior, the fewer people will go out of their way to antagonize me. After all, there’s only so much patience a person can have, and even if I try my best, I know I’m bound to snap one of these days. I’m honestly more shocked it hasn’t happened yet.
The first half of the day flies by. I spy Roquel in the halls, but keep walking when she ignores me in favor of the football jock she’d banged at the party. Mads waves to me with a remorseful smile as she hurries by, her arms laden down with a bunch of papers. I stop to consider whether or not I should offer to help her, but before I can make a decision she’s out of earshot as she dives around a corner and disappears from view.
With a sigh, I turn to head to my next period when something soggy hits the back of my head. Jerking to a stop, I reach back and my fingers come away covered in some sort of red-brown sludge. Laughter echoes back to me. I turn my head slowly, lifting my gaze to the end of the hall where a trio of girls stand against the lockers, smirking at me. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who launched the attack.
Megan White’s angular face twisted into a self-satisfied smile. Next to her is Lindsey and on her other side is some girl whose name I’m sure I know since she’s in at least two of my classes, but I can’t quite recall at this moment. The nameless girl is the one my focus lingers on. Her back is against the lockers, her hips jutting out as she rolls a piece of shit BIC lighter between her fingers. They’re banned from campus along with cigarettes, but that doesn’t stop students from bringing them in. I’m about to teach the bitch exactly why she should’ve left it at home.
My hands fall to my sides and I take the first step towards the trio. Megan leans away from the lockers and moves to the front of her posse. My eyes remain on the third, nameless, girl. As if they all share one brain cell, the three of them straighten and meet me halfway down the hall.
I don’t stop until I’m right in front of them.
“Do you remember what happened the last time you did this?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
The third girl flicks her BIC between her fingers, glancing from me to her friends. On Megan’s other side, Lindsey sneers, “You got off easy because the teachers got involved.”
I switch my gaze to her, my eyes dropping to the off-brand Mexican soda clutched in one hand. It’s half-empty, but that’s not what catches my attention—it’s the fact that the bottle is pure glass. I file that information away in the back of my mind before turning my gaze to Megan.
“Don’t start this shit again,” I snap. “You won’t like how it ends.”
Megan scoffs. “I wouldn’t have to do this at all if you would take the hint.” She leans close enough for me to smell the scent of spearmint on her breath. “Get out of Silverwood, Donovan. No one wants you here.”
“I’m well aware of that fact.” It’s not like they’ve kept it a secret thus far. “But I’ve got a lease to live out,” I continue, “and I need my diploma if I’m going to go to college. So, like it or not, I’m here, Megan. Deal with it. This is your final warning; leave me alone or else.”
Her hand slaps my shoulder, sending me back a step. “Or else what? ”
I tamp down the rage that threatens to boil over by reminding myself that they feel wronged. Their anger is valid. If someone ruined my family’s finances, I’d be pissed too. Hell, my own father ruined our family. I am pissed. We’re the same, the students of Silverwood Public and I. They just can’t see it, and they can’t get to the one responsible, so here I am, taking them on simply because, in their eyes, I’m guilty by association.
“Just…” I take a long breath as two shadows appear around the corner, catching my attention. My entire body goes stiff when I spy Gio and Lex and Nolan round into the hallway and stop. Fuck, I do not want to be around them right now. I might not be able to escape them in my dreams, but reality is different. Even if it means giving up on beating Megan’s face in, I’ll give in just to get the hell away from the trio of assholes that won’t let me fucking rest.
I focus on Megan again and straighten my shoulders. “Just let it go,” I snap. “You don’t fuck with me and I won’t do anything that we’ll both regret.”
The last part is a lie. If she stops her bullshit, I won’t have to do anything, but if she doesn’t, well, the only one of us that will regret my actions will be her.
Another breath and another step back. I turn away, wiping off the crust of whatever nasty trash they’d thrown at me against my jeans. Five feet. I get maybe five feet before I feel nails digging into my scalp and a hand locks onto my hair, tightening and yanking back.
Game. Fucking. On.
The feeling in my limbs goes dead as I spin, giving her no warning. A rushing sound slams into my ears as my fist flies toward her stunned face. Why she’s so surprised when she attacked me first, I won’t ever understand. Cartilage collapses under my knuckles and blood runs red from both her nostrils. Megan’s eyes widen and she stumbles back, running into the two girls behind her. Lindsey’s soda bottle crashes to the floor, orange liquid smearing across the flat surface as she breaks Megan’s fall. The third girl jumps forward, a snarl on her face as she reaches for me, dropping her lighter that clatters to the ground.
Oh, hell no. I dive away from her grasping hands, turning and slipping around her back when she tries to grab ahold of my hair like Megan had. The strands flutter against the base of my throat as I take the nameless girl down to the cold, tiled hallway floor.
“Lindsey!” She immediately starts screaming as several students nearby take out their phones. I already know this is going to end up on the internet before Lindsey’s hand wraps into the back of my shirt and yanks me up.
The nameless girl swivels, getting to her feet, and I grin as I slam my sneakered foot into her gut before I twist out of Lindsey’s hold. The BIC lighter catches my attention where it slid up against the wall of lockers. Before I can think better, I dive for it.
“What the fuck!” Hands grasp at me, yanking me back as my fingers close around the cylindrical object. I shake it, checking to make sure there’s actual liquid inside.
Fingers dig past my neck, wrapping around my throat and my lips curve upward. Flicking my thumb over the wheel and depressing the button as I shove the flame that sputters to life right against the hand on my neck. Heat warms my own skin, but the responding scream and the sudden release is music to my ears. My chest heaves up and down as I slowly get back to my feet and turn to face the trio of bitches that started this whole thing.
Megan’s still clutching a hand over her nose as she glares at me. The twin lines of red dropping past her fingers over her chin are far too familiar to her face.
“I warned you,” I say, sucking in a breath. “I told you not to fuck with me.”
The first day had been a warning—this isn’t that. They’ve had enough warnings. I switch my attention to Lindsey, who’s staring down at her shaking hand as if she can’t figure out how I burned her. I shake the lighter again and smile wide when she finally lifts her gaze to mine. Her features contort into a mask of rage, her too-big nose scrunching up as her thin lips scowl back at me.
“You fucking bitch!” she screams.
When she launches herself at me, it’s easy enough to take a single step to the side and let her run face-first into the lockers. Not that I’ll let her punishment stop there. Oh no. I grip her by the back of the neck and hold her against the rusted metal doors before glancing over my shoulders. “I tried to tell you,” I say, the words dark and wicked. “I tried to warn you—told you to let it go and leave me alone, but did you listen?” I switch back to where Lindsey bucks under my hold.
Depressing the button on the lighter again, I hold the flame right up against her cheek. She immediately goes still—the threat of being burned enough to stop any further resistance. A pitiful whimper escapes her.
“I don’t want shit from any of you except to be left. The fuck. Alone. ” I grit the words out through clenched teeth.
Lindsey shakes under my hold, her slender body trembling against the lockers as she tries to edge away from the fire in my hand. I glance at it, watching the flame flicker and sway, dancing in my grip…
It wouldn’t be hard to put it closer to her face, to hold it down against her flesh until her skin bubbles and splits. A scar would show her—would show them all—what happens when they fuck with me. Hurting her won’t take back all the shit they’ve done. It won’t erase my father’s actions, or my mother’s abandonment. Hell, hurting her probably won’t bring me more than a single moment of satisfaction—of the knowledge that I’m stronger than the ones who are trying to take me down.
I know I shouldn’t, but I still want to. I want to hurt her.
As if my body moves on its own, I bring the flame up and hold it in front of her eyes. “You see this?” I ask, moving it closer as her hands slap against the metal doors and she screams in shock and fear.
“Stop!” Lindsey forgets herself for a moment and jerks back.
“If I recall correctly,” I say, my voice far calmer than it should be as I lower the flame until the ends of her hair curl away from the heat. “That’s exactly what I told you to do. Are you going to leave me alone now? Have you learned your lesson?”
“Yes! Yes! I’ll stop. Oh, my god!” she screams as more of her hair curls away from the flames. “Someone get this psycho off me!”
“ Princess. ” I release the lighter’s button as that low voice whispers against the side of my cheek. I’d been so focused on Lindsey’s struggling body that I hadn’t noticed when Nolan had gotten close. Now that he is, though, and I recognize it, I’m viscerally aware of the heat of him pressed to my side.
He reaches for my hand, fingers circling my wrist, and forces me to take a step away from Lindsey ... then another and another until we’re across the hall from her.
“Gio! Do you see what she did? She’s fucking crazy.” Megan’s shrieking enters my ears, but it’s like listening to sounds in water—muffled and laborious.
“I saw that you started shit, Meg.” Gio’s voice pops the bubble, coming through clearly as he steps into my line of sight. “She told you to stop—you didn’t.”
“She could’ve scarred Lindsey for life!” Megan shoots back.
Lindsey sobs and collapses to the floor as her friend—the nameless third girl—approaches and puts her arms around her, glaring in my direction as she does. I take comfort in the note of fear that shudders her expression when she can’t seem to hold my gaze for longer than a few seconds.
“I doubt you would’ve been kind about beating the shit out of her,” Gio says.
Nolan reaches down and gently retrieves the lighter before passing it off to someone on his left. I jerk my head up and to the side, watching as Lex takes the lighter and slides it into his pocket. Gray eyes meet mine and he holds a finger up over his lips as if telling me to stay quiet about where it’s going.
I don’t care. I turn away from both of them, only drawing up short when my feet refuse to keep moving. I glance down. It’s not my feet but my arm. Nolan is still holding on to me, his fingers a manacled grip on my wrist.
“Let go.” The words are quiet but no less steely.
“Not yet,” is all he says back.
My jaw clamps down, clenching tight enough that the bones beneath my ears begin to ache. I am so done with people touching me, grabbing me, trying to control me.
“Nolan,” I choke out his name, “if you don’t want me to lose it on you right here, then let. Me. Go.”
Nolan turns, his body blocking out the rest of the hallway. “Look at me.”
I tip my head back, meeting a pair of crimson-brown eyes—like blood-soaked chocolate. “Take a breath,” he orders, and somehow I find myself doing just that.
Sucking in one mouthful of oxygen and then the next and the next until I no longer feel like I’m about to scream or shatter into a million pieces. His fingers release my wrist and he takes a step back just in time for me to see a familiar figure come barreling around the corner. A low groan emits from my throat.
Nolan grins. “That’s what you get for losing control, Princess,” he says, the taunt in his tone obvious. “Next time, when you plan to fuck someone up—do it somewhere private.”
“Giving me advice now, asshole?” I shoot back. “Careful, someone might think you have experience.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask what happened to Rich and Josh, but I swallow the curiosity back.
Nolan’s eyes narrow on me and he leans in again until my entire field of vision is filled by him. “Experience is something no one can take away from you, Princess,” he whispers and the words sound more like a promise of sin. It immediately makes my skin go tight.
With a vicious growl, I flip him off before turning to face the music and worse … Principal Long.