16
After lunch, the three of them went their separate ways since they had different classes to attend.
Jude headed back to the lockers alone to grab a few textbooks and put away his empty lunchbox.
As he was about to shut his locker, he noticed in his peripheral view that Blake was opening his locker only meters away from him.
When he caught a glimpse of him, he immediately spotted the prominent cut on Blake’s lower lip and the scratches on his cheeks.
He put a plaster on the upper side of his cheek, and he could still see dried blood from those cuts.
Blake closed his locker and turned his gaze toward him. Jude almost choked when their eyes met. Blake’s glare looked deadly enough to make his heart skip a beat. Startled, Jude quickly looked away, feigning indifference as he hurried off to his next class.
The bell rang for the last period, and here he was, still sitting on his armchair in the classroom, left all alone, shaking and sweating for almost an hour already.
Enormous regret flowed over him. He peeked through the window and saw Sky Granger waiting in front of the school, leaning against his Chevy truck, which he had proudly shown off to the school, with a half-naked woman painted on its doors.
Sometimes, Jude hated how the school administration turned a blind eye to the terrible things happening on campus.
It only made him want to leave the institution more.
He pressed a hand against his face in frustration.
What was I thinking? he thought bitterly.
Jude regretted everything he had said earlier. He regretted asking for Sky’s help. It was such a stupid thing to do. He was very stupid.
Mitch owned a laptop, but she never allowed him to use it.
He had asked to borrow it several times back then, only to be turned down every single time.
Asking again now would be pointless. He could still work using his phone, but finishing the lists of assignments that needed to be passed next week in their Practical Research would take much longer.
The screen of his old Samsung was cracked, and the device itself was already outdated.
Their upcoming research requirements were extensive, so using a laptop or desktop computer would be far more efficient and convenient.
Still, seeing Sky outside this room, and the thought of being alone together in his house, felt like pure suicide.
His only wish right now was for Jasper to be there, too.
What have I done? Where did my guts earlier come from? Just this time. Only this time. I will go to the internet café next time.
He reminded himself over and over again.
Jude stood frozen for what felt like an eternity, torn between walking out of the classroom and jumping straight out the window instead. The last option would be much simpler for his life.
A chill crept across his skin when he realized it was already getting dark. The hallways were not illuminated, which immediately unsettled him. By this time, the lights should have already been turned on.
Why had they not been turned on today?
Trying to ignore the growing fear in his chest, he hurried to his locker to grab his lunchbox and return his books.
Suspiciously, he was all alone. The goosebumps on his skin immediately sent shivers down his spine.
He was close to tears as he rushed down the hallway, desperate to find the faculty room or anywhere teachers and staff might still be around in the senior high building.
Even the disappearance of people seemed intentional, or at least a janitor or a school employee was in sight. But there was none.
There was no one.
Suddenly, he froze in his tracks when silhouettes of men appeared at the far end of the hallway, only a few meters away, their shadows swallowing the dim light.
A wave of panic instantly washed over him.
He quickly turned the other way to run, but before he could, he slammed into someone.
Jude’s head collided with a hard chest, forcing him to clutch his forehead in pain and adjust his eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose.
“Where are you going faggot?” a husky, familiar voice asked.
Jude looked up grudgingly and saw a big, tall guy towering over him, wearing a black mask.
“Tame him,” the unknown man in front of him commanded.
Jude was caught off guard as he turned around for a chance to escape when two guys suddenly grabbed him by his arms. He was about to scream for help, but someone covered his mouth with a hand.
An overwhelming wave of fear and panic rose through him.
His anxiety hit instantly, making it hard to breathe, especially when someone’s hand was on top of his mouth.
Jude struggled desperately to break free from their grip, but they were far too strong.
They lifted him off his feet while he kicked and thrashed helplessly as they dragged him toward the parking lot, where the darkness made everything even more terrifying. Everything went blurry as tears began streaming down his face.
Once they reached a spot hidden from view, they finally dropped him. A rough shove sent him crashing against the concrete wall, pain shooting through his back from the impact. Jude let out a pained wince.
Jude looked at them in terror, although he could not see them clearly. Despite the tears also blurring his vision, their faint presence alone was enough to frighten him.
They seemed familiar.
The taller and more masculine guy in the middle slowly approached Jude. He instinctively tried to back away, but there was no space left for him to go. The cold concrete wall behind him trapped him in place.
The guy in the middle cupped Jude’s face with his dominant hand, gripping it harshly. The pressure from his hold sent a sharp wave of pain through his nerves.
“Stay the fuck away from Sky Granger faggot, before we kill you,” he threatened.
Jude tried to remember the sound of his voice, but the recollection remained frustratingly out of reach, especially with the face mask distorting and changing his tone.
“Do you understand?” he seethed.
The stranger’s eyes dilated so fiercely that they seemed ready to pop out of his sockets.
Jude only nodded his head anxiously, tears continuously pooling down his cheeks.
The masked man released his hand from Jude and stepped back.
Jude’s eyes hazily dilated in terror when he signaled to the two boys behind him to come over, and before he knew it, a fist connected right to his face.
He groaned in agonizing pain, stealing the air from his lungs when another punch connected with his stomach.
Jude immediately clutched his abdomen, overwhelmed by the sensation.
He felt like choking up, and his airways abruptly constricted.
Another blow landed on his face, followed quickly by one more to the other side of his cheek before he could even recover. Jude already tasted blood spreading inside his mouth. The three men made him like a punching bag before Sky’s promise.
“P-lease s-top…” he trailed off. “W-hat d-id I do?” he begged between ragged breaths, each word sounding like it might be his last.
It was like he could not take it any longer.
Jude still managed to speak despite the blood pouring from his mouth. He tried to resist them with all his might, but the two immediately reacted and restrained both of Jude’s arms.
“What did you expect? You were a mistake the moment you were born. Nobody wanted you, nobody likes you, and nobody ever will. And listen carefully, faggot. Stay the hell away from Sky. If I catch you anywhere near him again, you’ll wish you’d never set foot in this school.”
“I think he’s had enough,” said his companion, taking a step back from the scene. “Let’s move. We don’t want anyone finding out we were here.”
“I’m not satisfied yet,” he snarled, his eyes blazing with cruelty. “One more punch.”
Before he could brace himself, a fist slammed into his face with bone-shattering force.
A sickening crack echoed through his skull, stirring something in his blood-brain barrier.
Seering pain erupted from his nose as he felt something break.
Before he knew it, warm blood immediately gushed from his nostrils, spilling over his lips and chin.
He could taste iron on his tongue as the world spun violently around him and stars blasted across his vision.
“You’re bringing so much trouble in this sch—”
Before another fist could land against his jaw, someone from behind stopped it from coming in midair.
Jude struggled to catch his breath.
“You’ll regret why you did this…”
A very familiar voice cut through the air: very deep, very firm, very sharp, very commanding, and very powerful.
A voice that, even if it struck him in different versions, cut him deep down to his core, gripped him with fear when it hurtled through the air, and his ears did not want to register—it was the voice he knew all too well.
“S-ky…”
The men behind the black masks muttered in horror almost simultaneously.
The moment he heard his voice, the terror gripping his heart loosened its hold. Jude did not want to admit it, but somehow, against all reason, his presence made him feel safe.