Chapter 9
“Why didn’t you wake me up? I’m almost late,” I said impatiently, making sure I had everything in my backpack.
“How do you think I felt when your boyfriend knocked on my door in the middle of the night, carrying you and having to explain the blood on your dress?” he barked.
So that’s how I got home.
Blake snatched my backpack out of my hands, causing some loose paper to fall out.
“I didn’t know there would be a fight,” I countered, extending my hand. “Give it back.”
“Why should I?” He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re not going.”
My eyes widened. “What do you mean I’m not going? You’re the one saying that school is impor—”
“You’re transferring to Pineshire Academy’s online program.” He threw the backpack to me.
I caught it and stood there speechless. I swallowed, trying to find the right words. But I couldn’t. How was Blake just going to take away my social life, just like that? All because I happened to witness a fight?
“What?” I managed to say.
Blake walked into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and pulling out a beer. I set my backpack down and followed him.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Your friends aren’t good influences on you.” He chugged the beer straight from the bottle, then set it down on the counter. “You won’t be hanging out with them ever again.”
“You can’t be serious!”
But he was. Dead serious. Blake enrolled me into Pineshire Academy’s online program.
He kept a close watch on me—installing cameras in my room—to make sure that I was working on my schoolwork.
It wasn’t the same without seeing my best friends.
My only friends. One who is my boyfriend, and the other who is… Hero.
I made a group chat with Hero and Ayden, and every night I would text them underneath the blankets so that Blake wouldn’t notice. They filled me in on what they did during school, so that I wouldn’t feel left out.
They also updated me on the Jerry incident; Jerry had a concussion and, since Hero was a minor, Hero’s mother had to pay for Jerry’s hospital bill. He had to get a part-time job to pay it back. He sent a picture in the group chat of him in the job’s uniform, and he looked cute.
No. I couldn’t think like that.
Ayden told me that the bullies crossed Hero’s name off his get to know me worksheet and wrote the word ‘VILLAIN’ in all capital letters above it. Miss Kennedy’s surprise was never revealed due to that act.