“Skye!” my mom caled. “Hurry up. You’re going to be late.”
Afraid she'd entered, I draped my robe around my body and picked up my jeans before reaching for a grey sweater. I jerked on my clothes, trying to ignore the pain radiating from my ribs. Last, I tugged my hair into a ponytail and slid into my boots.
Grabbing my coat and backpack, I strode toward school.
I peered at my watch, realizing my mom had been right. No matter if I ran al the way, I wouldn't beat the tardy bel, but I didn’t have a choice. Stepping off the porch, a cold wind whipped around me, jerking my hair back. As I walked, I heard a car pul up beside me.
Gripping my backpack, I kept my gaze straight ahead, trying to recognize the vehicle by sound. My heart sped up. God, I didn’t want to face Kelin. I walked faster and tugged my backpack straps higher on my shoulders.
“Skye?” Devin said, stepping out of the car. "Hang on a second."
I stopped, unsure what to do.
“Please ride with me.”
I slowly turned and shook my head, trying not to shiver as I looked at the street where a half-ful bottle of soda lay on its side.
“I'l walk.” The words caught in my throat; if I went near him, I'd start crying. Once my defenses had hit that low, how could I ever get them back up?
“Please.” Devin shut his door and stepped toward me as he looked at his watch. “You’l never make it in time, and your mom wil kil you.” He walked to the passenger side and opened the door for me. “Please?” He wore an unbuttoned blue and grey flannel shirt with a white t-shirt beneath it.
Steeling myself, I woodenly walked to his car and got inside. While he drove, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “What happened this weekend?” he asked casualy.
“Not much.” I stared out the window, chewing on my lower lip.
“That’s why you’re grounded?”
“No, I broke curfew Saturday.” I unzipped my backpack, pretending to search through my books. At each bump in the road, the bobble-headed Betty Boop danced and my ribs ached horribly.
I wished I could trade places with that dol. I wished my life were that easy.
We puled into the parking lot, and Devin puled the keys from the ignition and shoved them into his pocket. I started to get out, but Devin caught my arm, the strength of his grip sure. At first, I panicked inside, remembering the last time someone had grabbed me, but then I forced myself to relax. This was Devin. He'd never hurt me.
Some of my thoughts must have shown up on my face, because he frowned in concern. “You al right?”
Nodding, I forced a weak smile. “Just peachy, Devin.
Don’t worry.”
He slowly released me. “I’m glad.” Although his tone sounded sincere, his expression, the clenching of his jaw, the frown, suggested anger. Before he could say anything else, I jerked the door open.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, hurrying toward the building.
As I reached the entrance, I took a deep breath and forced a neutral expression . I can’t do this, I thought, my body shaking, my knees buckling slightly. I gripped the handle, but I couldn’t force myself to tug it open.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped back, clutching my ribs. Devin arched an eyebrow and shook his head. “I’l get the door.” He held it open, and there was nothing else to do except go inside. I walked slowly as I headed toward my locker, my gaze averted to the floor ahead of me. From my peripheral vision, I noticed students buzzing around each other in my passing. They gawked at me, their eyes gleaming with expectation. Clutching my books tightly, I felt so alone. Then I realized Devin walked beside me, his body shielding me from prying eyes, at least on one side.
“Mind teling me why everyone is staring?” he asked.
I reached my locker, and when I opened the door, I finaly said, “It’s a long story.” I took a deep breath and tried to release the tension knotting my shoulders.
“So tel me.” He leaned against the next locker.
I picked up my book and spiral, along with a pen. “We’ve got to get to class.” I shut my locker door and tried to reattach the combination lock with fingers that fumbled badly. Once I dropped it, and Devin grabbed it and slid it into place.
“Anything you want to tel me before class starts?”
I swalowed hard, closed my eyes, and tried not to react.
“Just don’t listen too closely to what people say, okay?” My voice trembled, matching my whole body.
"I know something bad went down. I just don't know what." Devin frowned. Hard lines creased his forehead. “If Kelin hurt you, Skye, I'l kil him.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about.” I cradled my books to my chest. As far as armor went, I knew it wouldn’t stop anything, but it kept me moving. “Besides, I thought you weren’t planning to pick up any pieces.”
Devin clenched his hands into fists and shovedthem into his pockets. “I’m here, okay. Can we leave it at that?”
He started walking me to class, and on the way I heard more than one girl laughing. I shouldn’t have looked up, but I did, and she pointed at me and said something to her friend. Devin scanned the crowd, pretending not to focus on anyone. “Whatever happened, you sure got the school talking,” he muttered; as he walked, his shoulders formed a hard line.
“Don’t you need your book?”
He shrugged. “Not particularly. It’s not like we use it.
And today we’re giving oral reports.”
I looked at his empty hands. “Where's yours?”
He shrugged. “I’l be one of the slackers who goes tomorrow.” Ahead of us, Kelin stood next to Becca. They were so engrossed in conversation they didn't see us. Devin's eyes narrowed to slits, as though he wanted to spit nails. “Sure you don’t want to clue me in about the party?”
Becca ran her fingers down Kelin's chest then she kissed him—or tried to; at the last moment he turned away, and she caught his cheek instead. “The party was a bust, Devin. Nothing good came of it.”
"Suit yourself," he said, heading to class.
I turned toward the doorway and almost ran into Jimmy.
"You okay?" he asked, puling me to the side. The black jeans and a black button-down shirt emphasized the pale blue of his eyes. "I tried caling to make sure you were okay, but your mom said you couldn't talk."
Swalowing hard, I nodded. "I'm grounded for breaking curfew and coming home drunk." I watched students drift toward their classrooms, and in the middle of a group of guys, I spotted Tyler laughing. He must have felt my gaze because he looked at me, smirked, and walked on.
"You sure you don't want to go to the cops?"
I shook my head. "No. I just want to forget it ever happened."
He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Did you tel Devin the truth?"
"No. Why would I?
He shrugged. "Maybe because he's your best friend—
maybe because he loves you."
My pen fel to the floor and I bent to retrieve it. "How do you know that?"
"I have him in my history class. He sits next to me, Skye, and he talks about you. The conversation always leads to you."
I flinched and leaned against the wal. "He wouldn't understand. He warned me not to go, but I didn't listen."
Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, but shouldn't you give him the chance? He's a good guy, Skye--ten times better than Kelin would be on his best day, or any jock with a footbal, for that matter."
Frowning, I said, "But you're a jock who plays footbal."
The bel rang, and I jumped.
"Easy." Jimmy settled his hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, I play bal—but I don't live it." He nodded down the hal. "I've got to get to class."
"Me, too." I headed into the room. As I trudged down my row, I could have heard a pin drop. Stil, everything the silence kept, I saw in their eyes, especialy in Emily Kent's from the back row, two seats away. As I slid into my chair and set my books down, she asked, “Did you have a good time on Saturday?�
��
I winced. No matter how I answered, I couldn’t win. So I didn’t answer.
“The cat got your tongue?” she said, louder.
Fortunately, the bel rang, saving me from replying.
Although that was my first hour in hel, it certainly wouldn’t be the worst. A few cheerleaders purposely ran into me. One guy grabbed my butt, and everywhere I went, gossip folowed.
Right before lunch, Kelin cornered me at my locker.
Although I’d never seen him angry, I knew by the hard line of his mouth he was furious. His eyes, normaly a pale blue, glinted grey, and he clenched his teeth. Grabbing my arm, he snarled, “We need to talk.” He wore his letter jacket. There was no teling what Tyler had told him about why I'd dropped it.
I swalowed hard and tried to pul away. “There's nothing to talk about.”
“Except why you had sex with my best friend while I was in his house? Did you think I wouldn't find out?” He pushed me into the locker. Although some students miled the halways, al the teachers had disappeared, heading either to class or lunch duty.
Becca skulked by her locker, smirking.
Upon hitting the locker, I gasped, doubled over, and almost fel. Kelin lorded over me, his face a raging scarlet.
“Goddamn it, Skye, I didn’t hit you that hard. Quit faking it.”
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stand—slowly, so as not to jar my ribs. “I’m faking it?” I pushed one sleeve high on my arm, revealing the hateful bruises. “Am I faking these as wel?”
Then I roled up the other sleeve. “What about these? And let's not forget the ones on my ribs.” I looked at his stunned face. The color had drained from his cheeks and his mouth hung open. “Just in case you think I’m manipulating enough to do this myself, I’l show you.”
I put my fingers in the marks, but the bruises extended beyond my fingers. "Compliments of your good buddy, Tyler.”
“What in the hel….” Kelin stumbled backwards, and I jerked my sleeves down. He frowned, stil staring at my now-covered arms. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
I laughed, a hard bitter sound. “Go ahead. Say I slept with Tyler.” Becca also paled as she placed her hand over her mouth. I glared at both Kellin and Becca. “But maybe that was after he gave you punch laced with booze for me, knowing I didn’t drink. God, I was so blasted, I didn’t even know which way was up.” I couldn’t shut up, even as Becca ran down the hal to warn Tyler. “Maybe that was after he took me outside, pretended to help me get some air and then slammed my head against the ground hard enough to make it bleed. Maybe that was after he fractured my ribs so I was an easy target who couldn't move.” He came toward me, but I backed up. "Stay away from me." I started running without knowing where I was going, crying so hard I couldn’t make out anything except shapes. Then I ran into someone else--Tyler. He slammed me into the locker. “I told you to keep your big mouth shut!”
I winced and wrapped my arms around my chest, wondering if I would pass out. He leaned over me, his hands baled into fists.
“Get off her, Rutherford,” Kelin snapped, striding toward us.
“You believe her?” Tyler barked, hauling me to my feet, his fingers digging into the same place as he’d left bruises. At first, I struggled against him, but as I realized he wasn’t going to let go, I quit trying to get away. “She did me in the backyard while you were inside. Becca saw her. Did she look drunk before you left her? I don’t think so.”
Kelin clenched his jaw and leaned close. “I don’t know what I believe, but you’d better get your goddamned hands off and step back.”
“Fine. Have it your way.” Tyler made a big show of releasing me and moving away, his mouth twisting into a furious grimace. I ran away and hid in the bathroom until lunch was over.
In the stal, I tried to make sense of everything. Dear God, would this never be over?
I managed to get through the rest my classes by reading and working on my assignments. I realized if I threw myself into my classes, I wouldn’t think, wouldn’t remember—wouldn’t feel.
Just before seventh hour, al hel broke loose.
I headed to science class, but a huge crowd blocked my path. The bodies tensed together with people shouting alerted me that a fight was in progress. I tried to stay on the fringes of madness, but Becca grabbed my shoulder and pushed me to the center.
“See. This is what you caused, you bitch.” In front of me, Kelin took a swing at Devin. A mask of rage I had never seen before had transformed my best friend into someone unrecognizable; I had never once witnessed Devin enraged. His fist slammed into Kelin’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. Another fist folowed, and it appeared that Kelin had lost consciousness. A third blow hit before I threw myself between them.
“Stop it!” I yeled, shielding Kelin. Devin started to swing yet again but stopped just before his fist would have impacted.
“Get out of the way, Skye.” He tried to shove me to the side, but I remained.
“No. It’s not Kelin’s fault.”
“It’s not,” Devin panted, straightening up. “Then whose is it? Yours? Do you know what he was saying this morning? Things I couldn’t stomach.” He pointed to Becca as she moved toward Kelin. “Things I wouldn’t even say about her, though they might be true.”
“He didn’t do anything.” I reached for Devin, but he jerked away, glaring.
“Forget it, Skye. I’m done with you.” He ran down the hal, only to be intercepted by two principals. As they grabbed his arms, he glared at me, and I wished I had never been born.
Blood trickled from Kelin's mouth, and he wasn’t moving.
As I stood there, the world exploded in motion. Tyler rushed toward Kelin, and another principal cut him off and forced him back. Teachers ushered us to class, and though the students chattered madly about what had happened, I sat mute, hearing only the approaching ambulance's wail.
Once school let out, the secretary caled my name over the loudspeaker, teling me to report to the office. Apprehensively, I walked through the doors, and the secretary guided me to Principal Darrow’s office. Although I nodded and forced myself to comply, I realy wanted to run away and never come back. I sat woodenly in the office, looking at pictures of her family members and past students. I focused on a portrait of her daughter, taken when she was probably my age. The girl, holding a flute, smiled broadly without even a hint of sadness. Ms. Darrow stepped into the room.
“How are you?” She carried a cup of coffee, and I wondered how anyone could drink that stuff, let alone drink that stuff at 2:00 p.m..
“I’m okay.”
She set the coffee on her desk and sat down. “Your grades this year don't reflecting that attitude.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I haven’t been trying as hard as I could. Is that a crime?”
“No.” She shook her head. “But I think there's more going on. Skye, students talk, and we sometimes overhear what they say. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “No, there isn’t.
Why?”
She leaned back in her chair. “I know that you and Devin Abbott are good friends. But lately something has come between you. Today the two of you had a faling out after he assaulted Kelin Morgan.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
She picked up a pencil and tapped it back and forth.
“Let’s just say that I’ve never seen Devin angry. Ever. He’s a model student. I dare say he might face assault charges over this, and I’m trying to help him.”
I thought for a long moment, trying to figure out what to do, but I knew that even if I told the truth, it wouldn’t change what had happened. Kelin didn’t do anything to me. Maybe he'd known Tyler had spiked my drink. Maybe he hadn’t. But he didn’t rape me. Perhaps if I’d been honest with Devin about what had happened, I would have been able to stal him from picking a fight.
As it was, Devin had gone to the line for me again, and I had failed.
“He was trying to protect me. Except he picked the wrong person.”
Ms. Darrow’s eyes narrowed. “Protect you? How so?”
I shrugged. “There was something that happened this weekend, something bad between me and Tyler Rutherford. Devin only heard half of the story through rumors, and he thought Kelin was responsible.” My whole body tensed. Each breath felt shakier than the last. “How badly is Kelin hurt?” I kept seeing his bloody face, his body so stil.
Ms. Darrow picked up her pencil and jotted notes. “Kelin is stil at the hospital. We have not been apprised of his condition.”
My hair fel into my eyes and I shoved it back. “What’s going to happen to Devin?” My whole body shook violently.
The principal dropped the pencil onto the pad. “That depends on whether Kelin’s family presses charges.”
I cringed and cradled my head in my hands. “I can’t see his parents not pressing charges.”
“You never know." She paused and took a drink. "Skye, look at me.”
I forced myself to sit up and meet her gaze.
“The best thing you can do for Devin is to tel me what happened.”
“You…can’t ask me…to do that.” My voice cracked, and the shaking grew worse.
Ms. Darrow took my hand. “You’re right. Whatever happened was bad, but sometimes keeping it inside only makes it worse.” She squeezed my hand.
A soft knock interrupted her, and she turned toward it.
“Excuse me, Skye.” She walked to the door and opened it. “Yes.”
The secretary walked in. “Ms. Morgan is on the phone.
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