“You’re so mad you’re practically vibrating with it. What the hell happened?” Daphne asks as she guides me to the lone chair at the far end of the bathroom where some trusting girls set their purses while they pee. She forces me to sit and hurries over to the door just as Max pounds on it again. After yanking him inside, she deftly flips the janitor’s lock that’s used to keep us out while they clean.
“Tell me he didn’t say what Julia told me he did,” Max growls.
I’m so outraged, I can’t believe Xander did that to me after all the things he’d said to me yesterday in the training room—things that had made me so hot, I’d thought about getting down on my bruised knees for him.I’m so fucking stupid.
“It’s worse than you know. Yesterday at the end of practice, the whole football team was shouting at me as I passed by, finishing up my run. Nasty stuff about the dick pics and how they had one to show me, complete with grabbing and thrusting gestures. I was so mortified I actually tripped and fell.” I sniff. “So you can imagine when Micah tripped me and my face landed straight in Xander’s lap …”
Max’s jaw clenches.
“I still have no clue what just happened,” Daphne murmurs.
I glance at her, wiping my fingers under my eyes, making sure no tears are falling. When I get angry, I cry sometimes, which just makes me more irritated. “He said something like, ‘If you want to suck it, just ask.’ There was more to it, but that’s the gist.” I swallow past the knot of shame in my throat.
Her mouth drops open, and her hands fly up to cover it for a few seconds before she mutters, “Oh my God. What a fucking asshole.”
Max grimaces. “For real.” He catches my eye. “Are you okay going back to class if we ask Mrs. Harden to let you sit with me today?”
I inhale and close my eyes for a few seconds before my words come out through clenched teeth. “Ireallydon’t want to go back in there.” I open my eyes as a violent shudder rolls through me.
“You’ve got to show them you’re stronger than they think.” Max’s voice is low. He grips my shoulders and stares me in the eye. “You can do this. Because you’re stronger thanyouthink, too.”
“You’re right. Iamstronger than they think I am.Dickheads. All of them.”
“Hell yeah, you are. Just stay with Max.” The warning bell rings, and Daphne blows out a short breath, giving me an apologetic wince. “I should go. I have to get to the other side of the building.” She squeezes my shoulder. “Text me, and I’ll come running, okay? Don’t let them get to you.”
I nod and huff out a breath. “Thanks, Daph. Okay. I can do this.”
Max reaches for my hand, pulling me up. “Come on, Cupcake. I’ve got you.” He loops an arm around my back and guides me back to class.
I do my best to appear strong, my gaze shooting around the room as we re-enter, defiantly daring anyone to be brave enough to say a word to me or about me. Max and I cross to the far side of the room, which is less densely populated by the football team. There are some whispers, but no one has the balls to say anything else at full volume since Mrs. Harden is at her desk getting ready to start class.
Max walks right up to the old battle-ax and leans in close, whispering in her ear. What he says, I don’t want to know, but a few seconds go by while she looks from Max to me before she aims her eagle eyes over at Max’s table mate. “Jerome? Could I ask you to sit in Scarlett’s seat today?”
His eyes dart over to my empty seat before he slowly nods. “Sure.” He moves quickly, crossing the room, setting his stuff down, and picking mine up. He wasn’t here when everything went down earlier, and his eyes are curious as he hands me my things.
“Thank you.”
He nods once and returns to my seat, settling in between Beau and Micah.
I’m sure the whole damn school will be curious later, because if there is one thing I know about schools like this, it’s that word gets around fast when something goes down. Unfortunately, the truth of the event will get twisted in some sort of guessing game, or maybe more similar to a game of telephone. What happened will get passed from person to person until it comes out the far end. With my luck, the story will be that I was blowing Xander when everyone walked in this morning.
To his credit, Max is proving himself to be a good friend to me. He glares at every person who looks our way, football player or not, as we sit down.
The worst part of it all is that even though I’m across the room, I can feel Xander’s gaze on me, unwavering.
Chapter 18
Awhile later, Mrs. Harden asks for us to hand in the homework assignment due today. There’s a whole lot of groaning and shuffling of papers as the class passes their work to the front of the room. I’m finally calming down and pulling my shit together. I flip my notebook open and go to grab the assignment I’d completed last night, only to find it’s not there. My brows draw together, and my heart rate picks up as I frantically close the notebook to check the cover and make sure I brought the right one.I did.Maybe I left it in a different folder? No. I know I didn’t. Biting my lip, I raise my hand.
“Yes, Scarlett?”
I blow out a harsh breath.Seriously, what else could go wrong today?“I seem to have misplaced my assignment. I did it, but it’s not where I put it.”
Mrs. Harden’s lips press into a thin line. “Late work is generally frowned upon.” She pauses, eyes trained on mine. “One time only, I’ll give you until our next class to complete the assignment.” She glances around the room. “Everyone hear that? You get one get-out-of-jail-free pass. I’ll be paying attention.”
I mumble, “Yes, ma’am,” and my cheeks burn with embarrassment once again. In my peripheral vision, I see many sets of eyes from across the room studying me.
Aria’s whisper from somewhere in the back travels easily through the quiet room. “Maybe she’s the type of scholarship student who ends up having to leave because she can’t handle the academics. Maybe she’s a dumbass. Runs fast, though.”