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“My dad’s going to kill me,” she continued to choke out, clutching her torn skirt. “My uniform’s ruined.”
A pained hissing sound tore from her throat then, and the hand she was using to hold her skirt shot to her temple, causing the scrap of fabric to fall away from her body.
My eyes widened of their own accord, an unfortunate reaction of seeing a female’s underwear.
Wolf whistles and cheering erupted from the lads.
“Oh god,” she cried out, scrambling clumsily to retrieve her skirt.
“Go on, gorgeous!”
“Give us a twirl!”
“Fuck off, you assholes!” I roared at my teammates, stepping in front of the girl to block their view.
I could hear the lads cracking up behind me, laughing and talking shite, but I couldn’t concentrate on a word they were saying because the sound of my heart hammering in my chest was deafening me.
“Here.” Reaching for the hem of my jersey, I pulled it over my head and ordered, “Put that on.”
“It’s filthy,” she sobbed, but didn’t stop me when I pulled it down over her head.
She slipped her hands into the sleeves and I felt an immense amount of relief when the hem fell to her knees, covering her up.
Christ, she really was a tiny little thing.
Was she even old enough to attend secondary school?
She didn’t look it.
Right now, she looked very, very young and…sad?
“Kavanagh, is the girl alright?” Coach demanded.
“She’s grand!” I repeated, my words a harsh bark.
“Take her to the office,” he instructed. “Make sure Majella checks her over.”
Majella was the school’s first respondent. She worked in the lunch hall and was the go-to woman when a student sustained an injury.
“Right, sir,” I called back, flustered, quickly swooping down to snatch up her skirt and schoolbag.
I stepped closer and she flinched away from me.
“I’m only trying to help you,” I stated in as gentle a tone I could muster, holding my hands up, as if to show her I meant no harm. “I’ll take you to the office.”
She looked at bit dazed and I worried I might have given her a concussion.
Knowing my luck, that’s exactly what I’d done.
Fucking hell.
Flinging the bag over my shoulder, I tucked her skirt into the waistband of my shorts, placed a hand on her back, and tried to coax her up the hilly bank separating the pitch from the school grounds.
She wobbled on her feet like a baby foal, and I had to resist the sudden urge I had to wrap my arm around her shoulders.
A couple of minutes later, that was exactly what I had to do anyway because she kept losing her footing.
Panic surged through me.
