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It was too late to shrink back and hide around the corner. I walked toward her, trying to push down the churning in my gut and put on a normal expression. I could tell the smile I attempted was more like a grimace, and Maggie’s jaw dropped in horror as I neared.
“Are you okay? What happened? There’s… blood on your face.”
I reached a hand up to my cheek.
Oh. From Cole’s fingers.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I was…”
Jesus. What fucking explanation in the world was there for the way I looked? I was too tired and shell-shocked to come up with something that sounded even remotely believable, so instead, when I opened my mouth, the truth fell out.
“I was attacked.”
“What?” Her voice was shrill, too loud. “Are you—!”
“It’s okay. He’s gone now. I just—need to get my clothes.”
“Yeah. Okay.” She looked a little shaken up herself, like she wasn’t quite sure what to do with the information she’d been given, but she stepped forward and wrapped an arm around me. “Come on.”
She led me into the locker room, which was mercifully just about empty.
Except for Leah.
When the auburn-haired girl saw me enter, supported by Maggie, her expression froze.
Maggie shook her head impatiently. “Your feud can wait, Leah, okay? Talia got attacked. She needs help.”
“What?” Leah sprang to her feet, some of her usual spark returning as her gaze darted around—as if my attacker might be lurking right around the corner. “Who? What?”
Maggie led me over to the sink and used a wet paper towel to wipe away Oliver’s blood. As she worked, I explained in a few short sentences what’d happened. I kept everything blunt and factual, refusing to let myself fall back into a tailspin as I relived the events. Leah crept closer as I spoke, and by the time I finished talking, both girls stood in front of me, twin expressions of horror on their faces.
“It’s okay,” I finished softly. “I’m not hurt.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Leah said, her voice fierce. “That’s not the point. Just because you can’t point to a bruise doesn’t mean he didn’t hurt you.”
“Yeah.?
?? Maggie smoothed back the wisps of hair that’d fallen from her white-blonde ponytail. “Shit. What are you gonna do?”
I shook my head. “I dunno. Report him, I guess. I just need to… think about it.”
When I had reported Adena’s attack on me last year, nothing had happened. She’d gotten a vague, half-assed slap on the wrist and that was it. And I knew this would be even worse. This was the kind of shit that got swept under the rug all the time.
Maggie looked scandalized that I wasn’t already marching to the dean’s office, but Leah nodded sadly. “Yeah. I get it.”
I looked at her, taking in the smattering of freckles across her nose, the sharp angle of her auburn bob, the expressiveness of her eyes. I hadn’t really seen her in what felt like forever. Our paths had crossed plenty of times, but we’d been keeping a distance from each other for months, from long before my grandparents sent me back to Sand Valley.
Her familiar features made a twinge of sadness pinch my heart, and I looked down at the long counter that held three sinks lined up in a row. “I’m sorry.”
Maggie’s eyebrows rose hopefully, but Leah looked away. “Don’t be. It’s fine. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
It was a deflection. I could hear it and see it. I’d let her use the same deflection all last semester, as we slowly drifted apart until there was a giant chasm of space between us.
“No, I do.” I ran a shaky hand through my hair, the movement bringing another dose of Cole’s ginger and pine scent to my nose. I exhaled forcefully, trying to drive it out of my system. “I shouldn’t have ditched you, and I especially shouldn’t have ditched you for the Princes. It was fucking stupid.”
Her lips pursed, and she cocked her head to one side. “It was pretty fucking stupid. But… it’s not like it’s all your fault. I told you to do it. I guess I just got mad that you did it so well. They took you into their little club so completely. It was like they fucking brainwashed you.” Then her eyes narrowed. “Except, I guess they didn’t really take you in at all. Fucking assholes.”
“Yeah.” Maggie shook her head before turning to me. “But wait, didn’t you say Cole was the one who went after Oliver?”
