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“Go.” I let go of one of my crutches and brushed my fingers lightly down his forearm. “It’s fine. I’ll head downst
airs and meet up with the other guys. We’ll wait for you.”
He lifted his hand, tangling his fingers with mine briefly, glancing down at the connection between us. Then he nodded and let go. “I’ll meet you.”
He turned and stalked down the corridor with my backpack still slung over one shoulder, and the hall monitor scurried ahead as if Cole were chasing him. The sight almost made me laugh, but worry tugged at my heart, dragging the smile off my face. I didn’t know what his dad wanted with him, but every time I thought of the large, dark-haired man who looked like an older copy of Cole himself, my skin crawled.
I wanted to do something. To stop him. To swoop in and rescue Cole from his shitty home life the way I’d always wished someone would rescue me. To protect him the way he protected me.
But I didn’t know how.
I stood staring after him longer than I meant to, and when a junior girl jostled one of my crutches, I jerked back to reality. Joining the flow of students, I headed toward the elevator on the east side of the building. I could go up stairs okay, but going down them still made me nervous.
The elevator dinged as it reached the first floor, and as I stepped out, my brows drew together, an unconscious look of distaste twisting my features. Adena, Sable, and Preston were holding court over a few other students, and just the sound of her voice was enough to set my teeth on edge.
I pressed my lips together and began to work my way past them when Adena’s voice cut through the crowd. “Hey, trash! Where do you think you’re going?”
Not breaking my slow gait, I rolled my eyes. “Where the fuck do you think?”
She stepped toward me, her posse falling into place behind her like the good little bitches they were. “You wanna know what I think? I think you lied about even being in a accident. I think you’re so desperate for a little attention and sympathy that you went out and bought yourself a two dollar cast and a set of crutches and decided to limp around the school hoping someone would feel sorry for you.”
Hot anger flooded my body, and I stopped moving.
This fucking bitch.
I could’ve shown her. I could’ve shown her the swelling of my ankle, the ugly red scars that crisscrossed the puffy skin, the scars on my arms, still pink and bright. I could’ve shown her the mark from the seat belt, the permanent reminder of how violently my life had been saved.
But she didn’t deserve to see it. She didn’t deserve proof, when she knew what she was saying was a lie.
She knew I’d been in an accident.
Maybe she’d even caused it.
“Fuck you, Adena!” I spat, turning to face her.
She grinned, pleased to have gotten a rise out of me. I knew I shouldn’t let her, but goddammit, she was such a fucking bitch.
“Wow, original comeback, Idaho.”
Her shark-like smile widened, and her triumphant gaze flicked behind me, cruel glee sparking in her eyes. I could feel the Princes approach before I even looked, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw all four of them bearing down on us. They all looked pissed as shit, but Cole doubly so—probably blaming himself for leaving me to go take his dad’s phone call.
“Oh, look. Here come your little lover boys.” She rested a hand on her hip, raising her voice to address them as they approached. “You know why nobody at this school respects you anymore? Because you all went soft when you became obsessed with this piece of trash.” She gave an exaggerated pout. “It’s really not a good look.”
The boys finally reached me, fanning out around me in an almost military formation.
Adena’s gaze landed on Mason, and she cocked her head. “Then again, maybe some of you were already soft. Already weak. What did it, Mason? Finding your poor mommy’s dead body?”
My heart lurched to a stop in my chest.
Mason’s face was a mask, but for just a split second, the pain that seemed to live inside him, barely contained by his skin, flashed across his features.
But he wasn’t the one who snapped.
I was.
My body was moving before my brain consciously gave the command, the crutches falling away from me with a loud clatter as I limped forward in two long strides. Pain flared in my ankle, but I hardly registered it as I swung my fist toward Adena’s face.
It was a wide hook, sloppy and wild, but it had all the force of my momentum and rage behind it. I caught her on the cheek, and her head whipped to the side, her entire body following. The large crowd gathered in the hallway gasped, and Preston caught her before she went down to the floor, grabbing her shoulders to steady her as his shocked gaze flew to me.
