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“What?” Even though I was kind of expecting to hear her say those words, it fucking hurts to hear.
“You have to wait until you’re older, Rhys. It’s the safest option for both you and Tyler.”
“Older, as in eighteen?” My words are a whisper, like I’m too scared that she’ll say thirty or something.
“I’d prefer if you wait until you graduate from secondary school. Being a student, even though you’re eighteen, will still have bad repercussions.”
“Bad repercussions for you, you mean?” I snap, and her dark brows lift.
“Waiting until you graduate will be more suitable foreveryone. You obviously care about him. Do you want him to go to prison, Rhys? Because if anyone finds out, that’s exactly what will happen. It will ruin his life.”
Tears well in my eyes, knowing she is speaking the truth. I don’t want Ty to go to prison, but the idea of waiting a whole year feels excruciating.
“So, you’re not going to tell the cops?”
Cynthia shakes her head, sighing. “Not at this stage. But if we find out he’s hurt you or swayed you in any way-.”
I cut her off. “He hasn’t. He would never hurt me. He has saved me, mum.”
Her face softens as she looks at me, and she reaches over the table, taking my hands in hers.
“I just want you to be happy, and safe, and free of all this pain you have already suffered. I know it hurts to think about not seeing him for another year, but if you love him, you will wait, sweetheart. And he will wait for you. Sure, there will be gossip after you graduate when people find out you two are seeing each other, but he won’t go to prison. That’s the important thing, right?”
I nod, knowing she is right. It fucking sucks big hairy dog’s balls. But, yes, she is right. It doesn’t do anything but make my heart ache in unimaginable pain.
“Can I skip today’s exam? I just want to go home.” I whisper as tears spill over again.
“No. You have responsibilities, and you need to stick to them. Once you get through the next couple of days, you can stay home all you like.”
I want to pout, but I can’t even bring myself to be a brat right now. It just really fucking hurts. I slump back in the seat, pushing my food away.
“I’m not hungry.”
Cynthia frowns. “You need to eat. You have a big exam to get through this morning.”
I shrug. “I don’t care. I’m not hungry.”
Again, she sighs and takes the food, putting it back on the tray. I take my phone out of my pocket, seeing that it’s flat. I haven’t even bothered to look at it after the whole incident last night. I hope Shaun is ok after everything that happened.
“My phone is flat. Do you have a charger?”
Cynthia shakes her head and holds out her hand. “No, but I’ll hold it for you. You can’t take it into the exam, anyway.” I nod, slowly handing it to her.
“Am I going to get it back?” I ask because I get the feeling she is confiscating it, just like the teachers do at school. They lock them in the school safe and keep them ransom. The ransom payment is good behaviour.
“We’ll see. If you’re not going to eat, we may as well head into school early. You can sit in my office and study for the exam.”
I roll my eyes but follow her out of the booth, dread still sitting like a heavy weight in my gut.
After forty-five minutes of studying in Cin’s office, she escorts me to the stadium where the exams are. All the students are congregating outside, waiting to be let in, their eyes on their phones as they wait, and there’s a hype in the air that’s not typical for exam day. People are looking at me, probably because I look different today. My eyes are painted with the same amount of liner and mascara as the rest of the girls, just not the same amount that I typically wear. My lips are bare, my hair basic. A hush falls over the crowd as all eyes fall to me, and I start to squirm. I should have dressed normally. The student body isn’t ready for me to have a makeover.
Cynthia grips my arm when she notices my guys off to the side, and I frown at her as she pulls me in the opposite direction. I look back over my shoulder to them, noticing Shaun taking a few steps in my way, but Marcus reaches out and grips his shoulder, holding him back. My eyes meet Simon’s and his lips thin, looking almost sympathetic, and then my eyes dart to Garrett who is standing rigid, his shoulders tense as he glares at me, a bruise marring his left eye.
What the fuck?
As the doors open, my mum pulls me inside while the other teachers call for students to fall in line alphabetically.
“Why didn’t you let me go see the guys?” I frown, snatching my arm from Cin’s grip.
