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I nod subtly, lips pursed.
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor has me looking over my shoulder. To all of our surprise, it’s Hannah who gets up. Aside from the gash on her head, she’s also sporting a black eye and a swollen cheek from the impact against the wall. “I’ll tell you what the whispers are about,” she says, walking toward us.
Neo takes a dominating stance: chest puffed out, shoulders drawn, arms folded against his chest. “Spill. Now.”
Once Hannah is at our table, we all turn to face her. She looks each of us in the eyes, stopping at Scar. “Rumor has it, Scarlett is the one who pushed me, and we’re all wondering what the hell you boys plan to do about it.”
“Whoa.” Scar jumps up defensively. “Where the hell did you hear that?”
I slide my chair back and get up, too, followed by Jagger. We all gather on one side of the table to hear what Hannah has to say, knowing it’s all fabricated lies.
Hannah pulls back the side of her brunette hair, exposing the row of stitches on her scalp. “Do you see that?” She lets her hair go, eyes glowering at Scar. “She did it!”
The rest of the four dozen students begin stirring and whispering in their seats, so I silence them. My hand cuts through the air. “Everyone, quiet!”
They settle down, and I return my attention to Hannah. “Tell us where the fuck you heard these bullshit lies from now or you’ll be brought forth for defamation and slander.”
She gasps. “Me?” Nodding toward Scar, she wears a look of shock. “What about her?”
“Now!” Jagger reinforces. “Tell us where you heard it.”
Hannah draws in a deep breath, her nervousness apparent. On her exhale, I ask, “Was it Melody?”
I swear to all that is holy, if Melody spoke to anyone about this situation and fabricated her own spin on the story, we’ll destroy that girl. Keeping her secrets safe will be the least of her worries.
“No,” she finally says, “it wasn’t Melody. It was Victor Hammond.”
When I take notice of Scar’s flushed skin and her flared nostrils, I put an arm around her. “We’ll deal with this.”
“Victor,” Jagger hollers across the room, “get your ass over here.”
This he-said, she-said bullshit is getting old. Of course there will be rumors flying, but they shouldn’t involve Scar.
Scar jumps to her own defense, ready to squash these lies. “I swear to you, Hannah, Victor is lying. I’m not sure where he heard that or why he said it, but the girl who pushed you—”
I squeeze Scar’s hip while Neo and Jagger tense up. She peers up at me and I shake my head. “Don’t.”
“You say it wasn’t you, but it was a girl then?” Hannah questions. “Who? Was it Riley? Why would she want to hurt me?” Hannah becomes frantic, almost inconsolable. “Why would anyone want to hurt me?”
Scar takes it upon herself to put an arm around Hannah’s shoulders, stepping out of my hold on her. “It’s not you they want to hurt.” She steers her to the left. A glance over her shoulder has me giving her a look of warning, and I’m sure she knows why. She can’t say anything, or it’ll ruin any plans we have for Melody—whatever those plans might be.
Victor comes forward like a dog with his tail between his legs, his head is hung low, his eyes avoiding contact. “It was a stupid rumor. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Neo grabs Victor’s head with both hands, lifting his eyes. “Explain to me right now why you said what you said. No lies, Hammond.”
Victor gulps. “The other night when I was walking Scarlett and Riley back to The Foxes’ Den from The Ruins, I…I handed them over to that Elias kid. I wanted to make sure they were safe, so I followed quietly behind them. The next thing I know, Melody was running out of the woods saying she was attacked.” Neo grips his head harder, the veins in his hands protruding. “I couldn't hear the whole conversation, but I heard Melody shouting at Scarlett that her best friend getting hurt was all her fault. That’s it. That’s the whole story.”
“And with that information, you decided to open your disgusting mouth and spread lies?”
“I didn’t mean any harm. We were talking in gym class and it came up.”
Neo gives Victor’s head a shove back. “Next time, think before you speak. Or better yet, don’t speak at all. Now bend the fuck over!”
Grinning, I egg Neo on. “That’s right. Kick his ass.”
Victor’s wide eyes look questioningly at Neo, and when he doesn’t do as he’s told, Neo spins him around by his shoulder and shoves him down until he’s on all fours. “Listen up,” he raises his voice for everyone to hear, “let this be a lesson when you open your mouth and spread lies.” He grabs Victor by the waist and rams his knee into his ass.
Everyone gasps, a few hoot and holler. I cover my mouth, fighting back the laughter brewing inside me. Neo is fucking ruthless.
