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“Oh, Ava,” she croons, feigning sympathy. “You really can’t blame him. He is young, and the baggage you carry would be hard for anyone to handle. Especially with your mother’s little drinking problem.”
My eyes shoot to hers, wide with shock.
No.
Logan told her?
He told Hadley fucking Miller about my mother?
He knows damn well how I feel about my mother. He knows all about her problems and how ashamed I am of the whole situation. It’s something I don’t want people to know. And of all the people in the world he could possibly tell, why would he tell her?
“Don’t you say a fucking word about my mother, Hadley,” I snarl through my teeth.
“Dear sweet Ava,” she draws out mockingly. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m sure there are plenty of respectable grieving mothers out there who drown their sorrows in a bottle of wine every night. Or is it two bottles?” She pretends to ponder by tapping on her chin.
Before I think it through, my books drop to the ground, and my hand flies through the air, slapping her right across the face. Her minions gasp as she staggers back and hits the lockers. She quickly straightens herself and pins me with a murderous glare.
“You fucking bitch!” she screams then charges toward me.
The self-defense training I learned from Mason immediately kicks into gear as I block her attempt to slap me back. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate her next move quick enough as she grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled.
Crying out in pain, I swing my fist up and connect it with her stomach in a mighty blow. She lets out a grunt and releases my hair. I lunge toward her and tackle her to the ground, straddling her chest and pinning her in place.
As I go to slap her again, an arm wraps around my waist and pulls me off of her. Letting out a frustrated growl, I kick my legs out in front of me, squirming and fighting against the restraint.
“Ava, stop,” Mason’s voice whispers in my ear, holding my back flush against his chest. “Calm down. It’s okay.”
Hadley scrambles to her feet and starts toward me but is pulled back by Logan, who appears out of nowhere. “You fucking bitch! This isn’t over!” she screams, her face contorted with rage as Logan holds on to her. “This isn’t over by a long shot!”
“What is going on out here?” a loud voice booms, making us all jump. Mr. Cross comes storming toward us, and everyone who’s not involved scurries away quickly like mice. “Well?” he demands as he stops directly in front of us.
“Nothing, Mr. Cross,” Hadley speaks up, fixing her hair. “We were just messing around and got a little carried away. Right, Ava?” She raises her eyebrows at me expectantly.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Apologies, Mr. Cross, it won’t happen again.”
He scrutinizes us both for a moment, folding his arms across his chest. He is obviously not buying it, but no one will speak up, and he knows this.
“Very well,” he responds. “I suggest you make your way to class and save themessingaround for outside of school.”
Giving us both one last look of warning, he turns on his heel and heads back to class. Logan leads Hadley away, and Mason turns me around to face him.
“Are you okay?” he asks, brushing my hair away from my face and searching for any injuries.
“I’m fine,” I sigh, straightening my clothes.
His fingers lift my chin, forcing me to make eye contact with him. “What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter and take a step back, breaking the contact.
“I think it does,” he says in a low voice, taking a step toward me. “What did she say to set you off?”
“Please. I’m just—” I run my fingers through my hair in agitation. I’m still angry, and now is not the time to talk about this, and I honestly don’t know when it will be the right time. “I’m just a bit wound up with what happened, and I really don’t want to get into it right now. Besides, we need to get to class anyway.”
He searches my eyes for a moment and guilt tugs my insides at the fact that I’m blowing him off.
Softening my expression, I reach out and take his hand. “I’m sorry,” I tell him earnestly. “Can we talk about this another time?”
He hesitates for a moment before relenting and giving me a nod. “Okay.”
