AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What makes you so sure?” Fiona’s mocking laughter grates my insides. “He’s slept with half the school. You’ve been dating for less than a month. You don’t know this guy. He’s gonna get bored, and his eyes will stray, and you’ll be left with nothing.”
Teah nods. “He’s never lasted more than a few weeks with any girl. He’s not a one-woman guy. Get ready for some serious heartbreak, Mikayla.”
“And you brought it all on yourself.” Fiona raises her manicured eyebrows. The look of smug glee on her face makes my stomach squirm.
“You’re wrong.” My voice is annoyingly weak and tiny as I try to counter them, but it’s getting harder to look them in the eye as they move around the table, circling me with their little taunts.
“He’s gonna hurt you.”
“You’re insane to think this will last.”
“And watching you fall will be a pleasure, because we warned you and you didn’t listen.”
I shrink further into my seat, gripping my pen and staring at my computer screen. It’s hard not to let their biting words sink in.
It’s hard to counter that ugly doubt.
I trust Ethan. I really do. He seems totally into me and I’m into him, and being together is easy and fun and?—
You trusted Dad, too, and he left without warning.
My stomach clenches and my vision starts to blur until I hear a bark behind me.
“Hey! Leave her alone.”
I flinch, swiveling in my chair as the girls scamper away, leaving a pissed-off Liam standing behind me. He stares after the girls, narrowing his eyes when Teah turns back to take another look. She yelps and clutches the binder to her chest, running after Bella.
“Thanks,” I murmur, dropping my pen with a heavy sigh.
“They’re relentless.” He sits down beside me and lets out an irritated huff.
“I guess they’ve got nothing better to do with their time.” I sniff, clenching my jaw and wishing I could brush their words off. I want them to be cobwebs I can flick away, but today’s verbal attack felt more like an onslaught of parasites. I can feel them crawling around inside me, eating away at my confidence.
I hate days like this. I should blame hormones. I’ve got the whole period thing happening this week, and I always hit a low day or two around this time, but it’s only being exacerbated by everything else I’m dealing with right now.
“You okay?” Liam rubs my shoulder, his compassionate smile enough to make my eyes burn.
“Yeah, I’m fine. They’re just words.”
“You know they’re not true, though, right?”
I sigh and nod.
“Look at me.”
I close my eyes, refusing to turn until he nudges my shoulder again.
“Come on, Mick. Look at me.”
With a huff, I spin in my chair and give him a pointed look.
He grins. “Ethan’s into you. He loves you. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone else before, and I’ve known the guy for years. Trust me. Trusthim. He’s not going anywhere, and he’s not gonna let you walk away either.”
“Yeah,” I croak.
“You guys are good together. Don’t let some bitchy, mouthy girls screw this up for you.”
My lips twitch as I nod again.
