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“and you’ll never play football again. I’ll make sure of it.”
Brandon tugs at his shirt to fix his collar, the shock turning to indignant anger. He steps toe to toe with Jason, who meets his eyes directly, not intimidated in the slightest. They’re the same height, both with impressive builds, but Brandon’s muscles look inflated next to Jason’s lean mass. Jason is so tense I can feel the energy he’s using to restrain himself from here.
“You want to be tough, big guy?” Brandon asks, tilting his neck left and right to crack it. “You already want another round where I kick your ass?”
Jason’s laugh is humorless. “You? Kick my ass? How bad was your head injury?”
“I did kick your ass.” Brandon gives Jason’s shoulder a shove, but he barely moves. “Yours and your bitch’s.”
Without breaking the stare-off with Brandon, Jason addresses me through clenched teeth. “Siena, I need you to go to the cafeteria.”
Why does he . . .oh. He’s trying to get rid of me so he can fight Brandon without worrying about me, so I don’t get in the middle of it like last time. The only reason Jason got a black eye last time was because he was busy trying to make sure I remained completely untouched.
Though I know he’s capable of handling himself, I don’t want him to fight. We were just suspended for this exact thing two weeks ago.
“No, Jason,” I say, touching his tense back. “Let’s just go.”
“Not without giving me my phone,” Brandon declares, turning to me, but Jason sidesteps, making sure Brandon doesn’t even get a clear view of me, never mind get close to me.
“I don’t have your phone,” I say over Jason’s shoulder.
“If you’re not going to give it to me willingly, then I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands,”
Brandon threatens, and Jason doesn’t like that. He takes a menacing step forward, but I grab his arm, holding him back.
“Jason, please. Let’s go.”
A few groups of kids on lunch wander into the hall, stopping and whispering when they see the obvious face-off between Jason and Brandon. Even my sort-of friend Thompson is here with a friend, twirling the strands of hair at the end of his mullet like he’s trying to decide whether or not to step in. We’re attracting attention.
“Jason,” I plead, wrapping both my hands around his arm now, “don’t get in trouble for this; he’s not worth it.”
Brandon’s chuckle is dark and malicious. “You going to let your bitch tell you what to do, Parker?”
Jason’s muscle ticks under my hand, like he’s doing everything in his power to stop himself from ripping it from my grasp and taking a swing at Brandon. Before Jason can decide whether to risk getting expelled, I slip in front of him and poke Brandon’s chest. “You know, you are incredibly misogynistic. I have anameand it’sSiena. And just because someone respects the opinion of a woman doesn’t make them any less of a man; in fact, it makes themmoreof one.”
Jason’s hands land on my waist, and he pulls me back from Brandon.
“We’re leaving,” Jason says to Brandon. “Stay away from Siena, or we’re going to have a problem.”
“I just want my phone,” Brandon growls, pointing at me. “I tried playing nice, but that hasn’t worked. Now, you’re going to regret this.”
Jason steps forward again with a murderous look on his face, almost like it’s an automatic reaction and he can’t help himself, but I pull him back. More people are walking in the hall now, sending us curious looks, and Jason allows me to drag him away and down a different corridor. Brandon doesn’t follow us, but he and Jason don’t drop their gazes until we turn the corner and they lose sight of each other.
“I can’tfuckingstand him,” Jason fumes, shaking some of the tension from his limbs and taking his place beside me as we head toward the cafeteria.
“He’s the worst, but you can’t fight him. We were just warned about that, and I don’t think you’d squeak by with a suspension this time. Principal Anderson would expel you if you beat him up.” Because there’s no doubt that Jasonwould’vebeaten him up. I can still feel the anger radiating off him, and so can the kids passing us in the hall, scurrying away quickly to give us a wide berth. I’m not scared of Jason, though. There’s nothing he could ever do that would make me scared of him.
“It would’ve been worth it,” he says, and though I hear the conviction in his words and know he truly believes it, that’s not something I’d ever want for him, especially not on my behalf.
Placing my hand in his, I give it a gentle squeeze. “I appreciate it, Jason, but let’s be smarter than him. We’re going to focus on finding what he’s hiding so we can finally take him down for good and get justice for Lily.”
Jason’s jaw clenches before he relents with a subtle nod, his fingers tightening around mine. My body becomes warm and fuzzy from the action—and from the knowledge that Jason, this loyal, smart, and annoyingly handsome boy beside me, would’ve risked expulsion forme. He’s there for me in a way no one ever has been, and I grip his hand a bit tighter.
Four
Dario’s barely spoken a word to me since he got back from his work trip. He doesn’t evenlookat me if he can help it, and I know from his angry confession it’s because he can’t stand the sight of me, ofFlorence. It hurts, the way he pointedly keeps his head turned the opposite way when passing me in the hall or aimed down at the drink he’s swirling in his hand. I’ll never have a relationship with my father, and I hate that it bothers me so much. But he kind of talks to Gia, or at least he doesn’t actively go out of his way to avoid her, and I try not to be jealous of the way she beams when he asks her a question or takes a minuscule amount of interest in her day.
Like right now, as I’m heating up some sauce Zia Stella left in the fridge to throw over the pasta I boiled for my and Gia’s dinner, Dario stops in the kitchen for more ice cubes. He opens the large stainless steel freezer and casually asks Gia, “You make the volleyball team?”
