The room started to clear, students getting ready to move on to their next class, but just then, the fire alarm screeched in my ears and commotion filled the lunchroom.
I pulled out my earbuds, the blaring cry and flashing lights from the alarms on the wall deafening. I winced, rising from my seat.
“Single file, everyone!” a teacher called, and I looked around, seeing Will and some friends already heading out the door.
What the hell? A fire?
He looked back at me, meeting my eyes as he walked, but I looked away and headed around the table.
Leaving my tray, I hurried to the line, a teacher leading us out while more trailed behind to make sure we had everyone. The hall crowded with students, everyone trying to get out of the building as teachers shouted for us to be calm and quiet.
“Do not run!” one told us.
While another said, “Get back here. You’re not going to the bathroom.”
We filed outside, students drifting to the far edge of the parking lot and waiting as the siren inside continued to pierce the air over and over again.
I looked around, seeing Will sit on the bricks lining the tree and flower bed, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared up at me.
Victoria Radcliffe and Maisie Vos sat at each side, Tori draping an arm over his shoulder, showing off her hundred-dollar cuticles as she chatted to someone else.
Will just sat there, and I shifted on my feet, turning my back on him as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Where’s Damon Torrance?” I heard someone ask.
I popped my head up, seeing the dean walk through the crowd.
“He was just in the cafeteria. Anyone see where he went?”
I scanned the crowd, looking for two heads of blonde hair and finally spotting Erika, alone and frantically talking to a teacher.
“Winter Ashby’s missing, too,” I called out.
Kincaid looked over at me, then surveyed the crowd. Pursing his lips, he charged back toward the school.
“Why ruin the good time she’s no doubt having, Emory?”
I looked over my shoulder, seeing Maisie wearing a smirk.
Everyone in their little group was staring at me.
“She’s fourteen,” I said.
I mean, duh.
But she just snickered. “Why don’t you just go away?”
My gaze dropped to Will, heat spreading all over my body. He just sat there and stared at me, a self-satisfied smile in his eyes that he didn’t let out. He didn’t blink once.
Their disdain felt like a kick, and in over two years at this school, I’d never felt so far on the outside, because while I didn’t care how I looked in their eyes, I cared how I looked in his.
Twisting back around, I walked away, the cloud in my head thickening again until the pain of wanting him turned into an addiction to the pain of rejecting him.
It grew and fed me every day from that point on.
Destroying myself and everything I loved and wanted for myself became the only thing I had any control over.
I could ignore him in class. Pass him in the halls without a look. Act like he didn’t exist.
Pretend I was above it all and they were nothing.
I did it all.
Time passed, seasons changed, he left for college, and a year later, so did I.
What I didn’t know then was that the damage we would do to each other was only just beginning.
Will
Present
Micah dropped her to her feet, took her hands, and twirled her around before pulling her in and holding her close. They danced and laughed, and my chest swelled, feeling too much all of a sudden, my arms weighing a ton.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I watched her. We all heard the music, one by one, each of us making our way down to the ballroom.
Micah couldn’t resist, instantly gravitating toward her, and it wasn’t until he had her in his arms that I saw the tears on her face.
She was quickly smiling, though, and it was heart-wrenching, because I knew I’d made her cry. No matter how many times I told myself she deserved to suffer, this wasn’t in my nature.
I’d be lost without some second chances myself. There were always two sides to a story, and everything was just a matter of perspective.
But finding out that she was the one who sent us to prison was almost a relief. It finally gave me permission to hate her and not just resent her because she had rejected me.
Micah swung her out, and she twirled, stepping on her tiptoes, and the both of them danced the Mashed Potato or some equally dumb dance, and I smiled even wider. For a few moments, we weren’t in Blackchurch. We were friends, hanging out and having a good time.
And suddenly, I missed home a lot.
“Go to her,” Alex urged me.
Taylor, Aydin, and Rory hung back, amusement written on their faces, and part of me wanted to go to. It was like a whole other world to see her like this.
But years of disappointment and doubt kept me rooted in my spot.
“Ow, ow!” Emmy suddenly yelped.
I shot my gaze up, seeing her stumble before Micah rushed in and pulled her up to him, keeping her steady.
She hissed, lifting her leg off the floor, and I saw blood stream down the bottom of her foot.
I took a step, but then Aydin stormed in, heading to the middle of the dance floor, and I stopped, watching him.
“Ow,” she grunted, but then chuckled, looking around the floor. “Shit, the glass.”
Aydin glared at Micah. “I thought you said you cleaned it up.”
“I did clean it up,” he rushed to explain.
Aydin swept Emmy into his arms, a couple of drops dripping off her heel, and my blood boiled so hot I felt nauseated, seeing her in his arms.
Goddammit. If my head would just settle on one emotion where she was concerned, that would be fucking fantastic. I hate her, but she’s mine. Go away, but don’t go with him!
He carried her past us, and we followed as I zoned in on her hands locked around his neck. He took her up the stairs, to his room, setting her on the bed as we all lingered by the door.
He could’ve taken her to the kitchen. He had a first aid kit there, too.
She lifted her foot up, setting it on her knee, probably trying to keep the blood off the carpet, but he knelt down in front of her and took it, holding a cloth to the bottom.
“It’s okay,” she said, trying to pull her leg away and hold the cloth herself.
He wouldn’t let it go.
Lifting it up, he inspected the damage, and I got angrier by the second. She’d stepped on a shard. She was an architect. She’s had her share of splinters, asshole.
Aydin looked up, jerking his chin at the guys. “There’s a bottle in the pantry,” he told them. “Go have fun.”
“Fuck, yeah,” Taylor said, sliding back out of the room.
Rory slapped Micah’s stomach. “Pool party.”
He breathed out a laugh, and they all left, heading back down the stairs and leaving Alex and me with Aydin and Emory.
I looked after the guys as they disappeared down the stairs, a sinking feeling in my gut. They were going to be drunk in an hour.
Aydin wanted them drunk.
I stepped closer, watching her and him, bracing myself for the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself.
“I want a bottle,” she joked to Aydin.
He looked up at her, a smile playing on his lips. Without taking his eyes off of her, he reached over into the cabinet on the bedside table and pulled out another container and a glass, setting them both next to the lamp.