There’s something about him that brings me peace. When I sit next to him, when I talk to him, the world feels a little softer, a little easier to bear. The anger fades, the grief dulls, and even the shame, that constant sense of being nothing but trash used by two ex-cons, loses some of its weight. It’s like Alex’s energy is purging me, lifting me up, almost healing.
We continue chatting as we walk downstairs.
We turn a corner, heading toward the hallway where the freshmen have their lockers, and suddenly four figures step out in front of us.
Yeah. Four.
Alex reacts first. He spins around instantly, trying to dart back the way we came, but one of the alphas grabs his backpack and yanks him to a stop.
"Let him go. Right now," I growl through clenched teeth, but the tallest alpha’s hands clamp down on my neck.
I know immediately he’s not a student here. He has to be nineteen or twenty, built like a grown alpha, several inches taller than me, and I can tell there’s no way I can win against him. This isn’t Vin, who I could take down with sheer determination.
When I glance at the others, it hits me, interesting. Neither Rob nor Vin is here, yet I can tell these guys are from their family. Hansons. Those crude mugs.
"We’ve heard a lot of good things about you, Pretty Face," says the tallest one, the one holding me by the neck.
Then he leans close to my ear and adds, "But I also heard you don’t know your manners. Guess we’ll have to fix that."
One of them, another guy I don’t recognize from our school, though to be fair, I don’t know many people yet, steps in front of me, and in the next moment, I take a hard hit to the stomach.
"No!" Alex screams, struggling against the grip of one of the two younger alphas holding him.
My gut feeling grows stronger, none of these guys belong to our high school. If they did, they’d be expelled for this in a heartbeat. Somehow they snuck in. I have to give it to Rob and Vin, that’s clever. They know that if they got involved themselves, or even showed up here, they’d be kicked out. But this way? They’re not technically here. So it’s got ‘nothing’ to do with them.
Still, it’s not like they can take anything from me. Everything’s already been taken.
There’s a strange, twisted pleasure in the pain, a masochistic calm when the blows land on my stomach, my face, even on my crotch. I feel the blood dripping from my nose and mouth, theworld darkening around me. Hit, after hit, after hit, dull thuds pounding into my body.
I can hear Alex screaming, his voice muffled as one of the alphas holds him from behind and covers his mouth, trying to silence him. Still, every now and then, a sharp, desperate cry escapes him.
Then another blow hits my jaw, and the world folds into soothing darkness.
When I open my eyes for just a moment, I feel Alex’s soft, warm hands on my forehead, on my cheeks. He’s cradling my face, whispering,
"Bay, Bay, Bay… please open your eyes, I’ve called for help!"
His hands are so warm, filled with that sweet, gentle energy that makes me want to sink into it and forget everything, the pain, the fear, all the terrible things that happened to me.
So I don’t let myself wake up.
Instead, I let myself fall deeper into that comforting, healing darkness, lulled by the tender touch of Alex’s hands.
???
When I wake up again, I’m in a hospital. Pale, neon light, the scent of hospital sheets, the beeping of machines watching over my pulse… all of it surrounds me like a haze.
Voices drift toward me from somewhere in the distance, my dad’s tense, raised voice mixed with someone else’s.
My eyelids feel heavy like lead, but I manage to keep them open.
Jordan is sitting in the chair beside me. I guess my parents are somewhere out in the hallway, talking to the doctor.
But not for long.
"Bay!" Jordan leans over me right away. "Lake, he woke up, come here!"
My parents rush into the room, their faces tight with worry and stress.
