He pulls his arm back for one last hit, but the guy on my left drops me. I lurch to the ground, and the guy on my right gives up on holding me too. I manage to put my arms out to catch myself, but the intense roaring pain has them collapse, and I faceplant onto the carpet.
* * *
Every breath feels like I’m drawing glass into my chest cavity and inviting it to shred my lungs to nothing. I think I have at least two broken ribs, and I have to remember to baby them a bit so I don’t puncture a damn lung. I know the score, I’ve done this all before, but I dream about the day that I never have to worry about being beaten again.
It takes everything in me to get dressed for the day and then make it back down the stairs to start the school day. When I arrive at my history class, Harley is already present, and he watches me ease myself into my chair with knowing eyes. The rest of the class filters in behind me, and the teacher shuts the door firmly as she starts the class. I grunt as I lean down to empty my bag, but he doesn’t offer me any help. Only after I’ve completely set myself up does he speak to me.
“Who did that to you?” His voice is so soft, I know Avery hasn’t heard him. Whether he’s afraid to attract her attention or he thinks the answer is she’s responsible, I can’t even begin to guess.
“A junior. Joey’s getting desperate,” I murmur back. I don’t want his help, but I can’t afford to have him say anything to Avery and get me in the shit with her again. I physically could not fight her off right now.
“Which junior?” He’s still whispering, but the words are distorted, like he’s barely squeezing them out. I swivel in my chair to look at him, though it pains me. He’s not looking at me, he’s taking notes in his beautiful, even handwriting, and no one would guess that he was taking me any notice. I shake my head at him and try to ignore the pain and focus on the teacher’s words.
The teacher announces a pop quiz in our next lesson, and the class erupts with groans and whining from the other students. Harley uses the distraction to lean in to me, to whisper into my ear. My body is still firmly in defensive mode, so I startle, grunting at the white-hot pain that threatens to take my vision, sucking air into my ravaged lungs too quickly. As I cough and hack into my palm, I can taste the coppery tang on my tongue, and I know the wet spot on my palm is blood. Harley’s hand wraps around my wrist carefully but firmly, like he knows I’ll try and pull away from his touch. Even with my whole body lit up with intense pain, my skin tingles underneath his touch as he looks down at the evidence of my internal bleeding.
“Tell me who the fuck did that to you, or I’ll tell the teacher you’re spreading Mounty diseases by leaking blood everywhere.”
Typical Harley. He can’t even be sympathetic about my beating without acting like an ass. I tilt my head back to meet his eyes. I don’t know what to do with what I see on his face.
He’s staring at me how he looks at Avery, like I’m something precious, and my mind scrambles to figure out why. I gape at him and try to find my voice.
“Why would you care who did this to me?” I croak.
His eyes quickly shutter and his jaw twitches. From the corner of my eye, I see Avery turn to stare at us both. Great. Now I’m going to be attacked on my way to the toilet at midnight and I’ll probably rack up some medical bills I can’t afford to sort out.
“Spencer Hillsong. He had a couple of friends, but I didn’t recognize them.”
Harley gives me a curt nod, and then I nearly fall off my damn chair as he stoops down to pick up my bag for me and starts to pack away my books. Avery is still watching us, and while she’s not outright glaring, I wouldn’t call it a friendly sort of stare.
“Harley, you shouldn’t—“
He cuts her off with a sharp tone. “Shut it, Floss. Messing with her shit is one thing, beating her bloody is fucking disgusting. I’llendthat dickhead.”
I snort at him and take my now-full bag, slinging it gingerly over the shoulder that isn’t bruised. He gives me another look and then gently takes my elbow to steer me out of the class. I’m shocked enough to let him, and I can feel eyes following us both down the hall. Avery falls into step with him, but she doesn’t glance my way again.
We round the corner to get to our shared chemistry lab when we run right into Ash and Blaise. I cringe and try to pull away from Harley, but his grip only tightens. Blaise looks shocked to see me, but when he recovers, he is back to refusing to look at me. It’s like yesterday didn’t happen at all. That works for me. I’m doing my best to forget he exists. Ash is more curious about my appearance; his eyes take me in, inch by painstaking inch. It was possibly the worst time to start coughing up blood again. It becomes clear to me that if Harley wasn’t holding me up, I would collapse from the pain radiating around my chest, and my vision blurs threateningly again. Why did I even try to make it through today? I’m losing my edge at this school. At Mounts Bay, I always knew my limits. I need to regroup before it gets me killed.
“I told you to stay away from Joey. All of this is his doing. Honestly, you have no one but yourself to blame for this,” says Ash as he grabs my other arm. I grit my teeth, but I’m not sure if it’s because of his words or if I’m trying to take control of my body once again. The edges of my vision start to black out, and I can’t even choke out a retort.
“It wasn’t Joey, it was Hillsong, and he’s a fucking dead man walking,” snaps Harley.
I shut my eyes as we walk. There’s no point in fighting them, I barely have the energy to stay conscious. My mind is hazy. Not a great sign; I’m going to end up in the nurse's office.
“Do you really think he’s acting without Joey’s influence? Ash is right, she should have stayed away from him,” says Avery. She doesn’t sound happy at all.
It takes me a minute for my mind to catch up with our movements and to realize we’re still walking. Our lab is only a few yards away, so it makes no sense. Panic claws up my spine, and I jerk my arms to try and get free.They’re dragging me somewhere secluded to finish the job, Harley hates me, there’s no way he would care about some junior beating me!I plant my feet and try to stop from moving forward, but Harley and Ash are too strong for me.
“Calm the fuck down, Mounty. We’re going to take you back to your room so you can die somewhere more comfortable than the lab,” says Ash, and I can hear the laughter in his voice.
“Don’t be a dick, Ash. She’s probably suspicious we’re helping her. Twice in a week, I’d be suspicious too,” says Blaise, and I jerk my head around to see that he’s trailing behind us. He still won’t meet my eyes.
“Why are we helping her, again?” drawls Avery, not even bothering to look up from her phone. Her arm is linked with Ash, and he’s directing her as much as he’s helping me.
We arrive at my room, and it takes me three attempts to fumble the key out from around my neck and into the door. When I pause, Ash finally drops my arm and lets Avery tug him away from me. She’s probably scared he’s developing a soft spot for me, but I could set her straight about that. There’s no way the guy who snarls at me over the table in the library would ever feel anything but contempt for me. I have to admit, this rescue is pretty confusing for me. I’m struggling with my own feelings for all three of the guys, and their kind and gentle touches are just making this all the more difficult for me. It is not normal for a girl to be crushing on three guys this hard at the same damn time. I don’t want one of them, I want all three, even after everything they’ve done to me. I need to clear my head. I need some space, and I need it now.
Harley won’t move. I attempt a pointed look at him, but he just raises his eyebrows at me in return. When it’s clear neither of us are willing to back down, Blaise groans at us both and then pushes between us to grab the key and open the door. When his arm brushes mine, I flinch away from him so hard I hit the doorframe and grunt in pain. My body is going to pay dearly for that move.
“Why the fuck does she flinch like that when you touch her?” Harley snaps, and Blaise backs up quickly like his ass is on fire. I shuffle into the room and drop my bag on the floor.
