The only time a good girl ever shows her teeth is when she smiles.
“Hey, sorry, I’d better get to class.”
Ignoring my obvious discomfort, Jason leans against my locker, using his body to block my escape. “Hold on a minute.” He leans closer, lowering his head toward mine. Personal space isn’t a thing to him either. “Louis bragged you were making out with him. That true?”
I blow out a breath. Other than running, kissing cute boys is one of the few things that makemefeel good. Dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin—I need to get those happy hormonessomehow. And I can’t seem to resist, even if I’d be better off avoiding boys completely.
“You aren’t my boyfriend.”
His eyes darken. To Jason, I’m playing hard to get, and he hates losing more than anything. He already won over all the popular girls in school, but that isn’t enough for him. He’s the type of person who needs to be loved by everyone, since he’s incapable of loving himself.
“Is Louis?” Jason demands.
“No.” I force another smile, surprised my teeth haven’t cracked yet. “Like I said, I don’t do relationships.”
Least of all with you, I silently add. Why would I ever want to be in a relationship after what happened to my parents? Mom could never leave because she loved Dad. Ineverwant to end up in a situation like that. As long as I don’t care, I can’t be trapped.
I move around Jason, determined not to be late for class.
He grabs my arm. “We’re not done here, Edith.”
“Don’t touch me.” I bite out the words, struggling to remain calm and collected. All I can think of is how many times my dad put his hands on Mom without her permission. “Please,” I add, already trying to smooth things over, so I won’t make him angrier.
Just like Mom used to.
Jason tightens his grip on me. “You had no problem with me touching you before.”
Suddenly it feels like a hundred degrees in here. My blood is boiling.
“It’s called consent,” I tell him, my temples throbbing. “And it can be taken away at any time. Including right now.”
With a sudden burst of strength, I yank free of him.
“Whoa, whoa.” Jason laughs, but he sounds a little nervous. “Calm down. I barely touched—”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” My voice is practically a growl.
I hate those words more than anything.You need to calm down,Dad used to tell Mom on the rare occasion she couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. Funny how that never applied tohim, though. His anger was never the problem.
Hers was.
“Look, I’m just trying to talk.” Jason moves closer. “Stop being so hysterical.”
I back up slowly. “Get. Away. From. Me.”
Jason doesn’t listen. He closes the distance in a stride, grabbing for me again. My head is pounding so hard I can barely stay standing. His hand is large and strong as he reaches for me, just like when Dad—
My palm connects with Jason’s cheek with a loud smack. As I hit him, my nails look suddenly… wrong. They’re no longer nails but light-coloredclaws, long and thick and sharp. Claws that leave long slashes across his cheek, bright blood welling against pale skin.
Something inside me snarls with violent satisfaction.
Jason’s hand flies to his face, his eyes wide. “You cut me, you fuckingbitch.”
“No.” I freeze in shock. “I slapped you, that’s…”
Doubt seizes me. It’s not possible. I didn’t cut him. Did I? I stare down at my shaking hands. They look normal again. My nails are short and round and pink, the edges ragged from where I’ve chewed on them. “I-I…”
“Holy shit,” a student says, whipping out his phone.
