A mocking chuckle pours out of him.
Fear skitters down my spine. I need to get out of here. But I can’t move. I can’t breathe. And I’m trapped between the wall and Austin’s body. My breathing grows labored, the sound loud in the near-empty hallways.
Where did everyone go? There were more people before. Did the bell ring and I somehow missed it?
“Is that what happened, Cece? Did you realize you need a real man to?—”
“Get the fuck away from her,” an all too familiar voice bites out. The next thing I know, Austin is thrown back away from me and slammed into the wall across from me. His body bounces off the wall, a small grunt hissing past his lips.
My eyes jerk to familiar pools of amber right before Gabriel tears his furious gaze away from mine, only to shove his face into Austin’s. “I told you to stay the fuck away from her,” Gabriel snarls, fists twisting into the collar of Austin’s polo shirt.
Gabriel looks two seconds away from punching Austin in the face, but he can’t.
Not here.
There’s too much at stake for him.
“Gabe—” I start.
“Or what?” Austin bites back. “Last I heard, she dumped your ass. So, why don’t you mind your own business?”
Gabriel’s nostrils flare and he draws his fist back, but before he can swing, I lunge for it. Wrapping my hands around his wrist, I pull down on his arm, praying he won’t shrug me off.
“He isn’t worth it,” I tell him, my voice pleading.
Austin’s grin widens. “You sure about that?” His eyes rake me up and down with clear interest as bile scorches the back of my throat.
The first bell rings, a shrill alarm reminding me to get to class. Only I can’t just walk away from this. Not knowing that as soon as I turn my back, Gabriel will punch Austin in the face. He’d happily be the one to deliver the first blow.
It’s what Austin wants. I can see it in his eyes. He wants Gabriel to punch him, which means he already knows the repercussions Gabriel will face.
I can’t let Gabriel throw his future down the drain. Austin’s parents are lawyers. They’ll go straight to the Dean’s office—guns blazing—and have Gabriel expelled.
Screw him.
Austin doesn’t deserve that satisfaction. He’s ruined enough lives as it is. I won’t let him destroy Gabriel’s.
“What’s it gonna be, Hererra?” Austin taunts. “You gonna defend your girl, or are you gonna walk away like a scared little bitch?”
Gabe bares his teeth but eases back, his entire body vibrating with barely tempered restraint.
Austin’s hands raise in mock surrender even as his smile remains cold and satisfied. He tips an imaginary hat my way. “The bitch route it is. Good thing you cut this one loose.” He chuckles. “See you around, Cece. Enjoy class.” He turns to saunter down the now empty hall and disappears around the corner just as the late bell rings, his jaunty whistle echoing back to Gabriel and me where we stand.
I slump against the wall, shaking and fighting back irrational tears. I’m going to be sick. Or pass out. Or both. Now that the adrenaline is leaving my system, I’m falling apart fast.
Fuck.
Why won’t Austin just leave me alone? What is it going to take? I’ve done everything he’s asked. There’s nothing left for me to give. No further concession I can make.
Pulling in one gasping breath after another, I close my eyes, counting down from one hundred to quell the rising panic threatening to choke me. If Gabriel hadn’t been here … No. I can’t think about that right now.
I’m fine. Austin is gone. I’m going to be fine.
Deep breath in.Exhale.Deep breath out.
My hands tremble as I smooth back my long brown hair, my fingers unsteady.
I avoid Gabriel’s searching gaze, instead staring down at the Volcom graphic on my oversized T-shirt. It hangs off one shoulder, exposing more bare skin than I’d like. Should have stuck with a sweater.
