“I don’t believe you,” says Damien, as we walk down the deserted hallway to class. “I don’t believe you’ll deal with it. And Iamgoing to get involved.”
“Damien!” I beg, grabbing him by the arm. “Please don’t. Please. I’m sorry I came off as weak. I’ll figure something out so your reputation doesn’t take a hit, okay? Don’t take it out on her.Please.”
He stops and turns to me, all danger leaving his eyes as he gazes at me. “You’ve got it all wrong,” he says softly. “I don’t care about any of that. I care that someoneinsultedyou. No one gets away with that.”
“Okay.” I lick my dry lips. “Please don’t take it out on her.”
“I’m nottakinganything out on her. I’m teaching her a lesson.No onefucking messes with my best friend.”
Before I have time to react, he’s entered the wrong classroom. The one Lia is in.
“Fuck, Damien,” I groan.
“What the hell is he doing?” questions Everest. “We have math right now!” He marks a beat. “Okay, well, I’m going to class before we get into any more trouble!”
Not bothering to answer him, I walk into the classroom after Damien. He’s already at Lia’s desk, hovering over her. Thereisn’t an ounce of the usual condescending superiority in her eyes. She looks as pale as a sheet, but her mouth remains set in a firm line, as if she’s trying to hold in her fear, and face the music courageously.
Fuck. What the fuck are you doing, Damien? Stop it!
No one else is moving a muscle. The teacher looks on mutely from the side of the room. I can tell he’s just as scared of Damien as the rest of the class is. They all know better than to get involved.
The only person who could possibly put a stop to what’s happening is me. But all I can do is stare, helplessly, as Damien gets in Lia’s face.
“You called my friend a loser?” he growls at her.
“Yes,” she snaps with a show of bravery, though she can’t quite keep her voice from shaking. “Because he is. So fuck off, Wells.”
Hooking a hand around her arm, he pulls her up from her seat. A whimper escapes her lips as he forces her to the front of the classroom.
“I hear you wanted to eat without having him in your sight,” he says as she struggles uselessly to get back up.
I don’t even wonder how he could possibly know the specifics of what happened moments before we left school to go to the bar. I’ve long ago learned that Damien knows everything.
Besides, I’m far too worried right now as I take in her eyes, wide with fear, darting around the classroom as if begging for help… before settling on me.
I wish I could help you, Lia. I fucking wish I could help you.
She seems to understand my unspoken words. Or maybe she just realizes nothing and no one can put a stop to whatever’s about to happen to her. She’s fucked, but she’s not going down without a fight.
“Yeah, I did,” she lashes out in answer to his comment. “Ididn’t feel like looking at scum while I ate.”
There’s a collective intake of breath in the class, but I don’t even feel insulted. I realize the words aren’t really directed at me right now. She’s trying to get a rise out of Damien. Daring him to do his worst.
The thing is, Damien’s worst is really fucking bad.
“Damien,” I whisper, but he doesn’t even look at me.
Instead, he grabs the garbage can in the corner of the class. It’s supposed to be for paper only, but somehow, like all the trash cans in this godawful school, absolutely everything finds its way into it: wads of gum, half-empty bags of chips, old, rotting sandwiches, used condoms.
I nearly throw up just at the sight of it as he grabs it and carries it back to the center of the room.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The breadth of what he’s planning begins to form vaguely in my mind, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
When he turns the can upside down over her, I know it’s just the beginning.
She starts gagging as its disgusting contents fall on and around her, a piece of chewed gum and a used condom getting trapped in her thick curls.
