Page 53 of Drifting

I pin him with a stare. “But you… What, Dom? That bitch stopped you, and you let her. I got your message loud and clear, so stay the fuck away from me.”

I turn and limp out of the classroom, tears brimming in my eyes.

Before I’m out of ear shot, I catch Mav asking, “What the fuck happened?”

“We fucked up,” Dom replies.

Then, I round the corner, and their voices fade.

I make it to my next class and find Luke sitting in the classroom. He rises, about to stand, when I give him an evil glare. He sits right back down.

I take a desk on the other side of the room and feel his eyes on me through the entire class, but I don’t dare turn. Instead, I keep my eyes on the teacher.

My next class is Chemistry with Nick. I feel bad about what I said to him. It was purely out of anger, and I shouldn’t have vented my rage at him. After telling off the twins and avoiding Luke, I’m sure they already texted Nick about everything.

When I sit beside Nick, he turns toward me, his face red. He grips his pen in his left hand and uses his other hand to push up his glasses. “Why did you lie to me about falling?”

I hang my head. “It’s my fight, Nick. If the guys tell the girls to leave me alone, it will only make it worse. I need to handle it my way.”

Girls react differently than guys, and I react differently than both. My emotions are all over the place right now, but I don’t know how to convey that to Nick.

I rub my face and miss my chance to apologize as the teacher starts class.

Since I’m already lost in this class, I have no choice but to pay attention.

When the bell rings, Nick grabs his stuff and shoves it into his bag.

“Nick, wait.”

“I’m busy,” he says. “I need to go.” He mumbles something else, but I don’t catch it.

I slam my hand on the table. Shit, I screwed up. Nick’s been nothing but nice to me. I need to fix it.

Not heading toward the cafeteria, I go to the nurse’s office instead. With everything that happened this morning, I lost my appetite.

Halfway there, I realize I messed up again and forgot about Paige. I need to warn her.

Me: I’m not hungry. Heading to the nurse.

Paige: Heard about what happened this morning. Are you okay?

Me: Fine, but you need to watch out for Carrie.

Paige: Already happened.

Shit, this day sucks. I just want it to be over with.

I limp into the nurse’s office and tell her I fell and would like something for the pain.

She gives me a glass of water and a white pill.

“Why don’t you lie down on one of the beds?” she suggests. “I’ll wake you when lunch is over.”

Grateful, I take the pills and lie down to wait for the pain to fade.

* * *

During my last period, Nick texts.

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