Page 54 of Cruel Steps

“Do they have dancers or just a place for people to dance?” The need to dance for myself had become a necessity with all the shit going on. Midnight sessions weren’t cutting it. I wanted to dance with other people.

“You like to watch girls dance, new girl? Are you a carpet muncher?”

This time, I couldn’t hold back the grimace. “Does that mean there are?” I ignored his homophobic slur, deciding to pick my battle. He rolled his eyes, sitting back in his chair. Ah, it seemed like the dude didn’t like me anymore. Ha! Too bad.

“Yeah, there are dancers. Good luck with that,” he scoffed.

“Speaking from experience, drink boy?”

“Bitch,” he mumbled. “No wonder those girls drew on you.”

The air in my lungs stalled, and the reminder of that day returned to the forefront of my mind.

Hope and the dance team were laughing and poking at my body. They’d dumped milk on me during lunch and stolen my spare clothes from my locker, so I had nothing to wear when I went to change. They’d surrounded me, pointing out all my flaws and drawing on me to tell me where I needed to get work done. That had been one of the worst days of my life.

My skin felt tight, and a sickening sensation crawled over me the longer I sat there. Hoping the asshole hadn’t lied about the slides, I grabbed my notebook and bag and fled from the room. I was two for four on actually making it through classes.

My feet moved independently, and when I climbed the steps to the library, I wasn’t all that surprised. I didn’t know if Colter would be working, but the calmness of the library was the balm I needed. Finding a hidden corner on a random floor, I sat on the floor, pulled my arms around my legs, and held myself. Surrounded by books, the quiet, and the dark, I finally calmed down, my body feeling like my own again and not a foreign appendage.

Pulling out my phone, I texted Cody and checked in with Taylor. I heard footsteps quicker than expected and looked up when he rounded the corner.

“Peanut?”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“But Peanut, it fits you so well!” he teased, and I instantly felt better. He sat on the floor beside me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I’d only known him for a day, but it felt longer after yesterday’s events. “Fancy meeting you here,” he said after it had been quiet.

“I left class. Some dudebro hit on me, and when I turned him down, he first called me a homophobic slur and then threw the video in my face. All the memories of that day rushed back, and I couldn’t be there anymore.”

Cody draped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my forehead. “Want me to beat him up?”

I laughed, wiping tears I hadn’t known had fallen. “He’s not worth it, but thank you.”

“Of course, babe. How was the rest of the day?”

I filled him in on my morning with Colter and art class with Holden. Then I remembered the threat and turned to him, grabbing his arm.

“I might have accidentally claimed you gave me a hickey.” I cringed, my face heating.

Cody lifted his eyebrows and wiggled them. “Accidentally? Let me see my handiwork.” He turned my head, his eyes widening at the sight. “Damn, I’m good.”

I shoved him away, my face heating. “Holden threatened to hurt you, and I told him he’d regret it if he touched a hair on your head, so if he does, let me know.”

Cody rolled his eyes. “I can hold my own, Peanut.”

“It’s the principle, Cody!”

He chuckled. “Okay, okay. Can we get off this floor now? My butt’s gone numb.”

“Heaven forbid your ass loses feeling,” I teased. We both laughed, walking out from the row and abruptly stopping at the sight of the man glaring at us both.

“What’s up, Captain?” Cody said, grinning. He placed his arm around my shoulders and smiled smugly at Holden. I elbowed him. It was one thing to accidentally not tell him the truth, quite another to poke the bear, or German Shepherd, in Holden’s case.

The man in question eyed Cody’s arm, his fingers flexing, but he stayed quiet, glowering at us before turning and stomping off in the other direction.

“Dude has it bad for you, Peanut.”

“I think you mean he hates my guts.”

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