Page 24 of Remember Us This Way

He’s hiding in plain sight, and it’s so blatantly obvious how much pain he’s in. It leaves me wondering how the hell nobody else can see it. He’s screaming for help, and the people surrounding him can’t seem to hear it.

God, why the hell does he do this to himself? Doesn’t he understand just how much it kills me to see him hurting like this?

Taking another step toward my table, a hand shoves hard into my shoulder, forcing me to an agonizing stop. My head whips back to find Shannan Holter standing right in front of me, that same wicked smirk I’d seen this morning resting on her lips. “Why are you looking over there?” she questions, moving in dangerously close. “There’s nothing there for you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do,” she sings, her voice hitching higher and gaining the attention of everyone in the cafeteria, especially Noah’s “You’re in love with Noah Ryan, but guess what? He doesn’t want you. I saw the way he looked at you this morning. You’re trash.”

She laughs, and the rest of the school seems to laugh along with her as humiliation pours over me.

“Trash,” she repeats, her grin widening as she leans in even closer.

I roll my eyes and go to step around her, but she steps with me, blocking me and forcing me to stay to play her ridiculous little game. “Don’t you have orphaned puppies to kick or candy to steal from children?”

“It seems I have a break in my schedule,” she says, her eyes dancing with amusement as I feel Noah’s heated stare like lasers on my back. “But don’t you worry about that, I have more than enough time for you.”

“Seriously?” I say, my lips twisting in disgust and boredom. “This is really the kind of bullshit that gets you off? Don’t you see how pathetic this makes you look? The popular cheer captain picking on the typical good girl. You’re such a cliché, Shannan. It’s lame and embarrassing.”

She scoffs, not affected by my words in the least. “What’s cliché is the way you’re drooling over Noah. Now, that’s what I call embarrassing. Look at you, Zoey. You’re pathetic, but don’t you worry, I’m going to dedicate my whole senior year to making sure you know just how fucking pathetic you really are.”

My gaze flicks back to Tarni, watching her from our table as she watches me in return, not doing a damn thing to help me. Then, letting out a sigh, I look back at Shannan. “Perfect, can’t wait,” I say with a forced smile, realizing this is only the beginning. I go to step around her again, and this time she lets me, only I pull back and meet her stare. “By the way,” I say, matching her loud tone. “You’ve got a big chunk of spinach right there between your two front teeth.”

Humiliation washes over her face, and she quickly ducks her head to pick at the spinach. I waste no time walking away, but the rest of the cheer squad gathers around, creating a circle around me. “Trash. Trash. Trash,” they chant as I desperately search for a break in the circle, needing a way out, but there’s no denying the synchronicity of the cheer team is on point. They’re good at what they do.

“Trash. Trash. Trash.” The chanting gets louder, the rest of the school joining in as they gather around. I search for Tarni in desperation, finding her across the room, but she just shakes her head. She’s not willing to take on a crowd this size, and the more the circle closes in around me, the more my claustrophobia turns to panic.

“TRASH. TRASH. TRASH.”

Air becomes harder to pull into my lungs with each heaving breath I take, and as I desperately search for a way out, I find Noah still sitting at his table, watching the fresh hell surrounding me. Despite the crown on his goddamn head, despite being the only one with the power to put this shit to rest, he just sits there and watches as I become the school outcast, ridiculed for simply caring about the boy I used to know.

This is his doing. He might not be the one chanting, but he’s just as guilty, and I’ll never forgive him for allowing this to happen.

“TRASH. TRASH. TRASH.” The chanting is at an all-time high, the people moving in closer, and I spin around, frantically searching for an escape. Tears begin to well in my eyes. The laughter and taunting come from every angle, and unable to bear it a second longer, I barge right through the crowd, shouldering past the students as they laugh at my back.

People grab at me, pulling my hair, spanking my ass, and the tears finally fall, staining my cheeks as I reach the doors and race out into the hallway. I run toward my locker to get my things, stumbling and struggling to catch my breath, but the lock shakes in my unsteady hands as I try to enter the combination.

Finally getting it open, I reach in to grab my bag and check my keys are right where I left them, and as I slam my locker closed, I hear someone running after me. “Zoey,” Tarni calls from up the hallway.

“Leave me alone,” I spit, hastily wiping my eyes.

“Come on,” she groans, catching up with me. “Don’t be mad at me. There was nothing I could do. It was a fucking mob. What did you expect?”

“Anything,” I cry, slinging my bag over my back. “Anything would have helped.”

With that, I turn away and run for the exit, more than ready to get out of here. Barging through the doors, I break out through the front gates and get halfway to my car when I see him standing there, waiting for me as though he has every right.

I shake my head, not ready to face him after that humiliation, but I refuse to walk away now.

Noah leans against my Range Rover, his big arms crossed over his strong chest as his stare bores into mine. I continue storming toward him, my jaw clenched as the overwhelming anger, frustration, and humiliation claim me. “What the hell do you want?” I demand, walking around him to unlock the car and shove my bag in the passenger’s side.

He shakes his head, clearly having no damn clue why he bothered to come down here, but it’s obvious to me—guilt.

“I just—”

“No,” I snap, moving back around to the driver’s side and reaching for my door. “You don’t have the right to come to me. Not anymore. And especially not after the bullshit you’ve thrown at me the last two days.”

I go to open the door, but he reaches past me and slams it again, demanding my attention. “Hold up a fucking second.”

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