Page 61 of Dare To Take

I huff out a breath, pull my hood up to cover my head, then open the car door. My long black coat swirls around my boots when I move.

Elena already has the rear of the car open and is hauling out my four suitcases. A lot more than I left with, but with a whole new wardrobe, I needed them. I tuck the flower carefully in my shoulder bag, so it won’t get crushed, then grab the handles of two of the cases.

My mother locks up the car. “That rose you bought with you will brighten up your room.”

“Yeah.” I’d taken it on a whim from the vase in the hallway.

She pockets the key and takes the other two cases. “Lead the way.”

Walking across the campus, I’m aware of people staring at me as I pass. I lead my mother to the dorm building and up to my floor. Students whisper when they see me, but I ignore them.

I’m made of stone, just like the gargoyles sitting on the roof of the school. I can’t feel anything. Let them stare. Let them whisper. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need them.

Thankfully, the hallway is empty when we reach my room. I unlock the door and push it open. My side of the room is just how I’d left it, but Lacy’s is empty.

“This is nice.” Elena closes the door behind us. “Looks like you have a room to yourself.”

I place my bag on my bed. “Because no one wants to share with me.”

The Whore of Churchill Bradley Academy.

My jaw tightens at the nickname I’ve been christened. I’ve been tagged in enough photos to know what everyone thinks of me.

“That’s not so bad.” Elena continues to sound upbeat and positive. “You get to do whatever you want with it. Where do you want these?”

I gesture to my left. “Over there by the wall.”

She wheels the cases over and lowers the handles. “There we go.”

“Thanks for driving me.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” She glances around the half-empty room. “Do you have everything you need?”

“I think so.” I wrap my arms around myself, and stare forlornly around.

“The school has assigned you a counselor, who I’m sure you’ll get to meet soon.”

“Great.” I can’t muster up the energy to pretend to be happy about it.

She pulls her phone out and unlocks the screen. “I’m sure your friends are excited to have you back.”

“What friends?” I reply.

“I should get going. Remember, we’re only a phone call away. Text me any time and take care of yourself.”

My stomach is tight with nerves. “Okay.”

The months ahead look bleak, and all I want to do is run back to the car. The one light in the dark is that Eli isn’t coming back. From what my mother has said, the principal is refusing to readmit him.

He can stay in Rhode Island and burn.

Elena pauses in the doorway, and I wonder if she’s waiting for me to offer to walk back to the car with her. When I don’t say anything, she pulls the door closed behind her as she leaves. I unpack my bags, using the spare closet for all my new clothes. I’m halfway done when I’m hit with the need to get out of the small space.

I put my earbuds in, and press play on my phone. Avril Lavigne’s voice fills my ears, singing the lyrics to ‘I’m With You.’

I leave my room, rose clutched between my fingers, keeping my head down, and stride along the hallway, making my way past other students and pretending they aren’t there. I can’t shake the anxiousness that swamps me.

The cold nips at my skin as I exit the dorm building. I huddle beneath the warmth of my coat and set off across the grass. My anxiety doesn’t ease until I hit the path that winds through the woods. Pace steady, I follow it until the bench and cemetery come into sight. The familiar sight eases a little of the tension in my shoulders. I walk through the arched gateway, tug out my earbuds and weave my way through the gravestones.

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