Page 88 of Dare To Take

I shove her back against the mattress and walk out.

Chapter 56

Arabella

I sit with my back against the stone wall, phone cradled in my hands, while I stare at the pretty colors and patterns the light from the stained-glass windows cast on the floor. Snow fell during the night, to leave a blanket of pure white over the whole campus. Although it’s cold, I’m out of the icy bite of the wind, hidden away inside the chapel.

It’s Friday lunchtime. I’m still shaken up after Eli burst into my room a few nights ago and accused me of something I hadn’t done. The days are crawling by at a snail’s pace, and each hour that passes turns me into more of a nervous wreck than before.

I’m waiting for the next blow to fall. The next text to arrive. The next video or photograph to be leaked. The next explosion from Eli.

I’ve tried to call Amanda, but so far, she hasn’t picked up.

Please be there. I need someone to talk to. Someone to confide in before I lose my mind.

I swipe my finger over my phone screen and hit her number. It rings and rings but finally my persistence is rewarded, and the call connects.

“Hi, Amanda. Are you busy?” I speak quickly.

“Oh, hi.” Her voice sounds odd. “I’m on my lunch break.”

My grip tightens on my phone, and I press it closer to my ear. “I could really use someone to talk to right now.”

“Is this to do with why you ran away before Christmas?”

“Things have gotten worse.” Everything rushes out of me in a fast mess of words. “I’m being blackmailed into doing things. I don’t know who to talk to—”

Amanda cuts me off with a sigh. “Really? Blackmail now?”

I frown at the disbelief in her tone. “It’s true.”

“First, it was the evil stepbrother. Now, this. Can you be any more dramatic? Are you seeking attention again, like you always do? Your mom’s not there, so you’re making up a new story.”

“No, it’s not like that—”

She hums. “The more I think about it, you had never-ending drama.”

Hurt and shocked, I blink back tears. “I thought you were my friend.”

“You’re in your fancy school surrounded by rich kids. I guess things change, and people move on.”

“Amanda—”

“I have to eat my lunch. Good luck with the blackmail.” The line goes dead.

She doesn’t believe me. Has she always thought that I made things up about my mother? All the times I confided in her, did she think it was all a lie?

Something soft and delicate dies inside me as I go through everything she’s said.

Big, fat tears roll down my cheeks. I drop the phone and cradle my face while I sob into my hands. All my pent-up emotions and fears pour out.

I’m desperate to have someone put their arms around me. To feel the solid warmth of comfort. For someone to tell me that everything is going to be okay.

I cry until my chest hurts and my head feels heavy and dull, and then I curl up on the floor, my cheek pressed to the hard chilly stone. A numbness creeps over my body.

I don’t want to go back to school. I’m too wound up to eat. I can’t sleep. The thought of walking into my next class, not knowing who’s watching me or what will happen, makes my stomach twist in painful knots.

I’m waiting for the threatened punishment. It hangs over my head, but nothing has happened so far.

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