Page 77 of Spooks & Specters

“Are you all right?” he asked urgently, helping Austin to sit up.

“I will be,” Austin said, trying to steady his breathing. “Thanks for coming when you did. Please, you can’t tell my grandparents.”

“Master Austin—”

“Please. Youcan’ttell them. Somehow this will all end up being my fault. At the very least I’ll get another lecture on embarrassing them. At the worst? I don’t know what they’d do. Send me overseas to a boarding school? Please. You can’t tell them.”

The chauffeur sighed loudly. “Ignoring a bully is never the answer.”

“I know. But telling my grandparents isn’t the answer, either.”

Without another word, his chauffeur helped him to his feet and guided him towards the car. Once inside, Austin leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes as he tried to calm down.

His body ached from the assault, and he knew he’d be covered in bruises tomorrow, but nothing felt broken, so there was that.

The ride home was silent. Austin stared out the window, lost in thought. He knew this wasn’t over. Travis wouldn’t take being thwarted lightly. But for now, he was safe.

When they arrived at his home, Austin thanked his chauffeur again before making his way inside slowly. The house was quiet. His grandparents were already asleep, and he was grateful for it.

Up in his room, he locked the door behind him and finally allowed himself to break down. Tears streamed down his face as he slid to the floor, overwhelmed by everything that had happened. But amid the fear and uncertainty, there was a spark of something else—anger.

Anger at Travis for what he’d done tonight and all those other times. Anger at himself for feeling so powerless. Anger about how his mother cared more about the liquor than she did him. Anger at how his dad abused him after his mother died.

He was angry about everything and he’d had enough.

Chapter Three

HIS MONSTER had the absolute worst timing ever.

Austin had showered, cleaned the cuts as best he could, and was now lying down in bed, groaning softly because everything hurt.

“Austin? What’s wrong? Why do you sound like that?”

Of course. The one time he was hoping his monster wouldn’t be there, it would show up.

“It’s nothing.”

“Do not lie to me. Never lie to me. Your heart is pounding, and you groaned like you’re in pain. Are you in pain? Why are you in pain?”

“Please, it’s nothing.”

“Which means it is something.”

Austin closed his eyes. The worry in his monster’s voice was so very obvious.

“Austin, please, tell me what happened. I’m worried. Let me help you. Please.”

No one had ever cared about him, but here was this creature that he had never seen, practically begging him to tell it what was wrong. Why couldn’t the humans in his life do the same for him?

“Promise me you won’t get mad?”

“I can promise I won’t get mad at you.”

Biting his lip, Austin told the whole awful story about Travis, Travis’s friends, the bullying, the attacks in the locker room, the things that were said, other little incidents that weren’t quite as bad but were still painful, and finally how they had jumped him tonight.

The more Austin talked, the madder he got.

He had donenothingto deserve any of that. Travis seemingly targeted him for no reason and out of nowhere.Maybe Travis was in the closet, but that didn’t give him a reason to treat Austin how he had, and now to do this?

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