Page 27 of Don't Let Go

“Tyler… and do I pass your test?” I asked, hoping my voice didn’t give away how she was making me nervous.

She nodded. “Yes. You did and—”

Rory grabbed Chloe’s shoulder, sinking her fingers into Chloe’s collarbone. If it hurt, Chloe didn’t show it. “Let’s go,” Rory muttered between clenched teeth.

Chloe waved off Rory. “Okay, I’m right behind you.”

Rory sat at her desk and made a show of grabbing her textbook and notebook from her backpack.

Chloe leaned in closer. Her lavender perfume tickled my nose. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of you. Just know I approve…”

What the hell did that mean?

Before I could ask, Chloe wandered off to be with Rory. They whispered to each other and I sank back into my chair.

Finally, the teacher came in and closed the door. He grabbed a black marker and wrote a formula on the whiteboard.

Luckily, math and I got along fine, but this teacher treated us like we were dumb as rocks, walking us through every step like we couldn’t figure out a simple problem. I finished the assignment twenty minutes early and checked my answers twice. My brain was numb with boredom. I hated how high school kept us caged until the bell freed us. College was such a better setup. You finished your work and left. How I longed for that, and now, so close to graduation, my future was up in the air.

When the bell finally rang, everyone rushed for the door at once, creating a traffic jam. I waited by my desk until it got less crowded. Rory remained by her desk as well, packing her things.

“Hey,” I said, shifting my backpack on my shoulder.

“Hey. You finding your way around, okay?” She looked at me with those siren-green eyes, stealing my breath for a second.

“Yeah. So far.”

She walked toward the door, and I followed. “Good. I’m glad. I’m sorry about Chloe. She can be intense sometimes.”

“It’s cool. She seems like a good friend.”

Once we stepped into the hall, I smacked into someone hard as stone. He gave me the look of death. I saw him earlier with Rory. Fuck. He was her asshole boyfriend.

He poked me in the chest. Bad move.

“Watch where you’re going. Don’t wanna have to mess you up.”

It hurt to bite back my laugh. He’d mess me up? I’d love to see his scrawny ass try.

Rory wedged herself between us. She had a hand on each of our chests. “Boys. Not here.”

“Just giving him a warning since he’s new and all.” He put an arm around her hips, pulling her away. “Let’s go, amore.”

She peeled away from him. “I can’t. I need to help in the office. You know that.”

He shook his head. “Right. I’ll see you later then… for thatmeeting, right?”

She scratched at her inner wrist, making the red welt angrier. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

“Good.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a kiss that was a little too aggressive. He looked like he was eating her face.

Her eyes darted to mine, then away. She put her hands on his chest, gently pushing him away. “See you then.”

She walked past me and mumbled, “Walk away. Now.”

I moved away from her tool of a boyfriend and went to my locker. I tossed in my math book and reached for my science book when I heard my name coming from behind me. Three girls whispered and stared at me, the new animal in the zoo.

Screw this.

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