Page 70 of Caged in Flames

Chapter Thirty Two

The feel of a strong hand squeezing mine breaks me out of the moment my former tormentors shattered me.

The day that replays in my nightmares.

The day I tried to exit this world.

I look up and nod at Gunner in thanks before scanning the walls of the room once again. Every inch of the cafeteria wall is covered in pictures of me from the storage room. Of a weak and vulnerable girl. Of a naïve, innocent girl. I take in every bit of the scene before my eyes land back on Charlie’s.

This time, the evil inside of them isn’t directed towards me. I shake my head at him. Whatever vitriol he has stored on his tongue doesn’t matter. This is my battle.

A battle in a war that he started. But it’s mine nonetheless.

I give myself a few more seconds to prepare. I straighten my posture as if I’m readying for a performance. In a way I guess I am.

"You might be the most ignorant person I have ever had the displeasure of knowing, Molly." I’m not going to raise my voice at her, she isn’t worth the extra energy. I meet her gaze head on. She has my attention and until I’m done here, I’ll make sure I have hers.

"And you might have the smallest chest I have ever seen on a girl." She doesn’t waste a second. She lives for these moments. Poor bitter Molly. Her insults are all cosmetic. Nothing that could ever truly stick, because she doesn’t have a soul to truly understand the art of war.

But I am a warrior. A survivor. I’ve lost this game before. I’ve returned for more.

I raise one eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure why you're checking out my rack in that much detail, but if you like girls, that's not for me to judge."

Her lip curls up into a sneer and her nose is turned up so high that I can practically see the hair in her nostrils. “What? I’m not gay.”

"Thank God. The lesbian community does not want that bitch." Jane says this loud enough to get a surprisingly good laugh from the crowd around us. One corner of my mouth lifts, just barely breaking the stony face I’ve put on.

Molly starts to look a little uncomfortable, as I am sure she thought I'd have been running out in tears by now. She sneers over at my bestie. "I am so not into girls. Especially one with that ugly face."

Jane laughs so loud. "Bitch, it's not like I'd let you sit on it anyways. Get out of here with your kindergarten insults."

Fuck. I’m so glad she’s mine. This year would be a lot less entertaining if she hadn't sat down next to us during the Headmaster’s welcome speech. She’s got my back. I might consider sharing my coffee with her one day soon. If there was a caffeine emergency. Perhaps.

I sigh. "As entertaining as this conversation is…I would really like to grab some espresso and move on with my life. Sharing those pictures does nothing to me. It's a reminder of all the hate inside the people who did it to me.” I look at the guys, but quickly put my attention back on Molly.

“People who may or may not have changed. Either way, I'd get them taken down before someone realizes that you've posted borderline pornographic images of a minor all over a public wall."

I can feel the anger rolling off of Gunner. We’ve both been working through our feelings about the guys and the faces they can wear, and this is an ugly reminder of who they can be. Who they chose to be.

The head bitch is still stewing though. She wants something here to hurt me. "Yeah, well maybe these pictures just make you want to climb into another bathtub."

The room goes silent. There are very few people in the world who would make fun of a mental illness, let alone a suicide attempt. Those people are absolute fucking trash.

I laugh at her. "Honestly, I think you just proved how fucking awful you really are to everyone in this room. You don't get to talk about my mental health.”

Taking a couple of steps, I put myself right in front of her. “You don't get to judge me for my actions when you were part of the crowd that took every chance to bring me down. You helped break my spirit. I'm not ashamed of what challenges I have overcome but fuck you for trying to make it a personal dig at me. Get fucked, Molly."

She sputters. "You-"

"I'd shut your mouth right now, Vandenberg." Charlie fucking Westbrook has entered the room.

The one that would normally have me cowing down in fear, but this time he isn’t angry at me. He’s angry with me. For me.

Jude and Sawyer are right beside him. The tension in the room grows heavier than before.

This is familiar. These are the kings of the school. The guys who could tear a person down with a word.

"Oh, hey Charlie. Did you see the new artwork? That was your glorious work, right?" She preens under his attention, oblivious to the hatred in his tone.

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