Page 36 of When October Starts

“W-what are you doing?” I asked, stepping closer to her. “You can’t show this to anyone,” I said in a shaky voice. I was about to start crying uncontrollably, and I felt the first few sobs already building in my throat.

“Please, don’t—”

“Do you really think I will just forget about this? God, Juno! He’s our teacher!”

I tried to take the flash drive away from her by grabbing her arm and pulling her hand toward me. She fought against it while the first sob escaped me.

“Please,” I begged, trying not to raise my voice. “You can’t tell anyone! Let me explain.” My voice cracked, and while I kept trying to get that flash drive out of her hand, she pushed me back against the shelves, making me crash into it and hitting the back of my head.

Not ten seconds later, Benji opened the door. “What the hell is going on in here?”

I rubbed my head and tried to get back up before Pixie got a chance to show Benji that picture, but I felt dizzy, and standing up was more difficult than I thought.

“Pixie, please don’t,” I sobbed, but she didn’t listen.

With no emotion in her eyes, she pointed to the screen and Benji’s gaze moved to take in the picture of Ezra and me.

“Oh, no,” he muttered, immediate disgust and disappointment flashing in his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Juno. How long has he been grooming you? That son of a…”

“He didn’t!” I managed to croak out. My heart was heavy, and I wished I was dreaming. This couldn’t be real. Not now. Not when we were so damn close to making it.

“I swear, he didn’t! I love him,” I cried. My fingers were wet, and I must’ve cracked my head open as I hit the shelf.

“God, you’re bleeding. Don’t move. Pixie, go grab a wet towel from my office.”

I watched as Pixie shook her head, then silently left the room.

“Great. You stay here. Don’t move,” Benji repeated and also left the room.

I couldn’t control myself, and sob after sob escaped my body while I stared at the picture of Ezra and me on the computer screen.

He had no idea what just happened, and I hated to think about all the consequences there’d be once Benji called him and confronted him about it.

I wasn’t ready for it, and I felt like I had just destroyed everything we worked so hard for.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, wishing I would be close to him, with his arms around my body.

“How long has this been going on, Juno? I need to know,” Benji was back, and he kneeled in front of me to press the wet towel against my wound. “If he’s been grooming you, I need to know. God, I had no idea that he’s—”

“He’s not the bad guy!” I shouted directly into Benji’s face, not caring about who he was in that moment. “We love each other!”

He sighed, patting my shoulder. “This is the worst timing for this. Let’s get you to the hospital. You’re not thinking straight. Must’ve hit your head a little too hard, hm?”

That was it. I had enough of him not listening to me. I shoved at his chest to make him get away from me.

After gaining a little strength, I got up on my feet and ran out of the room. “You’re gonna faint, Juno! You’re hurt!” I heard Benji call out but I didn’t listen.

I ran down the stairs, finally getting outside and reaching my bike. I didn’t care if I was bleeding. I needed to get to Ezra as soon as possible.

I felt sick and wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

Ezra didn’t need to find out about what happened through anyone else other than me, so I rode my bike to his place as quickly as possible.

My heart was pounding, and while more tears streamed down my cheeks, I went to the building’s entrance. It was open, so I quickly ran up the stairs to bang on his door.

“Ezra,” I cried. “Open. It’s me.”

I heard his footsteps come closer, and once his door swung open, I fell into his arms and closed my eyes tightly, trying to ignore the pain coming from the back of my head.

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