Page 12 of The Lair

“I can’t believe it’s all over the internet. It’s crazy.”

An uncomfortable, heavy weight settled in the middle of my chest and didn’t let me breathe. As I doodled, pretending nothing was wrong, I angrily wondered why me.

Why did I have to be the butt of the joke?

Why did I have to be strong, pretend I was fine, while everyone laughed at me?

What did I ever do wrong to deserve this?

Mrs. Jada entered the classroom as my eyes started watering. She shushed everyone, stealing a quick glance at me that told me she knew what was going on. But I didn’t feel judged by her or laughed at. Never by Mrs. Jada.

“I hope you’re done wasting precious geometry time, or I’ll have to send home some extra homework today,” she started, her voice leaving no room for arguments.

My classmates groaned, and the whispers died down. A couple of boys and a girl stole quick glances back at me, as if they couldn’t get the images of my period stains all over my bed off their brains. Because my mother thought it was necessary to tell—and show—the world about my first period. And even though the video eventually got taken down, it didn’t make much of a difference.

In a way, I couldn’t blame them.

For the next twenty minutes, I drowned myself in the logical and mechanical ways of geometry. Math was my favorite subject, always had been. No emotions were needed, and if I disconnected my brain for a mere second, I would fail. Math kept my mind busy and quiet in a way nothing else did. It challenged me, gave me a sense of purpose—even if that purpose was only to get good grades.

“Can anyone tell me what the area of the triangle on the screen is?” Mrs. Jada asked.

I lowered my head to my notebook, doing a quick calculation. When I was done, I raised my hand. “It should be twenty.”

Mrs. Jada gave me an approving smile. “That’s correct.”

I beamed, finding my first spark of happiness today. Until Keith two rows in front of me extinguished it again.

“Well done, Bloody Allie.”

The weight in my chest dragged me down, down,down.

Everyone snickered around me, glancing my way with mirth in their eyes that felt like a personal attack. Itwas.

Mrs. Jada wasn’t amused. “See yourself out to the principal’s office, Keith.”

“But—”

“Do as you’re told and stop wasting any more of our time.”

A few of his friends laughed at his demise, but it didn’t make me feel better.

Bloody Allie.

I knew the nickname would follow me forever, no matter how much I tried to hide from the consequences of my mother’s choices.

Chapter Five

The thingabout hiding is that, sooner or later, someone always finds you.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Travis’s deep grumble makes me jump, and I curse under my breath. As much as I appreciate his stern-looking face on a normal day, he’s the last person I want to see right now.

I don’t think my nonchalant smile is too convincing. “Nothing, boss man.”

I’ve had a few moments in the past six years where I’ve wanted the ground to swallow me and never spit me back out. One of those happened two years ago. I was in Greensboro and accidentally spilled my soda on a child behind me in the line at a fast-food restaurant.A child. The poor boy must have been seven or eight. I still remember those eyes, glancing at me with confusion and fear.

If his mother didn’t beat me up on the spot—even though I’d apologized profusely and offered to pay for a new T-shirt—it was only because I’m a fast runner.

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