Page 25 of Savage Scream

She has her eyes on us now.

“Back of the school,” Marcus says quietly to Jared as he comes to stand next to us, and they stare at each other for a few beats, leaving me confused.Back of the school?

“How?” Jared asks Marcus, who grins.

“We got you.”

Glancing back at me, Jared takes my hand in his before shooting Marcus a nod and a grin and leads me out of the passage into the quad.

Did they just talk in code? I have no idea what’s going on.

We are only alone for a moment before Marcus, Shaun, and Simon are at our backs, following us. I’m not sure what’s happening, so I squeeze Jared’s hand to get his attention, and he glances down at me as we walk. Frowning, I gesture my head over my shoulder to his mates behind us, and he grins, shaking his head.

“They’re ok. They want to help.”

What? Help with what?

Before I can get Jared’s attention again, he turns, leading us in the opposite direction of the courtyard.

“Where’s George and Gaz?” Jared asks his mates over his shoulder.

“Another gym session,” Simon chuckles.

“You mean sex?” Jared asks and Shaun answers this time.

“Nope. More like therapy. There are a few things we’ve been working on with her to move past… what happened.”

Jared nods, and I glance back at the serious faces now worn by three of Rhys’ fellas.

Rhys went through some difficult stuff a couple of months ago, towards the end of last year, so it’s nice to see that her boyfriends have a serious side.

Rhys comes across as the life of the party, but she has feelings, and she’s been through some things that you wouldn’t even wish on your worst enemy.

I’m glad her fellas look out for her.

We keep walking, turning up the side of the stadium at the back of the school where it’s quieter, no other students in sight.

I should probably stop and question Jared. Ask him why we are here. I trust him, though, so I let him lead me as we listen to his mates banter at our backs.

When we reach the rear of the hall, we round the corner to find Tillie, Bell, Dale and Alister sharing a joint, who smile as we approach.

Ok, that's a lie. Tillie and Dale do. Bell and Alister just stare.

“Hey, guys.” Tillie beams, her eyes locking with mine.

She’s a sweet-looking girl. I can see what Travis sees in her.

“Hey there, Tills. Do you guys wanna come for a walk?” Shaun asks, and Bell screws up her nose.

“Why?”

“Why not?” Simon adds, and Bell shakes her head.

“Pass.”

Tillie looks between everyone, and then her eyes fall back onto me. And Jared. And our intertwined fingers.

“Uh, yeah. We should go for a walk.” She sucks back one last drag of the joint and butts it out before turning and whispering something to Bell.

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