Page 23 of Further To Fall

“Yeah, just gotta grab my bag and I’m good to go.”

Quicker than I could blink, Carter had slipped from beneath my arm to grab my gym bag off the bench. “I’ll carry it.”

I blinked at her. “You are not carrying my gym bag, Carter. Give it here.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and silently shook her head back and forth.

Liam stepped between us. “In an effort to leave here before we all die of starvation, why don’tIcarry the bag?”

Carter reluctantly handed the bag to Liam. “Fine.”

I clapped Liam on the back. “Works for me. I love having you as a butler.”

He smirked. “Okay, let’s go.”

We exited the locker room to a hallway full of people milling about. I grabbed Carter and tucked her under my arm, keeping her out of reach of any of these hooligans. Halfway down the hall, a gangbanger-looking dude stepped in front of me, and I immediately recognized him as one of my opponent, Cobra’s, crew. “Got yourself one hell of a cheerleader there, Bulldog.” I felt Carter stiffen at my side as he continued. “Better hold on tight. Wouldn’t want her to leave you for a real man.” He grabbed his crotch and flicked his tongue as his eyes roamed Carter’s body.

I shoved Carter behind me and had gangbanger dude up against the wall in half a second. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,cabrón!” he wheezed.

I heard shuffling behind me, and Carter saying, “Austin, stop, he’s not worth it.”

I felt someone grab my arms, and Liam entered my field of vision. “She’s right, A, he’s not worth your shot with the UFL.”

That brought me back to my senses, but I squeezed the guy’s throat just a little harder and leaned down to his ear. “You don’t talk about her. You don’t look at her. You don’t eventhinkabout her. Or I will find you, and I will gut you.” I released my hold, and he fell to the ground, coughing. I still felt rage pumping through my veins.

This was why I didn’t want Carter coming to my fights. I knew something like this would happen. She was too innocent, too pure, and it radiated off her for everyone to see. She was an easy mark, and an important one if people knew how much she meant to me. I couldn’t have distractions like this in my life; couldn’t let someone mean this much to me. I needed space.

I spun around, about to tell Carter exactly that when I saw that Ford had been holding her back, and tears filled her eyes. Shit. The rage disappeared as if I’d been dunked in an ice bath, and the last thing I wanted was space. “Come here.” I held out my hand, and she rushed to me, shoving her face between my pecs. The adrenaline coursing through my system had numbed any pain. I lifted her chin with two fingers and smiled down into her watery eyes. “Can’t take you anywhere, you’re too pretty for your own good.”

She let out some sound, half-snort, half-laugh, and burrowed back into my chest. “Can we go get In-N-Out now? I’m hungry.”

The words were muffled by my shirt, but I smiled. “You got it.” I eyed the guy on the ground, still rubbing his throat, and motioned to Liam and Ford to head out.

12

Carter

Taking in the familiar smell of chalk and pencil shavings, I slowly made my way through the maze of desks in my classroom, returning freshly graded assignments to each student’s spot. Christmas break had been exactly what I needed. A little R&R and home-cooked meals by my mama had done wonders for my energy levels, but I had missed LA. Even though I had talked to Austin almost every day I was gone, I found myself missing him most of all. I knew my feelings had left friendship in the dust months ago, but I just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

My hands stilled as they reached Michael’s paper in the stack. He was another person I didn’t know what to do with. Something was wrong in Michael’s world. He wasn’t his cheerful, inquisitive, slightly trouble-making self. He was sullen and withdrawn, and his schoolwork had started to suffer. I needed to find a way to connect with him and see what was going on. I placed the last of the papers on their corresponding desks just as the school bell rang, and children started rushing through my door.

I made it through the first half of the day with no major incidents, but Michael still seemed removed, so I stopped him as he headed to lunch. “Michael, can you stay for a minute?”

His shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned around. “Sure, Miss McCarthy. Am I in trouble?”

My heart broke at the look on his face. “No, of course not. I just wanted to chat with you for a minute. Why don’t you take a seat?” I motioned for him to sit in the chair next to mine. He dropped into the chair, folding in on himself as he sat silently. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, Miss McCarthy,” he answered robotically, his eyes cast down at his hands where he picked at his nails.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, big or small. I know it’s not always cool to confide in your teacher, but I promise that I will do my best to understand where you’re coming from.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Yeah, I know.”

I smoothed my hands over my skirt and leaned down so I could meet Michael’s eyes. “I’m just worried because you haven’t quite seemed like yourself the past few weeks.”

“I’m fine, Miss McCarthy, just tired.” As he spoke, he lifted his thumb to his mouth to chew on his nail, and his shirt sleeve rode up.

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