Page 175 of As the Rain Falls
It was the worst dayever.
The whole thing was just as unfair as it was devastating.
I’m fine with them liking each other, happy about Kayla trying to figure herself out even, as long as it doesn’t get her in trouble. She’s still my best friend, and I care about her, even if I’m not the best at showing it all the time.
“Who fucking cares?” Her jaw clenches, worried gaze landing on Alice once more. “We need to stop her!”
Angelina pulls her hair, yanking Alice forward. Alice swats at her sides, landing three solid slaps. The sounds that echo from them are loud enough to cause her to flinch.
“Let me fucking go, Cassandra!” Kayla’s nails dig into my arm, but I don’t loosen my grip. “She’s going to rip her apart!”
“Angelina can hold her own,” I remind her.
“Not her!” Kayla fights off my grip. “I’m talking about Alice. Look at her, she can’t fight!”
It’s the way she says it, something fragile and so deeply affected, that makes me pause. I’ve spent a lifetime watching Kayla defend me, never questioning if I deserved it or not. I finally let her go as guilt pools in my stomach.
She doesn’t waste a single second and just rushes towards the fight, pushing through the crowd of students slowly gathering, breaking in just as Antony tries and fails to pull Angelina off Alice.
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Deixa as duas brigarem!”
“Cala a boca, Renato!”Mateo also steps in, facing the brunette girl. “Let her go!”
“The fuck?” Angelina spits. “Whose side are you on?”
“What kind of question is that? Yours, angel.” Mateo steps forward, getting in her face. “Don’t you know that by now?”
Simple words that make Angelina freeze. He blocks her way, not touching her, not even daring to lay a finger on her. Mateojust plants himself, watching her expectantly, opening his arms slightly in case she tries something. He is shielding her, scared that she might get hurt.
The supervisor finally comes out of the kitchen, clapping his hands together.
“Break it up, break it up!”
Angelina deflates at the sound of his voice, her face paling as she finally notices what’s really happening around her. It’s like watching a protective spell break, the way adrenaline dies out and dread comes back to haunt her.
“I…” she trails off, desperately looking around.
This girl is trying to find a way out.
“What happened here?” Mr. Fernandez asks, turning to Alice.
“She fucking grab—”
“There’snothinggoing on.” Mateo cuts her off.
His voice is cold but steady, making him look more like the boy who spoke to me in class about Caleb and less like the goofy version of himself he pretends to be.
“This is all just a big misunderstanding. Right, Angelina?”
Even from afar, I can see the way her body is trembling. She grips her bandages like a tortured animal that’s about to break loose, wanting to tear the fabric away from her body. It’s like she wants us to see all the scars hidden underneath, see exactly what’s been done to her.
“Ms. Cardoso?” Mr. Fernandez prompts with a lot of suspicion.
Alice hisses, “Say something, bitch!”
“Mateo is right. Everything’s fine,” Angelina blurts out, protectively pressing her hands to her chest. “Alice and I were just talking.”
