Page 22 of Bad Boy
I fail miserably.
Every molecule of oxygen in my lungs is expelled when I hit the ground and roll down the embankment like a rag doll with no control over its body. Pain lances across my chin and slices my torso, my shirt riding up as I roll across stones, twigs, and sticks.
When I finally come to a stop, I stare unseeing at the sky—chest heaving, tears and strawberry milk blurring my vision. I take a mental inventory of my body. Nothing feels broken, but my chin throbs and my stomach stings from what feels like hundreds of tiny paper cuts. And I think I might be in shock because I’m stuck on the ground, unable to move.
Tires screech and squeal on the road above me. My heart races frantically, banging against my rib cage like a mallet, thinking they’ve come back to finish me off.
“Lincoln!”
It’s Remi.
The panic in his voice is clear, but I just feel. . . numb.
“Oh fuck!Oh, God.Are you okay?” I hear him slide down the embankment, and then he sinks to his knees beside me. Breaking out of my shock-induced paralysis, I groan and lift my head an inch, attempting to sit up.
“No! Don’t move! Fuck! You’re not supposed to move,” he pleads, trying to brace my neck and keep me flat on the ground at the same time.
“Remi. Just help me up, please,” I rasp out.
Soft fabric gently wipes my eyes, allowing me to blink them open more clearly, but I still can’t see very well. I have no idea where my glasses are.
“Are you sure you should move? That was a pretty epic fall.”
“You saw?” I groan, completely humiliated. “And yes. I’m fine. That’s not the first time they’ve done that. Well, actually, it was chocolate milk the other time, and I was walkin’, but still.” Remi growls—literally growls—and I realize I probably shouldn't have admitted that out loud.
“Who’sthey? Because I’ll make suretheynever do it again.”
“I don’t know who it was. Just help me up, please. I need to check on Betsy.”
Lie.
I’d know that horrible, nasally voice anywhere.
Connor.
I don’t know where he was this morning or at lunch, but Remi has yet to meet my main tormentor. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Brandon was with him just now, either.
Remi slips one hand behind my neck and one behind my back, slowly lifting me to a seated position. Continuing his momentum, he pulls me into a loose embrace. His lips touch the shell of my ear, causing goosebumps to skitter down my neck, even though I’m hurting.
“I don’t believe you, Linc. I know you know who that was, and Iwillget my answer.” He pulls back, eyes hard but still worried.Concerned. And my stomach twists at seeing the contrasting emotions in his normally playful gaze. Both are equally as intense.
“But right now, I need to make sure you’re okay. I’m taking you to the hospital. And also, sorry, but fuck your moped right now. We can call a tow truck later.”
I really don’t need or want to go to the hospital.
All the germs?
Everyone touching me?
My parents finding out?
No thanks.
“No hospital. I hate hospitals. I just have a few scrapes. I’m fine.”
“You could have internal bleeding,” he counters, sounding just like I would if our roles were reversed.
“I don’t.”
