Page 65 of The Last Love Song
Ha.
One big fat mirthless LOLto that.
She tried to slow her racing heart and pay attention, but all she wanted to do was go home, hide in her room and kill mutant zombies on her video game for a month straight. She would rid the world of mutant zombies forever right now if she had a controller in her hand.
“Megan?” The cop leaned closer, getting in her field of vision, her dark knot of twisted hair listing to one side as she did. “I know this is a lot to absorb, but we can’t take this lightly. This kind of abuse is not okay.”
“Right. But would you want your dad to see something like that about you?”
“When we spoke to your father, his first priority was helping you fix this. He wanted to be here, but he couldn’t cancel his class. Your dad sounds like a fighter, Megan. You need that. You need him rooting for you. Helping keep you safe.” The cop handed her a box of tissues without comment. “That’s what good parents do. They look out for their kids. Not the other way around.”
Tears streamed down Megan’s face and dripped off her chin to fall on her lap. Well, the tissue box, now. The wet spots grew bigger on the cheap yellow cardboard.
“I can’t face him.” She yanked two tissues out of the box and mopped her face. “You can meet with him after school, if that’s what you want. But I’m not talking about this with him, and I don’t want to be there when you do, either.”
She stood and the box tumbled off her lap. The chair scraped the floor, a loud screech in the quiet room.
“Megan, we’re not quite done yet. Okay? If you want to take a break and get a soda, that’s fine. Or if you want a friend to come sit with you?—”
“No.” As if she had any. “I’ll be okay. But I would like a minute to—” Go scream into a balled-up sweatshirt in a bathroom somewhere? “—grab a drink.”
“Sure.” The cop pulled out her phone again. “Take five and then we’ll finish up as quickly as we can.”
Megan grabbed her books, wondering what would happen if she hopped in her car and kept on driving. Sighing, she settled for shoving open the door into the guidance office waiting area.
Where Bailey McCord sat with her pink plaid book bag on her lap.
Megan brushed past her into the hallway outside the office.
“Megan, wait,” Bailey’s voice called after her.
A voice shesodid not want to hear.
Fury pumped fresh through her veins. The last bell of the day had rung, so the only kids remaining in school were the ones who had stayed for extracurricular activities or remedial help.
“You know what, Bailey?” She turned slowly and stared down her former friend, keeping a tight rein on her raging emotions. “Now isnota good time.”
“This is about J.D., isn’t it?” Bailey persisted, catching up to her and falling in step as she race-walked for the bathroom.
“Are you on a scouting mission for him?” Megan shoved at the door to the girls’ room. She took one look at her face in the mirror and swore. Mascara ran down her cheeks.
“No. Megan, I’m scared of him, and I know you must be, too. Is that why the cop is here?” Bailey twirled the handle on the paper-towel dispenser until a long roll of brown toweling came out. Tearing it off, she thrust it at Megan. “Splash cold water on your face. Want me to hold your stuff?”
Bailey set her backpack on the floor and took a math textbook out of Megan’s arms. She placed it on top of her bag.
She hadn’t even remembered she’d been holding a book. And she was way too upset to make sense of whatever Bailey said. It was as if she watched her mouth move but couldn’t get the words to compute.
“How do you know there’s a cop here?” Megan tucked the paper towels under one arm while she bent over a sink.
“The whole school saw the police cruiser out front when the last bell rang. Most kids were guessing Jimmy Rigby got in another fight, but I remembered you got called down to the office and I kind of wondered.”
Megan splashed cold water on her face, rubbing at the black marks on her cheeks. “What?” she asked through the barrier of water and hands. “You wondered what?”
How the hell would Bailey know what was going on unless she’d had something to do with that website?
Megan straightened. Dried off her face.
“I don’t know. I got a sick feeling in my gut. J.D. called me late last night after the game, talking all crazy and accusing me of telling you—” Bailey shook her head and covered her face with her palms.
