Page 68 of Tangled Rose

“What? Don’t like having your venom thrown back in your face?”

To her credit, she makes a swift move and catches my cheekbone with her elbow. “Let go, you crazy bitch!”

It’s not enough to make me let go. In fact, I wrap her hair around my hand and pull even harder. “I’m not the crazy one desperately chasing someone I’ll never have.” I yank one final time before I shove her away from me and stand. “He knows what you’re doing. It’s not like I’m keeping it to myself.”

With that, I rush out of the locker room, smacking directly into Beau as I turn the corner. “I wish I’d never come to this motherfucking school.” I pull away from him and race for the door, pushing through and running outside, paying no attention to the temperature or the fact that I’m barefoot and still in my leo. I’m about to break down, and no one gets to see that. I turn the corner of the building and, finding myself alone in the dark, drop to my knees in the cold, damp grass. Covering my face with my hands, I let loose the torrent of tears that have been threatening since the second I’d seen liquid dripping from my locker.

My chest gets tight, and I hiccup through sobs, thinking about the mess Mandy’s just made for me.

If I say something to Carissa or Mike, tell them what’s going on, or even just let them know that I need my uniform dry cleaned, they’ll know something is up and likely contact the headmaster. I don’t need that kind of attention. My mind swims with how to fix any of this. And fuck, my cheek hurts. I gently probe my face. Great. Maybe I won’t have to say a damn thing. My swelling face is going to out me.

I give a low moan, thinking about the look on my teammates’ faces when Mandy sang about my mom. I don’t want to know what they’re all thinking. As if my mother hadn’t already done enough to embarrass me just by being herself. As if there weren’t tons of questions floating around about her. As if I need one more damn thing to worry about.

It’s about ten minutes later when I hear Beau nearby. “Lyla?”

When I don’t answer, I hear his footsteps head in the direction of the parking lot.

I close my eyes and take a few careful breaths before I rise to my feet and begin moving toward where we parked this morning. From up ahead, I hear him bellow, “Seven!”

I don’t trust my voice but need him to know where I am, so I call out, “Here.” I’m busy trying not to step on glass or stray rocks when he jogs over to me.

“Where were you?”

I wipe my hands under my eyes. “Around the side of the building.”

“Jesus, you scared me.” With a huff, he rubs his hands down his face. “Come here.” He scoops me into his arms, chalk-dusted body and all. “Never made it to the shower, huh?”

“Nope.” Embarrassed by everything, I bury my face against his chest. “Mandy—my bag and uniform—” My breath hitches.

“I’ll deal with her. Apparently, she didn’t understand me the first time I told her to leave you the fuck alone. As for your stuff, it’s already in the Urus. That girl Kit you were with helped me find a trash bag. We’ll deal with it at home.” He presses a kiss to my forehead.

This kindness from Beau is not completely unexpected but still manages to catch me by surprise. Not because I don’t think he’s capable of it or feels that way toward me, but more because not many people have ever shown it to me. It’s not something I’ve had much of in my life. Ellie and Simon are the only other people who have helped me without any need for reciprocity.

But now there’s Beau, showing me that not only will he be there when I need him, but there’s never any hesitation. There’s no wondering if he’ll waver.

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