Page 72 of Seren

“Stop it,” I said, assuming he was teasing me.

“I’m serious, Grace. I saw what your dad saw. Working with dolphins is where you belong.”

I pushed myself to my tippy toes and pressed my lips to Seren’s, trying to convey what I knew my words couldn’t. He had no idea how much I needed to hear that—or how much I appreciated him taking me there.

He pulled back. “Where would you like to go tomorrow?”

I laughed. “Oh, now I see. You had ulterior motives.”

He laughed. “Always.”

CHAPTER 31

Grace

After acing a quiz in chemistry class, I headed upstairs toward English class excited to see Seren. As I neared the room, a blockade of students obstructed my way. Something was happening on the other side of the congestion. People held their phones up, recording whatever it was. A few girls screamed. Then, a couple of male teachers ran through, parting the crowd. They quickly pulled apart the two guys who’d been fighting, holding their arms behind their backs so they couldn’t continue—andthe teachers wouldn’t get punched. I didn’t recognize the first guy, but he looked like he’d taken the brunt of the attack. His shirt was torn and hanging wide-open and blood gushed down from his nose. The other teacher struggled to calm down the other guy who was trying to break free from the teacher’s grasp. He spun him around. That’s when I saw it was Seren.

Shit.

Blood covered his teeth and dripped from his mouth. His shirt was also torn and hanging off his body. The teacher directed Seren in the opposite direction, but Seren yanked free from the teacher’s grasp, walking on his own accord in the opposite direction of where I stood. I watched until he was swallowed up by the crowd, and I couldn’t see him anymore.

I hurried into English class and pulled out my phone, quickly texting him.R u ok? What happened?I stared down at my screen, waiting for him to respond.

“Thomas got his ass kicked,” a guy somewhere behind me said.

I spun in my seat, hoping to hear more.

“I’ve never seen Grayson that angry,” another added. “Not even on the football field.”

“What caused it?” a girl asked.

“No idea,” another said. “He just walked up to Thomas and kicked the shit out of him.”

“They’re both getting suspended,” a girl nearby said.

“All right, ladies and gentlemen,” our English teacher said. “Now that the melee has subsided, let’s discuss our own battle. The battle of wits in our novel. Darcy and Elizabeth have been at odds for so long, it seems they both don’t know what to do when faced with the realization that their battle has ended. Do they live happily ever after or will circumstances tear them apart?”

Great question.

I ate lunch by my car, waiting for Seren to appear or at least text me back, but he did neither. I looked for Sawyer or Saint in the hallways. But saw neither. Had they been involved in his fight somehow too?

I made it to last period gym class and sat on the outdoor bleachers instead of changing and participating. A text from Seren finally popped up on my screen.Had to duck out early, Dolphin.

Disappointment filled me, but his use of the worddolphintold me there was more to what happened today, and he must’ve had a good reason for fighting that guy.

“So unfortunate,” Kiki said.

I glanced up from my phone, knowing—as much as I wanted to—I couldn’t ignore her.

“I assume you and Seren planned on going to the prom together,” she said, her lips in a tight line like it pained her to say it.

I narrowed my eyes, wondering where she was going with this.

“Sorry to have to break it to you,” she said with a devious smile, “but it looks like you won’t be going now,”

“Fights equal suspension. And suspension means no prom. Too bad. I’m sure it would have been a magical evening for a poor girl like you.”

Humorless laughter escaped me as the truth hit me. “Of course. You caused the fight.”

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