Page 31 of Bullied By The Bad Boy

She rolls her eyes which finally come to rest on the stinging spot on my cheek. “Ben. Did he really punch you?” I shrug again. She jumps to her feet, eyes dark with fury. “I’ll be right back.”

“Maria, forget it.”

But she’s out the door with the same speed she left when Daniel showed up this morning.

I fall back to the bed on my unhurt side and close my eyes. Here I am, trying to get comfortable after asking permission from Nurse Mae to leave. Who brought me here? The janitor? He would have found me faster than any student. I don’t know how long I stay there, but the click-clack of Maria’s heels jolts me awake. My eyes open, and I blink at an angry Maria who plops down on the bench.

“Ben is not in detention. I heard he got detention,” she says. Good for him. In my opinion, he should have gotten a more terrible punishment. Maria props her elbows on my bed, I ruffle her hair, and she scowls, earning a giggle from me. I push a pillow behind me and grab my phone from the stand. “But that dude is not there. I swear if they let him off easy after this, I’ll report him to the police.”

Or, we can deal with him ourselves. I unlock my phone to no missed calls or texts from anyone.

“How did you know to find me?” I ask.

“It was all over the blog.”

“What?” We were alone. “Who told them?”

Maria rolls her shoulders. “Don’t know. Don’t care. He is an asshole. We need to deal with him.”

Yes, but the last bell for today will ring in ten minutes. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

Maria gasps. I laugh and ready myself for whatever jargon she will spout. “My best friend is sick, and I’m distressed by that news. How do you expect me to be in class?” Her hand migrates to her chest, and she levels me with her infamous disappointing gaze. “Theresa, you wound me.”

“Point of correction, I am not sick, just injured,” I say.

She scoffs. “Same difference.”

The door to the sick bay opens before I fire a response, and Maria starts shoving things into my backpack. “Alright, Tessa, time to go.” I roll my eyes, arms folded on my chest as Daniel closes the distance between us. She ignores him to glare at me. “Nurse Mae said you could leave.”

Daniel makes a funny face above her head, doing that thing where he looks cross-eyed with his tongue sticking out a side of his mouth. I giggle, and Maria’s stony gaze darts between both of us.

Oh, the silent treatment is still on. I don’t want to be part of it anymore. This is why friends shouldn’t date within the same circle. You will be forced to pick sides. I don’t want to, since I suspect he brought me here. Daniel ignores Maria and slides onto the bench, paying no mind to her scowl.

“Hey, how do you feel now?” he asks. Maria creates some distance between them. She frowns at me like I betrayed her by letting him talk to me. I try to offer her a sympathetic smile, but she glowers. “Sorry I didn’t come earlier. Pop quiz, but you were knocked out when we dropped in.”

Ah, I knew it had to be him. If any student is likely to be loitering around the premises, it’s him. “It’s fine. Thanks.” I point to Maria. “As Grumpy here said, I am good to go. I’m ready to leave.”

Daniel glances at Maria like he’s seeing her for the first time. She stares at her fingernails, and I have to clamp my hands over my mouth to keep from hollering. She’s nervous. What? A giggle escapes me, and I look away when their gazes flicker to me. Maria and nervous cannot exist in the same sentence.

“Maria,” Daniel whispers.

“Don’t talk to me.”

I tap my phone, pretending to scroll through my messages. The jerk who put me here didn’t even stop by. No one did. The only two who care about me are right here, glowering at each other. I catch Maria’s frown as Daniel closes the gap. She swallows, and I turn to the wall to give them privacy.

Daniel mutters something. I try not to listen, but Maria snaps. “You are sorry? Fuck out of here with your apology because I don’t need it.” Uh-oh. This is bad. Maria is not one to swear, but there are degrees to her anger. Since she’s still speaking English, this won’t end well. “I saw you with Zoey after the game, and you couldn’t even be bothered to talk to me. And now you are sorry?”

Zoey, one of Olivia’s minions? Has Daniel gone mad? What if it was Zoey at Vance’s party? Why didn’t Maria tell me this? I guess I’m not the only one keeping Daniel-related secrets.

“You should have at least done me the simple courtesy of canceling our date to my face rather than send that silly text,” she whispers. Maria’s voice cracks, and I am tempted to get up and hug her tight. She yanks the hem of my jeans.No, count me out. “Tessa, let’s go. It’s time to leave.”

“Not yet, Maria,” Daniel says. “Tessa, don’t listen to her.”

They both turn to me, hurt evident in their eyes. They expect me to pick a side. I can’t. Besides, Daniel has some explaining to do, and she needs to hear it. I shake my head. I am such a coward.

“Sorry guys, you have to sort this one on your own.” I get out of the bed, my steps a bit slow as I shuffle to the door and throw them one last glance. Maria sniffs. Daniel sighs. “Love you. Bye.”

Twenty

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