Page 70 of Withered

“It’s fine. You won’t need them anyway,” he tells us and resumes talking.

Meanwhile, Tyler and I settle on the last bench.

As the class continues with the professor talking, the image of Olivia and Jake in the corridor remains in my head. Tyler keeps asking if I’m okay, and I offer a tight smile.

I’m just not in the mood for anything. I want to run out of those doors, out of this school, and return to my house. I want to sleep and forget everything that has happened.

The class ends, and it feels like I’ve been here for hours. Tyler and I make our way to the doors, but Professor Caleb stops us.

“Yes?” I spin around to face him.

“Can I have a word?” He asks, and I nod. He glances at Tyler.

“I’ll wait outside,” Tyler says, then leaves while I approach the professor near his desk.

“Are you okay? You look distracted; you were not paying attention.” He expresses the obvious.

I close my eyes briefly and breathe. “Sorry. It won’t happen again,” I assure him.

He nods and lets me go. Tyler waits outside for me. He doesn’t ask anything, which I’m grateful for.

“I’m going home. Tell Kristy that I will call her later,” I tell him and leave.

I want to forget about today and the last week. I want to forget about him.

Thefollowingdayatschool goes off without any problems. I was able to avoid Jake because he did not show up at school, and I had to perform the biology lab myself.

Tyler sits with us during lunch, but no one utters his name. While I am relieved not to see him, another part of me is worried sick about where he is. Kristy knows what happened. Tyler told her everything that happened in Physical Education, and she was determined to kill Olivia. I did notice Jake’s shadow through my window a couple of times yesterday, but I kept it closed.

On the other hand, the only positive news is that Tyler is now a member of our soccer team. The coach was so impressed with his abilities that he took him in. We complete our lunch and eat our pastries, which are today’s cafeteria special.

Kristy finishes her pastry and gazes at Tyler with those puppy-dog eyes, and he was on his feet the next second. Her puppy-dog eyes are impossible to ignore.

Tyler makes his way to the cafeteria line, and the girls follow him. He says something to the lady behind the counter before returning with three pastries.

“She wouldn’t take the money,” Tyler says, and we laugh at it.

Once we are done, we grab our books from our lockers, drop Kristy off at her class, and head to English. As I take the second row, Tyler goes to the back, so I gather my stuff and go sit beside him.

“Save this seat for the next time; I’ll be sitting here,” I say.

“Yes, ma’am.” He salutes with his index and middle fingers.

Tyler’s fun to be with. He was cocky at first, and I wasn’t so sure about him, but my opinion has changed. He is also quite quiet and does not speak much, which is ideal for Kristy. I’m glad he’s here. If only his friend was a little bit like him.

Professor Caleb walks into the class and smiles when he sees me. I feel a nudge on my left arm and glance at Tyler.

“You know him?” He asks.

“He is our English teacher,” I answer, scrunching my eyebrows.

Tyler rolls his eyes. “No, like personally?”

“Nope. I was at Starbucks when he showed up. We talked for a few minutes before…” I stop myself by pressing my lips together.

“Untilheshowed up.” Tyler finishes, and I nod.

“Why are you asking?” I ask him, confused.

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