Allison scoffed. “You guys can just walk away.”
Michael nodded. “Yeah. Leave her alone for now. This is serious.”
I turned around, catching Roy’s grin. “Oh, I know it’s serious.”
Marina giggled. “I hear he’s busted up pretty badly.”
I shrugged. “Then I don’t know why you’re smiling. Or laughing. Or even over here in the first place.”
Roy chuckled. “Just wanna know, is his face busted up as badly as everyone says it is?”
Marina licked her lips. “There are a lot of rumors going around. Broken nose. Black eyes. Dislocated jaw. No teeth. Lost tongue.”
“Guess he’s not gonna be such a looker anymore, huh?”
I shot out of my seat. “You want to try running that by me again?”
“Rae, no.”
“Rae, sit down. They aren’t worth it.”
Roy nodded. “You should listen to your posse.”
Marina smiled brightly. “I heard he’s on a liquid diet for the rest of the school year because his body got mangled with that drop.”
Roy laughed. “You think he can still get it up, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know, baby. I’m more curious to know if Rae will stay with him if he can’t.”
“That’s it!”
I lunged at them, but Michael stood up. Marina took a step back and cradled into Roy’s side, as he shot me a death glare. I swiped my hand out, catching my nails across Marina’s face as she cried out in pain. And as the blood surfaced on her skin, Roy hissed at me.
“You’ll pay for that, you freak.”
Michael pressed his lips to my ear. “Calm down. Stop it. That’s enough.”
Allison stood up. “We need to get out of here. Teachers are coming.”
Michael threw me over his shoulder as Allison gathered my books. They rushed me out of there are Marina whimpered like the bitch she was in some corner. Probably ready to suck Roy’s dick to make herself feel better. Hot tears of anger raced down my cheeks as Michael jogged me down the hallway. Like I weighed nothing. Like I was nothing.
I am nothing.
I fell limp to his movements. I heard Allison huffing as she carried my books in her arms. They took me down to my history class before Michael put me back down on my feet, with Allison dropping my books to my desk.
And again, my eyes fell to the seat Clint sat in every class. Every day, after lunch.
“He’s not here,” I whispered.
Michael rubbed my back. “He’ll be back before you know it.”
Allison took my hands. “And until then, you have a promise to keep.”
Holy shit, that’s right.
I had to talk to Clint’s teachers.
I spent the rest of my lunch break going around to his classes. I sat down with his teachers and told them exactly what was going on. Gave them the story everyone else wanted. And to my surprise, they listened with an open ear and were more than willing to help him.