The voices lowered, and footsteps rang out, then it was silent—my cue to get ready and onto the field. I ambled over to the bench I’d left my bag on, but frowned when I couldn’t spot it. I was sure I’d left it here. I walked around the locker room, wondering if I’d left it on one of the other benches, but when I came up empty, I realized what a huge mistake I’d made.
I’d thought the room was empty when I came in, but someone must have spotted me. Shit. Now I had no gym clothes. What the hell was I going to do?
My feet carried me on automatic out of the locker room, down the small hallway past Cade’s office, and out onto the track and field. Cade was in the middle of the field, and I grinned at the way he was standing. His hands were on his hips, the long-sleeved gym top he wore clinging to every contour of his muscles.
He turned his head, spotting me, and even from this distance, I could see the frown on his face. He looked back at all the other students, said something to them, and then they dispersed. I knew I had to tell him about my clothes, but I didn’t want to tell him the truth. I didn’t want to tell him they’d been stolen and I knew who the culprit was as she ran by me on the track.
Jasmine.
I still didn’t know what the hell her problem was, but she definitely had one.
I inhaled a deep breath and stepped forward as Cade moved across the field and closer to me. His frown got deeper the nearer he got, and when we were a few feet apart, he asked, “Where’s your gym clothes?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him Jasmine had probably stolen them, but I didn’t want to admit I was having any problems at school. I didn’t want to show any kind of weakness, so I said, “I forgot them this morning.”
Cade huffed out a breath and scrubbed his hand down his face. “Fuck.” He closed his eyes, looking the opposite of the calm and collected person I knew. “You’re gonna have to wear the lost-and-found clothes in my office.”
“What?” I stumbled back a step. I’d only ever forgotten my clothes once, but the teacher at the time had let me sit on the sidelines. “Are you serious, Cade?” I dipped my head back, sure my face was pale.
Cade stepped closer but glanced around us. “I can’t show you special treatment, Aria. I did the same to someone last week. If I let you sit out then…” His gaze clashed with mine. “I can’t let them see I’m treating you differently, baby.”
I hated this. I hated him.
But not really.
I understood why. I just didn’t like it, and it was all because of Jasmine. “Don’t baby me,” I growled. “You’re gonna make me wear those stinky clothes.” My breathing was picking up, each inhale getting shorter and shorter. It wasn’t about the fact they’d probably not been washed in months, it was because all they probably had were shorts. Something I couldn’t wear. I couldn’t expose myself like that. I couldn’t let anyone—
“Aria.” Cade’s eyes narrowed on me. “You okay?” He stepped forward, but his momentum had me taking a step back.
“I’m fine,” I croaked out, feeling like I was lost. I was floating on the wind, and nothing could stop me.
“Hey, Coach?” Jasmine called as she halted on the track near us. “Why isn’t Aria wearing her gym clothes?” She winked at me, and my nostrils flared. It was definitely her, and she wanted to make sure I knew it.
“She’s just going to get changed now.” Cade spun around. “Finish your lap, Jasmine.”
“Yes, Coach,” she said in her sickly sweet tone. I wanted to hurt her, but more importantly, I wanted to hurt myself. I was stupid, so goddamn stupid, and now the train was off the tracks, and there was nothing I could do to save it.
My muscles were slow, my body sluggish, but I turned around anyway and headed back into the building. Cade’s office door was open, and I spotted the box right away. The fraying cardboard was marked lost and found and sat in the corner all on its own.
Why couldn’t he have just let me off this one time? It wasn’t like it was that big of a deal. No one would have come to the conclusion we’d kissed and spent time together simply because he let me off on one class. My fingers drifted to my mouth as I remembered his lips pressed against mine. How gentle he could be and then demanding. He’d fractured the wall I’d built around me, but I needed to repair it, especially after today.
I hated he was making me do this, but I didn’t have a choice. I could refuse to wear them, but the thought of disappointing him wasn’t appealing. I wanted to do as he said. I wanted to be the Aria he remembered. The one who did as she was told—always.
My shaky legs carried me toward the box, and I kneeled down in front of it. My last slither of hope was finding something that would cover my legs completely. Something had to be on my side, right?
I rifled through the clothes, tossing half of them into a pile of “no way in hell” and then another into a pile of “that’s disgusting” which only left me a choice of two T-shirts and a pair of shorts. Dark-blue shorts that were the kind that stuck to every inch of skin. The T-shirts were huge, but that could work in my favor. It’d allow me to cover what I couldn’t with the shorts.
Time was ticking by, but I knew I didn’t have long until Cade would be in here demanding me to get outside. So I pretended. I pretended I didn’t cover my legs one hundred percent of the time. I made believe I was wearing leggings and not shorts. I acted like the T-shirt was coming to my knees when, in actual fact, it stopped just beneath the shorts that only reached mid-thigh.
I was exposed for all to see, and there was only one person who was to blame: myself. If I hadn’t kissed Cade, he would have let me sit out. If I hadn’t gone into the locker room, Jasmine wouldn’t have stolen my clothes. If I didn’t…
My gaze flicked down to my legs as I walked back outside, and my vision blurred at what I saw. I was used to seeing them, but never in the outside daylight. They looked so much worse than they did when I was in my room.
And it was all my fault.
I’d done this to myself.
I’d littered my skin with scars.