CHAPTER17
Jess gives me a kind smile as I enter the front office. “Is your migraine getting worse? Do you want to go home?”
"I'm all right. I guess. Migraine-wise, that is. But, ah, Mr. Winters sent me down here to see the principal."
“You have to see Mr. Malone?”
“Apparently.”
Jess leans forward. “Why do you have to see him?”
“I defended myself.”
“Defended yourself? How? Against who?”
“Liam Haverforth.”
Jess blinks a few times. “Oh, hon, Brett didn’t do you any favors, did he?”
“He did warn me that Mr. Winters is a dick, and that’s the truth.”
Jess covers her mouth, and she laughs a little. “Oh, I shouldn’t have laughed. But Liam…”
“Please don’t tell me that the principal’s last name is Haverforth.”
“No, Liam isn’t related to the principal, but…”
“Liam’s one of the hierarchy or whatever. I know. I realize that. I’m just going to keep my head down—”
“And that’s probably not going to work,” Jess says.
I huff a sigh. My migraine is starting to come back. The medicine had started to kick in, but all of this stress is just bringing it back to the front and center.
“Do you have any advice for me?” I ask Jess, surprising myself because honestly, I’m never one to ask others for advice.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Jess says, “but you should come with me.”
She motions me around the counter that’s right up against her desk, and she leads me into the back. I feel like I’m trapped in some kind of dungeon. The principal’s door is shut, and she knocks before opening the door.
“Mr. Malone,” she says, her voice as sweet as can be. “A student has been sent to see you.”
“What is the fucking point of having a disciplinarian if teachers still send the students in to see me?”
Well, doesn’t he sound like a peach.
Jess gives me a sympathetic look and pats my shoulder. “Good luck.”
I need fucking luck to see this guy? Great. What do you want to bet that he’s Brett 2.0 in adult form?
Or Liam 2.0. I swear Liam’s even worse.
Why? Why do I think Liam is so much worse than Brett? Brett’s done some jacked-up shit to me, so why is he seemingly getting a free pass in my mind?
Probably because he’s the lesser of two evils. To send a girl away to a psych place… that’s terrifying. The amount of power these guys have… it’s disgusting and wrong.
Someone needs to do something about it.
And that someone won’t be me.