Just as I find my zen, Blair enters the room and glares at me. Her nose isn’t strapped up, so it obviously wasn’t broken. Though even from here, I can see the extra concealer on her face, so I guess there’s some bruising.
Shame.
She stalks toward me, pissy as hell, but Finley steps in front of her and diverts her attention to Lincoln. I don’t know why that pisses me off more, but when she smiles smugly at me, I clench my fists under the table.
The bell rings, and Indi glances over at me. “Want to skip?”
I love her so fucking much.
I shake my head and grab my bag and tray. “Not a fucking chance. Then they’ll think they’ve won, and they need to learn that I’m not going anywhere.”
“Damn, you are slaying this badass bitch vibe today,” she says, smiling wide. We say our goodbyes to the table and hurry out of the cafeteria to my locker.
They’re going to learn that I’m not just another one of their lowly subjects. This bitch doesn’t take it lying down.
Chapter Fourteen
I’m woken by my phone pinging like crazy on the nightstand. Groaning as I roll over, I look at the messages.
Indi: I need you.
Indi: I was carjacked.
Indi: I don’t know what to do.
Indi: Help.
I blink down at the screen in horror.
What the actual fuck? I dial her immediately, my heart racing at all of the possibilities of what could have happened to her. My panic flips to anger as I wait for the line to connect. I swear to God, if she’s hurt…
She answers on the first ring and her sobs echo across the line. “Where are you?”
“V… I…” she stammers like she can’t get her words out around her panic. “I’m just past the railroad tracks on the other side of town. I’m hiding down an alley right now. But, V, they took my car, they hit me…” her words taper off as her sobs pick up again.
“I’ll be there in a few, okay. Just stay on the line.”
I rack my brain, trying to think of how the hell I can get to her when my car is still in the shop. I run down the stairs and head for the security room where Smithy keeps the keys for my dad's cars that are locked in the garage. I haven’t touched anything in the garage since I got back to Echoes Cove. My dad's things were his, but right now, I need one of his cars. I grab the closest keys to me and run to the garage. When I push the button, the lights on the black SUV flash.
I don’t hesitate, I just climb in and start the engine. The tires screech as I pull down the drive, smashing the gate clicker so it opens. “I’m on my way. I’m in the black Range Rover.”
“Okay.” I push the button on the dash so my phone connects to the bluetooth, keeping the connection to her open, her sniffles filling the car.
“Did you call the police?” I ask, but I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.
“No,” she hiccups. “I panicked. I ran. I just texted you. I don’t know what to do. They hurt me, and I’m so fucking scared they’re going to come back.” Her sobs start up again, and I grip the steering wheel tighter as I fly through the city toward the less savory part of Echoes Cove. I can’t help but wonder why she was over there in the first place. That’s a question for later.
I scan the roads as quickly as I can. Once I cross the tracks, I slow the car. “I’m nearly there, can you come out to the street side so I can see you?”
“Okay.” Her voice is so small, and I hate that someone did this to her. She’s possibly the nicest person that I’ve ever met. She didn’t deserve this.
I see her appear on the right. I jerk the wheel in her direction, screeching to a stop before jumping from the car. A bruise is already forming on her cheekbone, and she’s bleeding from a cut above her eyebrow.
“Oh, Indi,” I sigh and wrap her in my arms. Her knees give way and I take her weight, lowering us to the ground, holding her while she sobs. Her entire body shakes as she buries her face into my neck, clinging to me for dear life like I can save her, and my anger blazes again that someone would do this to her.
We’re in the middle of some residential buildings, and it doesn’t look like there are even any businesses here where she could’ve gone for help. This entire place looks sketchy as hell. “We should get you to the hospital to get checked out and then call the police.”
She shudders in my arms before pulling away and wiping at her tears, wincing as she touches her cheek. “My mom is going to be so mad.”