Page 72 of Obsession

“Hammond!”

I slowed to a halt, briefly letting my eyes fall closed before I turned around. Keith and his posse made a beeline for me. Cruel intent oozed off them in waves. Everyone else stayed out of theirway. I caught sight of Samantha behind them. She clutched her books to her chest, looking uncertain and ashamed. But it was the sympathy in her hazel eyes that hurt the most.

I didn’t want others’ sympathy. It was already hard enough to survive in this world.

Keith, Mark, David, Michael, and Andy circled me like I was an injured animal that they couldn’t wait to sink their teeth into.

I stared at Samantha across the hallway, grinding my teeth so hard that I worried they might pulverize. Campbell noticed, following my line of sight. He let out a delighted chuckle. “My girlfriend, Hammond? Really? You think she’d ever stoop so fucking low?”

The others laughed too.

I noticed her a lot. I couldn’t help it. She had the most breathtaking smile, and her blonde hair shimmered when the sun hit the curly strands. She was shy, but she pretended otherwise. She wanted to fit in, but she wished others would see her. Truly see her.

I saw her.

Campbell was right. Girls like her didn’t notice boys like me.

Campbell spat on me, and the others copied. Then I was shoved back against the lockers by their ringleader, who got in my face. He was a few inches shorter than me, but his diet was better, so he had more muscle than I did.

I wasn’t just a freak. I was a skinny freak, and they wouldn’t let me forget.

The first punch was always the worst. It got easier after that. After all, I was used to physical abuse. I could block the pain, but what I couldn’t do was put a lid on the shame I felt, knowing others were watching me get kicked and punched.

I shoved Keith away, but he came back for more, clocking me in the jaw. My teeth slammed together so hard that I got dizzy for a moment. My lip was cut, and the taste of copper assaultedmy tongue. I flashed him a bloody smile, refusing to let him see the war raging inside me.

I was two seconds away from retaliating, and I feared there would be no stopping the darkness inside me once I did.

They finally left, and their rowdy laughter followed them down the hallway. Keith stopped to try to convince Samantha to go with them, but she shook her head, making some excuse I couldn’t hear from over here.

Her eyes darted my way when the others turned the corner, but I’d had enough of that pitying look.

I set off down the now-empty hallway and pushed open the door to the stairwell. I was just about to descend the stairs when Samantha’s soft voice cut through my pride.

“Robbie…”

With my hand on the metal railing, I peered at her over my shoulder. She seemed scared of me, but she didn’t run.

Shifting on the spot, she clutched her books closer to her chest and worried her bottom lip. “Are you okay?”

I turned fully, standing on the second step, with my left foot on the top. She hesitated, so I hesitated too.

What did she want?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered apologetically. “Of course, you’re not okay. You’re bleeding.” She took a step toward me but stopped, unsure of herself.

The silence stretched on. She fidgeted, but she didn’t leave.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” She peered up at me through her wispy lashes.

I walked up the final step, and her eyes widened in response. No one had ever made me feel like a wild circus animal before, until her. While Keith called me a freak, she made me feel like one.

But I didn’t leave.

She barely reached my collarbones.

“I’m sorry about Keith. He can be a?—”

“A what?” A muscle twitched in my jaw. “An asshole?”