Page 9

I get out of the car, slam the door and don’t look at him as I walk into the flat. I can feel his eyes on me the whole time. Like always.
I feel a wave of embarrassment wash over me, and I shudder.
I see Kira waiting outside once I’m inside. I let her in with a sad smile and helped her put her things in order. Kira has a lot more boxes than I do, and it takes us two hours to put everything in order. The flat looks more full and feels more like home.
I cook dinner, and we eat it together. She says she has to go to work at eight. I ask her if she can help me get a job too, and she says she’ll do her best. She’ll be back before midnight.
I put on my pyjamas and flop into bed, going over the whole day in my head again and again. What a horrible day it was!
Can I picture you in them?
I blush when I think about what he said, and I go to sleep with a smile on my face. He sure is full of surprises, isn’t he? As I said. That day was one of the best nights of my life.
If I had known what was going to happen the next day, I would have gone to my aunt’s house instead of wasting time sleeping.
I get up much earlier than usual. I feel great and walk to the toilet with a spring in my step. I put on my outfit of the day, which is a n**e top and black high-waisted jeans. I put my hair up in a ponytail and walk to the kitchen.
I say, “Morning Kira,” when I see her working on something.
“Are you not happy today?” she asks with a small smile. I realise this is the first time she’s been this nice. I smile at her as I see her make pancakes. I sit on the kitchen counter. After breakfast, I send Austin a text to see if he’s still up for going to the library to do the assignment. He sends back a “yes.”
That was quick.
I walk to school in 15 minutes. I walk to the library and sit down at one of the tables. I look for some books that have to do with colours. There is a thick book on one of the top shelves.
But because I’m short, I can’t reach it. I stand on my tiptoes and grumble to myself.
I still can’t get to it.
When I feel someone behind me, I freeze. One hand grabs my waist while the other reaches up to get the book. The smell that I know hits me.
I turn around, and my cheeks get hot. I say “thank you” as I look into his brown eyes. I can smell that earthy smell I like when he’s really close.
When he squeezes my hip a little, I gasp.
A screechy voice makes us jump apart and says, “No romance in the library; I’m sick of hormonal students.” As she walks away, the librarian gives us a look.
I take the book from Austin’s hands, who is laughing, and we walk to the table where I was sitting. We get through half of the essay before our first class. Time goes by very quickly.
We agree to finish the work at his house in the afternoon and then go our separate ways.
As I walk to my locker, someone suddenly grabs my hand and pulls me into a classroom. I turn around to see Zeke’s blue eyes as the door closes behind me.
I can feel my heart racing as I see a smirk on his face. He grabs my wrist and pulls me to a chair.
“Wh-wh-” I can’t finish my sentence because Zeke pushes me hard into one of the chairs.
He takes out his phone and tells her to “shut up” in a stern voice. “Don’t cry,” he says before giving me his phone.
I cry when I see what it is. It’s a video of me in the bright red dress. The day of the event. But that’s not all. The dress’s zip is open.
I let the dress fall and stepped out of it in the video. I only have my black bra and panties on. When I see my hands reach my back, a sob comes out of my mouth. A snap and my bra comes off. I can’t look anymore because I’m starting to hyperventilate.
I can’t breathe because my tears are making it impossible to see. Zeke puts his hand over my mouth to quiet my cries, and I don’t know how long I cry. How did he get me to do those things?
I can tell Zeke is mad because his teeth are clenched and his jaw is tight. He clicks his tongue. “I told you not to cry, didn’t I?” he says before raising his hand and hitting me. I try to stop crying, but I can’t.
“Listen, honey, no one has to know about this, okay? Or I will make sure every single student has your video. I want you here tomorrow, same time, same place,” he says like he’s talking to a child and not just slapping me.
He pats my cheek, which is red, and leaves.
I miss three classes and spend the time crying in the bathroom. I wouldn’t go to lunch either, but that would make people suspicious, and Skye would definitely ask questions that I couldn’t answer.
I wash my face with cold water and then look in the mirror. My eyes are red and puffy, so anyone with common sense would know I’ve been crying. I go to Google and look up what I can do.
Here’s what you do: Turn on the cold water, put your fingers under the tap, and then gently pat cold water under your eyes, where they are all puffy. This cools you down and tightens the blood vessels under your eyes that are making them swell. Put some cold water on your wrists as well.
I do what it says and wait for a while. I don’t look completely normal, but I’m pretty sure no one will notice. I take a deep breath and leave the bathroom.
Skye asks, “Where were you?” as I walk to the cafeteria queue. I don’t want to eat anything. I quickly come up with an excuse.
“Library. Sorry, I lost track of time.” She looks like she believes me. I don’t want to sit at the same table as Zeke, but I have to. I go to the table with Skye.
“Where’s your tray?” Kira asks.
“I don’t want to eat,” I say with a fake smile. My heart is still racing, and I still feel a little shaky. I can feel Zeke’s eyes on me. While Skye talks about a movie she saw yesterday, I don’t look at him; I look at the table in front of us.
What is he going to do to me tomorrow? That’s all I can think about.
I want to tell Skye everything, but I don’t think she will believe me. She has no idea that Zeke is lying to her. No one can help me get out of this mess.
It seems like the whole day is long. I end up missing all of my classes. At one point, I fall asleep on the bathroom floor, and the caretaker wakes me up. I don’t see the point in staying at school any longer, so I’m thinking about going home.
I run through the hall while I wipe my tears away. But I run into someone, and before I can fall, a hand wraps around my waist and pulls me to a strong chest.
I look at the person who owns the hand with fear, but I feel a little better when I realise it’s not Zeke.
“Watch where you’re going, Lyra. What’s wrong?” Austin says, his scary voice changing to a serious one as he sees me and pulls me to him before I hit the ground. He uses his thumb to wipe away a tear that has fallen down my cheek. His brown eyes fill with worry, and a frown spreads across his face as he looks at me.
I want to tell him everything.
But I can’t take the chance.
By the way, he’s still a bit of a stranger. You all need to stop being mean to her because she wouldn’t tell Austin everything.