Page 24 of Quiet Rage (Wicked Falls Elite #5)

Tamson

Will he? Won’t he?

This is insane. I’ve been ready to jump out of my skin all day, looking for Kellen around every corner, glancing over my shoulder and expecting to see him towering over me. I’m supposed to drop out just because he thinks I should, and he still can’t give me a reason why.

He obviously doesn’t know me if he thinks I’m going to do what he says just because he says so.

That’ll make me twice as likely to do the opposite.

There’s a reason Jason would remind me to pick my battles carefully.

I’ve never been good at taking orders. I’ve never been good at hiding my reaction, either.

Even so, even though I know I’m doing the right thing for me by being here at school, my nerves are shot.

How much can a person go through before they completely shatter?

Every little noise—somebody dropping a book out in the hall during class, somebody laughing too loud out on the quad—has me jumping today.

My heart has spent more time in my throat than in my chest. Like I’m waiting for something awful to happen. I’m here, but I’m not here.

Not knowing is the worst part. Expecting something terrible to happen, not knowing when or what it will be. It reminds me of something I heard in a movie a long time ago: anticipation of death is worse than death itself. Yeah, that’s about right.

That quote bounces around in my head while I’m on my way to Chemistry. Being in this building is a little bit of a trigger, since this is where Tiana and her hags locked me in. The memories can’t hurt me. I am going to see this through. They’re not going to break me.

Funny how that’s the last thing to cross my mind as I round a corner and run straight into the mountain of muscle that is Kellen.

I don’t have a chance to scoot around him or knee him in the balls or anything before his hands are on me. Big hands with the power to make me hurt or to give me indescribable pleasure.

There is no pleasure in his grip this afternoon. He pulls me in close enough that the warmth of his body heats my skin. I swear I feel his heart pounding while he searches my face. “This is your last chance,” he mutters, teeth clenched. “Drop out. Walk away.”

All he’s doing is making me more determined than ever. Jason wouldn’t let a bully stop him or push him around. Neither will I. “I can’t do that. I told you already. I can’t.”

For one second, I’m torn between wanting to push him away and wanting to melt against him.

I can’t pretend my body doesn’t react in the worst possible way to his nearness, his touch.

That’s all it takes for the memories to come rushing back.

The sensations. My pulse is racing—is it fear or anticipation?

He answers my silent question with the hardening of his eyes. They go blank, vacant, like two endless, dark holes with no bottom. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

There is no hope of fighting back when he pulls me across the hall, into the girls’ bathroom. The same girls’ bathroom where Tiana and Company stripped me down.

The bathroom where they are now waiting when Kellen shoves me inside.

My blood turns to ice, and I back up against the closed door, but he’s leaning against it. There’s no moving it. “You just can’t take a hint, can you, bitch?” Tiana’s holding a black permanent marker, waving it around and laughing as the girls rush me, pulling me further into the room.

One of them shoves wadded-up paper towels into my mouth – I can’t spit them out, and I can’t yank them out when my arms are held so tight.

“All you had to do was go away,” Tiana sighs while the girls wrestle me to the floor.

It doesn’t matter how I fight and twist and scream behind my makeshift gag.

I end up on my back, lying on the cold, dirty tile, so Tiana can straddle my chest.

“Let’s see…” She taps the end of the marker to her chin while the girls laugh and egg her on.

I’m sweating, fighting for every breath, half crazy with panic by the time she pops the cap off.

“Now hold still,” she advises, taking my jaw in one hand and holding my head in place so she can write across my forehead.

My screams are muffled, my tears ignored. The marker’s felt tip presses hard against my skin as she draws on one cheek, then the other. I don’t know what it is she’s drawing. I only know the girls laugh.

“What about cum here ?” one of them asks. “On her boobs.”

“Good idea,” Tiana agrees, tearing open my cardigan, and pulling my tank top down low so she can scrawl across my chest. She keeps going and going, marking my skin, laughing at my misery.

How could he let this happen? Tears run down my face and soak into my hair. They probably just make the girls laugh harder until finally, Tiana gets up and lets the marker drop on my stomach. “A masterpiece,” she declares. “And a definite improvement.”

I’m aching all over when they let me go, choking on my tears as I pull the paper towels from my mouth. They watch as I grip the counter to pull myself to my feet.

And instantly recoil at my reflection. “What, you don’t like it?

” Tiana laughs while my gaze darts around from one obscenity to another.

She drew arrows on my cheeks, pointing to my mouth.

Insert Here . And sure enough, Cum Here is written across my boobs.

Slut. Bitch. I’m covered in filth thanks to them.

But it’s the word she wrote across my forehead that stands out the biggest, backwards in the mirror, but still clear as day. Whore .

I have to go home. I have to get out of here. Nothing matters more than grabbing my backpack and throwing myself at the door, prepared to kick it down if I have to. But Kellen isn’t blocking it this time—I almost tumble out into the hallway, barely catching myself before I hit the floor.

He wasn’t holding the door closed, but he is waiting, now propped up against the door to the janitor closet. His face is a stony mask when I glare up at him. “What did I tell you?” he murmurs.

The door opens behind me. “I think it’s some of my best work.

” Tiana steps up next to him, smirking, sliding an arm around his waist. But that isn’t the worst part.

The worst is when he drapes an arm around her shoulders, shrugging, before the two of them walk off together down the hall. He doesn’t even look back once.

How could he?

My heart is in pieces at my feet by the time I remember I was trying to leave.

I need to—people can see me; they’re laughing, pointing, chanting words like whore and slut .

Forget trying to have a little dignity. Forget keeping my head held high.

What matters now is survival, which means running blindly past them, sprinting for the double doors leading out to the quad.

And straight into another girl on her way out. She stumbles back, letting go of the door and almost falling on her ass. I would ignore her if it wasn’t for the hand she wraps around my wrist before I can get away. “Oh, my God,” she gasps, looking me up and down. “What happened to you?”

“What does it look like?” I snap, pulling my wrist free and taking off.

“Wait. Wait!” She jogs up next to me. “Let me help you. Seriously, let me help you get cleaned up.”

“It’s marker! Permanent marker!”

“We can still get it off you. Please, let me.” She grabs my backpack this time, tugging gently. “I have alcohol wipes in my car. That will help. We can at least clean your face up.”

I know this girl. I’ve seen her before. “You’re one of his friends,” I mutter, covering my forehead with one hand, keeping my head down and my shoulders up high like that will do anything to protect me.

“Whose? Don’t worry about that now. Come on, let’s clean you up.

” She’s gentle, kind, and I guess it’s been long enough since I’ve experienced any kindness that I don’t offer any more arguments.

It’s easier to follow her to the parking lot, where we head for her car instead of mine.

Before letting me in, she opens the trunk and pulls out a first aid kit.

She then opens the passenger door using her key fob, and I duck in quickly, releasing the breath I was holding once I’m safe inside. Now I can cover my face with both hands, weeping behind them, shaking.

How could they? How could he?

“Here. Let me.” The girl’s touch is gentle, first stroking my hair and brushing sweaty strands away from my skin before tearing open a packet and pulling out a wipe. “You just stay still, okay?”

I can’t even look at her once my hands drop to my lap.

I’m too humiliated. Tears roll down my cheeks from behind closed lids while she cleans my forehead.

“It’s coming off,” she murmurs, making me shudder in relief while another sob bursts out of me.

“I’m sorry this happened. I know how it feels to be bullied. ”

“Why? Why does she have to do these things? Why hasn’t somebody done something about her?”

“I’m guessing you mean Tiana,” she mutters. My head bobs once, and she sighs, louder than ever. “That girl is a disease.”

Thank God. Finally, for the first time, somebody gets it. There’s somebody at this school who wants more than to break me.

“My name is Emma, by the way,” she murmurs. “Kellen is good friends with the twins, Preston and Easton. I’m with both of them.”

It’s not easy to hide my surprise, but I try. She’s so casual about it.

“He wants me to drop out,” I whisper. She scowls, eyes narrow, but says nothing. What is there to say?

“Here. Look, see? It really helped.” She flips down the passenger visor. There’s a mirror attached to the back, and while my forehead is a little red now from all the rubbing, the marker is gone.

“Thank you so much,” I choke out before a fresh wave of emotion sweeps me up.

She doesn’t say anything. She only gets to work on one cheek, then the other.

By the time she’s finished, I’ve pulled myself together enough to tackle my chest and arms. Slowly, but surely, the evidence of the attack is wiped away.

The car smells like alcohol by the time we’re finished, but at least I’m not ashamed to be seen by anybody walking past. I’m not some obscene billboard advertising the sickness and rot in this school.

“Thank you.” Closing my eyes, I settle back in the seat, completely exhausted and still aching. They weren’t exactly gentle with me back there.

“Like I said. I understand. But I would hope any half-decent person would help you if they could.” She lets a few silent moments pass before asking, “Can I drive you home? It doesn’t seem like you’re in any shape to drive yourself.”

She’s not wrong. Still… “You don’t have to do that,” I murmur, opening my eyes, turning my head to offer a weak smile. “You’ve already gone out of your way.”

“It’s nothing. And honestly, you look like you’re ready to pass out.

Can you Uber back later and pick up your car if you need to?

” I nod, knowing she’s going to drive me whether I want her to or not.

I think I do want her to, even if I don’t love the idea of leaving my car here.

They’ll probably slash my tires or paint it a different color or something while I’m gone.

Right now, I don’t have it in me to care.

I just need to get home, far away from this vile place.

Along the way, she tells me a little bit about herself. Her leukemia, her grandmom, her boyfriends. She’s gentle and sweet, and I’ve been missing that. By the time we pull up to the house, I’m feeling calmer, even if I’m still bruised and battered inside.

“Please, let me give you my number.” She is persistent, that’s for sure, almost worried about me. I give her my number, and she calls my phone so I can have hers. “Call me anytime,” she urges.

All I can do is thank her, almost choked with gratitude, before hurrying up to the house.

Mom must be taking a nap, since the living room is empty, though she could be at the store with Dad. Thank God, I don’t have to explain anything to them. I can rush upstairs, fling myself on the bed, and sob until there are no tears left.

I don’t know what haunts me more: the memory of Tiana sitting on me, pinning me to the floor, or the way she and Kellen walked away with her arms around each other.

All I know is by the time the tears are dry and I’ve washed my face, there’s only one thing to do. They win. I can’t go through this anymore.

He finally got what he wanted.

Sitting at my desk, I open my laptop and type up an email to the school registrar before I can change my mind.

Effective immediately, I am withdrawing from all of my classes and will not be returning to Wicked Falls University.

“Congratulations, Kellen,” I whisper before hitting Send. “I hope it was worth it.”