Page 16 of The Secrets We Bury

This time, I don’t even have to give Nolan a look for him to get the memo. A second slap is delivered, harder than the first.

“Stop it!” Gio dodges a third one and jogs a few steps ahead, his own bag banging against his back before he turns around and walks backwards, flipping the remaining three of us the bird. “I’m not a dick if I don’t know what was wrong with what I said!” he calls out.

“Yes, you are,” I reply. “It just means you’re a dense dickhead.”

Nolan chuckles, but it doesn’t last long. Gio seems to be the only one able to hold his smile—not that I’ve been one much for smiling in the last few months. Around the three of them, though, that has started to change and I almost lost it all.

“We’ve got to head to Coach’s office,” Nolan says as we walk the length of the lot towards the double doors leading inside. “Are you going to be okay on your own?”

“What?” I ask, casting him a sidelong glance. “Do you think more kidnappers are going to appear and drag me out of the building?”

He goes silent and Lex’s hand touches the small of my back. “I can hang with her and meet with Coach later,” he offers.

“For fuck’s sake.” I jolt away from Lex and glare in his direction. “You’re not going to be able to follow me around every second of every day for the rest of my life.”

“Not for the rest of your life,” Nolan corrects. “Just until Morpheus Calloway isn’t a threat anymore.”

“Speak for yourself.” Lex’s quiet mutter earns him a reproachful look, but he stares silently ahead and doesn’t even acknowledge my annoyance.

“Stalker,” I hiss.

His lips twitch. “Only for you, baby.”

I must be sick in the head, because… I think I’m starting to like it.

Gio is already at the doors, holding them open for us when we catch up to him. The four of us file into the nearly empty front hall and as they linger, I realize that Nolan was serious about me not being left alone.

“I’ll go find Mads,” I say as a concession. “She’s probably in the newspaper room right now. I can hang with her until first bell.”

The three of them exchange glances, and that’s it for me. I’m done. Flipping on my heel, I offer them all a one-fingered salute and start walking. “Have fun with Coach!”

Gio’s groan of dismay is all the response I get, but when I turn the corner, I peer back to see that not a single one of them have left their places. They watch me until they literally can’t anymore and the dead thing inside of my chest that I thought couldn’t give a shit about anyone anymore shudders with some unnamed emotion.

Thankfully, Idofind Mads in the newspaper room and even better, she’s the only one there. As soon as the door opens, hermessy blonde bun pops over the screen of one of the dozen or so computer station cubicles.

“Juliet?” The sound of a chair scraping tile shrieks as she gets fully to her feet and hurries towards me. “What happened to you Friday night? I was so worried!”

The door swings shut behind me as she stops in front of me and grabs my hands. “It’s complicated,” I say, gripping her back.

Her brows crease, causing shadows to cast over her eyes, and I realize it’s not just shadows that are darkening her expression. The skin beneath her eyes is nearly purple.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I reach up, releasing one of her hands, and brush the tip of a finger over her upper cheek. “You look tired.”

She lets go and takes a step back, chuckling drily as she shifts on her feet. “It’s nothing,” she says. “I’ve just been taking a few extra Bible study classes my parents wanted me to pick up and it’s been difficult to find the time to study for school too.”

Mads walks back towards her station, grips her chair, and flips it around before all but collapsing into it. With a determined look my way, she points to the chair next to hers. “Sit.”

Surprised by the authoritative tone and a little impressed by the show of spine, I march towards her and take a seat in the chair she indicated.

“Now, the truth, please,” she says.

I arch a brow. “You first.”

“I did tell you the truth,” she shoots back. “All you said was that ‘it’s complicated’.” The last two words are accompanied by finger air quotes and a scoff. “That’s as much of an answer as ‘I don’t know’ is.”

Rocking forward, I spread my legs and grip the front bottom of the chair and twist my head from side to side, taking in the rest of the room. The only time I’ve ever actually been here wasduring Roquel’s tour on my first day. Back then, school hadn’t even really started. There’d been no pictures posted on the walls, no newspaper articles, as there are now. I spot a few of them with Mads’ name beneath the titles.

“I can sit here in silence all day, Jules,” Madison states.