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I briefly consider protesting, but I know how to pick my battles. And this one isn’t worth it.
“Fine,” I say.
They smirk at me as they walk away while I toss my towel down on the bench and then sit down to wait.
From the other side of the room, the sound of splashing water drifts through the air. I try not to think about how nice it must feel to already be standing there under the warm rushing water while I sit there on the hard wooden bench, still covered in dried mud. Once we’re down to half of the group, I strip out of my dirty clothes and wrap the towel around myself in preparation.
By the time it’s finally my turn, there are only three other students left in the shower room and four others who are putting on fresh clothes in the locker room. Carla has already left, of course. But Leslie and Jane are among the four people still left in the locker room, and they flash me smug smiles when I walk past. I ignore them and instead hang up my towel on one of the metal hooks in the shower room.
Then I step underneath one of the showerheads that are set into the wall and turn it on. Warm water washes over me.
I wash the mud from my hair and body, and then I do what I had planned to do the moment I walked across the threshold. I sit down on the floor and let the warm water soothe the ache in my muscles.
Even though I don’t want to admit it, these constant reminders that I’m not good enough are starting to take their toll on me. I wish Jane and Leslie would just leave me alone. If they didn’t take every opportunity to crush my confidence, it would be so much easier to deal with the fact that I truly do suck at most things here at Blackwater.
Tilting my head back, I let the warm water splash down over my face.
And besides, I already have one bully. Isn’t that enough? And not just any bully. Kaden Hunter. The worst psycho on campus. Why do I have to deal with both him and petty mean girls like Leslie and Jane. It’s not fair.
A sigh escapes my lungs.
But then again, life isn’t fair. So why do I expect it to be?
Shaking my head, I decide that my pity party has gone on long enough. I need to get changed and head back to our house before my brothers send out a search party.
I push up from the floor and turn off the shower. Unsurprisingly, everyone else has already finished and left. After squeezing the water from my hair, I start towards the hook where I hung my towel.
Surprise flashes through me.
Trailing to a halt, I stare at the empty towel rack for a few seconds.
Then an exasperated sigh rips from my chest. Someone accidentally took my towel too. Great.
With water still dripping from my body, I walk back into the locker room.
It’s as deserted as the shower room, but the air is now warm and moist from the prolonged use of the showers. Faint scents of perfume also linger in the air.
Stopping in front of my locker, I open the small metal door.
I blink at it.
Empty.
With confusion pulling at my brows, I shake my head at myself and close the door again. I must have opened the wrong one. Moving sideways, I open the locker next to it.
Also empty.
I open the one on the other side.
Empty as well.
Dread curls around my spine like a cold snake.
Someone didn’t accidentally take my towel too. They did it on purpose. And they took all of my clothes, even the muddy ones, as well.
With my heart pattering in my chest, I start down the row of lockers, yanking up each one. But they’re all empty.
Those smug smiles on Jane and Leslie’s lips when I walked into the shower room flash over and over through my mind.
