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“I think she’s had enough for now.” Briggs’s voice booms through the room. “Plus, I’ll stand by my word. I’ll leave her alone for the rest of the day.”
“You didn’t promise her we would leave her alone,” Carter’s sinister voice fills the space, and my fear revs up once more. “You don’t have to touch her…”
“I said she’s had enough!” For once, I’m actually glad Briggs is here. “Let’s go,” he orders, as he straightens up.
His friend mumbles something under his breath I can’t make out, and I probably don’t want to either, before all three of them exit the room.
“See you tomorrow, bird,” Briggs reminds me before the door closes behind him, leaving me alone on my knees in the center of the room.
Regaining my composure, I grab my backpack off the floor and get up to my unsteady feet. My knees are weak, and my heart is still racing in my chest when I head to the door and leave the classroom of my nightmares.
As I walk down the hallway to the next bathroom, I feel like everyone is staring at me, like they know what just happened. I speed walk faster, not caring that I’m almost running now.
When I finally get to the bathroom, I’m relieved to find it empty. I drop my backpack next to the sink and turn on the faucet. Using my palms to gather water, I splash some on my face before I drop my head sideways into the sink and let the water run into my mouth. Straightening up, I swish the water around my mouth before spitting it back in the sink.
That’s when I take in my reflection in the mirror. My face is pale, my eyes are puffy and red, my long, brown hair is a tangled mess, and my lips are swollen.
There is no way I’m going to my next class, I decide. I weigh my options. I walked to school this morning, and I would rather not make another hour trip on my already worn-out shoes. The only other choice I have is to ask someone for a jump, and the only person who would help me is Maya.
I pull out my old phone with the huge crack on the front screen. I unlock it and go to my text messages.
ME: HEY, CAN YOU HELP ME OUT AND GIVE MY CAR A JUMP?
She texts back almost immediately.
MAYA: SURE THING! I’LL MEET YOU IN THE PARKING LOT IN TWENTY MINUTES. I’M STILL IN CLASS RIGHT NOW.
ME: THANK YOU!
Picking up my backpack from the ground, I sling it over my shoulder and make my way to the parking lot to wait for Maya. I stand there waiting, hoping that I’m not going to run into Briggs and his friends out here again.
When Maya finally comes walking toward me, I sigh in relief. She wears a smile I wish I could reciprocate, but the corners of my mouth just won’t turn up, no matter how hard I try to force them.
“Oh no, what did he do now?” she questions when she gets closer.
I think about telling her everything, but I’m not ready to relive what I just went through. “You know the usual.” I try to downplay it. “Tormenting me every chance he gets.”
“I’m sorry he is such an ass, and I’m even more sorry that there is nothing I can do to help.”
“You are helping me right now. I really need my car to drive home.”
“Do you have a jumper cable?” Maya asks. When I nod, she continues, “Hold on, I’ll drive my car in front of yours.”
Her car is parked a few rows down from mine, and she drives it over quickly, popping her hood before she gets out of it. I get the jumper cables from my trunk and pop my own hood. As I connect the cables, I say a silent prayer in my head, hoping that it will start. I get behind the wheel and squeeze my eyes shut as I turn the key in the ignition. The motor stutters a few times but rumbles to life a moment later.
“Thank fuck.” I sigh.
“Yay!” Maya claps her hands together in joy. “I’m glad I could help!”
“Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver,” I say, climbing out of my car to give her a hug.
“You’re welcome,” Maya answers while hugging me back. “I’ll be your hero anytime you need me.”
I thank her three more times before taking the cable off and closing our hoods. Maya says goodbye, and she drives off in her small car while I get into my own little death trap. At least it’s no longer the slut mobile.
The entire ten-minute drive home, I think about what Briggs did to me in that room while his friends were watching. I feel disgusted and used, angry and, most of all, helpless. As he told me over and over again, there is no one who would help me, not even the police would go against one of the five families. Not with Carter’s dad being the chief of police.
The only way to get away from him is to leave this town, go somewhere he isn’t part of a powerful group of people. But how am I going to do that? I have barely enough money to live, and my scholarship is only good for this school. My options are slim, and I know the only way out is through. I have to somehow live through this until I graduate. I only hope his cruelty has an end. I don’t know how much more I can take of this. How much further is he going to take this?
