bathroom mirror, gingerly prodding the

n again when she backhanded me f

ad-eyed drunk rage that always terrified me more than her wrath. "Can't ev

gone for years, but her wo

k tears as I felt the

en before first period, or I

s will smell the b

reath and squared my shoulders, mentally

, and for god's sake, don't react no

his unending nightmare, and I couldn't risk mis

lated teens giddy for another week of adolescen

chatter echoed off the walls, and the permeating sten

for any potential foot-related obstacles as I m

k who slummed he

rough the cacophony like kerne

nstinctively hunching as Brittany's posse of

pointed a perfectly manicured nail at the bruise along my jaw

I focused on a scuffmark on the tile between my feet, refus

ooned in that shrill baby-talk that made m

a solid form bumped hard into her shoul

y sorry, I didn'

ase's accented voice was seeped

e leveled his cool emerald stare at Britta

to slits, her lips purs

ng, Transfer," she sneered, straightening

efly, holding just a beat too long before returning to Brittany. "I certainly

's withering glare would have

furiatingly unperturbed, regarding her

over her shoulder with an exaggerated toss

pivoted on her heel and strode off, her faithful syc

houlders back at Chase, as if afraid he

ve expression before turning to me wi

red, gesturing with a sl

aback by the un

y where Brittany and her crew were still c

tless torment appealed to me, I couldn't fathom why Chase wou

idened fractionally, crinklin

. Unlike some, I don't subscribe to thi

her it. My shoulders relaxed slightly as his utter l

self-imposed caste system that ruled Westbrook's halls - a cas

ice as we continued down the hallway, the suspicious looks

as memories of my mother's venomous

features only adopted a look of

He arched one eyebrow in a wo

emur as I always did, the instinctive impulse to r

, steady presence - something that beckone

msy and inadequate as soon as they left my lips. I gestured vaguely at

s eyes studying me with an intensity that shou

I was permitting myself to disclose such

at length, his voice barely above a murmur yet somehow resonating with

ermeating an indelible warm

stances were being acknowledged not wit

e profound, m

a long moment, seeming to con

find your stoic resilience in facing such ongoing cruelties to be extraor

bbed me of the ability to respond wit

erly transfixed by thi

gertips ever so lightly along the exposed skin of my forearm - a simple, innocent

iod classroom. Chase withdrew his hand

mutely, rooted to the spot as I watched him continue dow

the tardy bell