The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 42

I crossed the campus and made it to my English class a little early, which cheered me up. I explained the situation to my teacher in very loose terms and he responded so positively. I sat down at my desk cheerfully as the lecture started, and then jumped in surprise when a note hit my desk.

I looked up to see a girl with dark hair and tan skin smiling at me and pointing down to the message. I unraveled the crumpled paper eagerly beneath my desk and read what she had written.

"Are you the girl who missed class yesterday? Lucky! ;)"

I wanted to laugh out loud. What had been a truly terrible experience to me had seemed like some sort of gift to everyone else. High school was so strange.

I discreetly scribbled back "That's me! What's ur name?"

The answer came quickly.

"I go by JJ! Want to meet up for lunch?"

I tried to stop my jaw from dropping. Was it really that easy? Were we friends now? Did we have anything in common? Should I pretend to have other plans so that I seem more elusive and cooler?

"Sounds good :3".

She slid me her phone number and I slid her mine back, secretly thanking God that I had a cell phone and didn't have to tell her I was a complete loser so early on.

She shot me a thumbs up when she opened the note and then dropped it into her backpack as the teacher came walking down the aisle. We both turned back to the lesson with matching smiles.

When I got out of class, I immediately shot the Dominic a text.

"I MADE A FRIEND! That's one more than you have ;)"

He must have been working because I received no reply until after a couple of classes had passed. I got to Marine Bio and took a seat, jolting a little when my phone dinged. I switched it to vibrate and pulled it from my pocket discreetly as the class filed in.

His reply was quick and mean.

"Maya's first friend, how sweet." I put my phone back in my pocket and faced the front, waiting for the lesson to start. The seat next to me creaked as someone sat down, so I turned to face Caleb with a smile.

"Hello, Maya Rogers." Asher said with a snarky grin.

"Hello, Asher whatever the fuck your last name is." I said sweetly, smile contorting into a grimace. He stayed seated, looking at me as if he knew something and was waiting for me to own up. I gave him the most fleeting and bored expression I could manage.

"You're in Caleb's seat." I said as the door opened, and more students came inside.

"I won't be here long." He said, leaning closer to me. His cologne washed over me and I had to resist the urge to breathe in more of it, as his eyes trapped mine. The grey was dark today, like the clouds were filled with something. I tried to read his expression, but his arrogance blocked it pretty well. I kept my eyes on his, like we were having a staring contest. Trivial as it might be, I wasn't about to lose.

"I just want you to know," he spoke in a low voice, so that those around us couldn't hear. "I'm watching you. I know you did something. You have guilty written all over you, and I'm going to find out what it is."

I tried to keep from glaring so that we wouldn't attract looks from anyone, including the teacher who had just walked in the room.

"Kelly." A threatening voice said from behind us. "Move. Now."

Asher rose, a smile dancing on his lips, as he stood and looked down on Caleb. They were only a couple inches apart in height, but Asher definitely had the upper hand in the muscle department. Caleb didn't break his stony expression and threatening demeanor until Asher was back in his normal seat and facing the front. He dropped his backpack to the floor and smiled at me, all traces of anger fading as he took the stool beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, blue eyes alight with worry.

"Calm down," I whispered back. "I'm fine."

He sighed with relief as our teacher began passing out packets and setting up a Powerpoint presentation.

"I didn't know you could be intimidating to people." I said to him with a smirk. He looked at me with a smile.

"Maybe because I'm not trying to intimidate you?" He offered.

"Hmmm... nope. It's because you look like the nicest person ever!" I said reasonably.

Our teacher shushed us as he began speaking, but Caleb didn't stop talking which made me grin.

"I am the nicest person ever... to you. But not Asher Kelly." He said, opening his packet to the right page and leaving me to my thoughts. Our teacher gave a confident smile as if we began listening because he was a good teacher, and not because our conversation had ended. I tried to focus on the weird underwater animal on the board, but my thoughts drifted farther and farther from the lecture like they were out on the sea themselves.

Asher Kelly didn't worry me. He was like a hall-monitor on steroids, nothing more.

What he said, on the other hand, reminded me of exactly what I was trying to outrun.

My breathing sped up and I could hardly keep my mind in the present as I thought back to what I had done. If the Anders knew, if they somehow found out, I didn't think they would ever forgive me. Especially since I still hadn't found a way to forgive myself.