I take a step away and feel a hand land on my shoulder and jolt.
Nope. No fucking way. They can taunt me and knock me down, but they can’t touch me.
Shaking them off, I make my way to the classroom, not even looking to see whose hand grabbed me.
I don’t care which of them it was, because if I have my way, no one will ever fucking touch me again.
I take a seat in the back corner of the classroom and breathe a sigh of relief as I look around. Maybe I will be lucky and not share a class with any of them. Just this once, the universe may be giving me a pass.
My happiness is short lived as Evan walks in, taking stock of the room before narrowing his eyes on the empty seat beside me.
No, God no. Please, anywhere but here.
I lay my head in my arms and groan as he makes his way over here with a smirk on his all too handsome face.
It would be nice if the universe quit shitting on me. Even just for one damn day because lately, she’s been a miserable cunt I’d like to stab.
I’ve never done anything to deserve the shit she’s thrown at me the past couple months.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise. You don’t usually sit back here.”
The chair beside me screeches across the floor as he flops into it and I sigh, lifting my head, refusing to acknowledge him.
This is all my fault.
It’s my mistake that gave him the free access to sit beside me. I wanted to disappear into the background even more than I have in the past, and that just gave him the ammunition he needed to taunt me some more.
Fucking perfect.
The bell rings and I bend over to take my books out for homeroom as the teacher walks into the classroom and closes the door.
“Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Granger.” Everyone around us mumbles something, but I don’t pay any attention. I keep my head and eyes on my books as not to give the evil spawn beside me more ammunition.
Okay, to be fair, Evan is the nicest of the four of them, but he’s still a dick. To his credit, he must sense my unwillingness to deal with his shit. He doesn’t say much as the teacher goes through roll call to make sure we’re all in attendance.
I keep my eyes on my books, doodling something in the corner of one of my notebooks when my name is called.
“Carly Harrison.”
The sound of my name snaps me out of my daze, and I pull my head up.
“Here., I state as I look at our new teacher and forget how to breathe.
His cold eyes hold mine with a darkness I remember well, and I suddenly feel dizzy as I take in the satisfied smirk that appears on his face.
“New teacher.” Evan pulls tighter into the desk and whispers under his breath. I don’t answer him. I don’t take my eyes off the teacher in front of us as he continues with the attendance, his eyes never far from mine.
“Hey, are you okay? You don’t look like you’re breathing,” he asks with genuine concern in his voice, but I can’t respond.
I’m frozen in fear, reliving the worst night of my life as I see those haunting eyes staring at me with lust.
This can’t be happening.
“Fine,” I croak, Evan’s timely comment a reminder for me to breathe.
My lungs burn as they welcome the oxygen I was depriving them of while my brain short circuited.
He narrows his eyes like he doesn’t believe me.
I want to roll my eyes at him and not give anything away, just like any other time one of them has seen me vulnerable, but I can’t.
I can’t play this off as nothing when my brain is a complete mess.
Him and I both know I lied by saying I’m fine, but I refuse to give him anything else. My trauma is none of his concern.
“Today is going to be simple. I want to go over your syllabus with you and answer any questions you may have. If we have time afterwards, I’d love the chance to get to know you guys and give you the same courtesy.”
Mr. Granger starts walking around the room, handing out packages for the semester, his eyes watching me closely. I can feel them on me, and it makes me want to scratch at my skin to remove his unwanted attention.
If I were anyone else, I wouldn’t even notice him doing it because he’s that good at hiding it. But I know I feel them because it’s the same feeling I had that night that I couldn’t shake.
I can’t believe how stupid I was.
I should have listened to my gut when I felt like I was being watched, but I didn’t. I ignored that inner warning that something was wrong, and I paid the price on my way home from work.
A price no one should ever have to pay.
He moves towards us, and I reach out to take the packet from him, trying to steady my breath as my stomach churns with acid from the smell of his cologne.
