The Pact

17. a man who enjoys his nose not broken

I laid in my bed, listening to the muffled shouts from downstairs. I couldn't hear much, but I could hear the shuffling of Bryn being physically restrained as she shouted at Beck.

No one had followed me to my room. And for that, I was grateful.

It wasn't until hours later that a soft knock sounded against my door. I didn't move as Bryn slowly made her way into my room, silently pulling my sheets down and slipping into the bed next to me. We laid together for a while, neither of us speaking, neither of us moving, I honestly didn't know if I was even breathing anymore.

Finally, Bryn rolled onto her side to face me, speaking softly. "I hit Beck pretty hard," she whispered, a ghost of a smile twisting on her lips.

"I know," I replied, meeting her gaze. "The sound echoed through the whole house."

She laughed softly, reaching over and tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. "So..." she gave me a long look. "No more Virgin Mary?" I didn't respond, just nodding my head in acknowledgment. "I'm going to try my best not to be mad that you didn't tell me." She teased.

I smiled a little bit. "I really really thought we could work out," I whispered, feeling tears form in my eyes again. "God, I feel like an idiot."

She watched me for a minute, her eyes filled with sympathy as she thought out her response. I'd never seen Bryn speechless before. It was almost comical.

At last, she spoke, her voice quiet. "I'm sorry this happened," she said simply.

I nodded. "Me too."

✣✣✣

The week flew by. I spent most of my days with my face shoved in my textbooks, keeping myself busy by putting my all into my exams.

By Friday, I had just one exam left; calculus. I debated skipping it, my grade was high enough in the class that I could have if I wanted to and I wouldn't be affected too greatly, but still, I forced myself into the classroom.

The first thing I noticed was that Beck was sitting in our usual seats, his leg bouncing up and down nervously as he studied me, his eyes silently pleading for me to come sit next to him.

I tore my eye from his, moving and sitting in the front of the class, trying to ignore the burn of his stare on the back of my head.

The exam seemed to have ended just as quickly as it began, the classroom filling with disappointed chatter as we filed out of the class. I began to walk down the hall, keeping my head down as I tried to evade Beck's pleading stare again.

A hand caught my wrist, stopping my movements and pulling me out of the crowd of people. Griff stood in front of me, his expression unreadable.

"You haven't been answering my calls," he said, turning to glance at Beck who had conveniently decided to be a part of the conversation.

I shrugged. "Been busy with exams," I offered halfheartedly, keeping my eyes off of Beck. "What's up?"

"We're going to Beck's house for fall break."

I blinked in surprise, looking between Griff and Beck who both continued to watch me expectantly. I hadn't known they were planning anything.

"Is that okay?" Griff asked, giving me a questioning look.

"I was planning on going to Bryn's," I replied, my tone sharp.

"C'mon, Em, please? It'll be the most time we've spent together since we were eight." He pleaded.

"Fine. I'll spend one night," I told him, giving Beck another look before focusing on Griff once again. "I'm not staying all week."

The boys both shared a long look before looking back at me. "My family lives in Florida," Beck explained, and I swore I saw amusement in his eyes. Son of a bitch. "You might have to stay the week."