Luke slid his arm around the back of my chair and nodded toward Kai. "You two know each other?"
"Kind of." There was no need to turn and see the contempt on Kai's face.
Luke's eyes narrowed. "He's into you."
"No." I shook my head even as shivers ran...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I didn't want to go to Magpies. I wanted to wait outside the school until Emma and Josh came out, and then follow them wherever they went. Jazz said that would be stalking. Luke and Tokola agreed. So they sat me at a corner table in Magpies where I couldn't stop shaking.
"You did everything you could, Bay," Jasmine said.
"It doesn't feel like enough." Especially when I remembered the last time I was alone with Josh.
We'd been parked on one of the back roads near my house. The kissing was so nice at first, but then he started trying for more, way more. I told him no, that I wasn't ready, but he grabbed my wrists and slammed me down on the seat. Panic swept over me when I couldn't get him off. I'd always been strong, but my strength was nothing compared to his. He crushed the breath out of me. I yelled, scratched and bit him, but he yanked my hair and held me down. Finally I got a chance to knee him in the groin, hard. Then I jumped out of the car and ran to my house.
Would Emma be able to fight him off, would she try? Or would he leave her bloody and running through the forest?
Luke handed me a large, warm chai and snuggled me against him. "So what are we going to do?"
"What can we do?"
Luke and Tokola exchanged a look. "We could take care of Josh."
I glanced at Jasmine. "Not a bad idea."
Right about then, Kai and Sage walked in. I couldn't even be surprised. Seemed to go with the night. Kai's gaze rested on me as he walked Sage to another table. I must've been a sight with my smeared makeup and red-rimmed eyes.
Then some guys from the dance walked in. They pointed at me and started laughing. "There's Freaky. What's wrong? The world going to end?"
Only Emma's world, but they wouldn't understand. They probably never had to think about anyone but themselves. Or have someone else's fate 'almost' in their hands.
Luke launched out of his seat at the guys. "Shut the hell up, or step outside."
The three guys eyed Luke. "Make us."
Luke laughed. "Got any more friends around?"
Kai walked up beside Luke. Like Luke needed anything else to worry about. But Kai examined his fingernails and said, "I'll keep score. Not a fair fight, though, unless there's about five of you."
Nice compliment, coming from Kai.
The guys looked at Luke and Kai. They shifted on their feet and said, "Hey, it's cool," and walked back toward the magazines.
Luke nodded to Kai and sat back down next to me.
The heat from Kai's stare warmed my face. "What happened?" he said as he leaned toward me. "Are you okay?"
