Sorry Not Sorry

Chapter 23

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The next day at school, I meet Astrix at her locker to make sure she's okay since last night. She's insisted the day before that she was fine and that it was perfectly safe to come to school, which I highly, highly doubt.

Even now, looking at her, I can spot the hollows under her eyes, and the pale sheen to her skin. She needs to stay home, but Astrix being her stubborn self, refused to miss taco lunch day.

As I stand next to her and help her pile her books over her arms, I bite my lip to keep from spilling everything that went on last night.

I never hide anything from Astrix. I usually tell her every little intimate detail in my life, and she tells me all of her's, but somehow...It just doesn't feel right.

Astrix provides me with a lopsided grin as she one-handedly affixes her bun.

"Thank you for that. Don't forget to save me a seat at lunch and...Grab a taco in case I'm too dizzy to get there on time."

I roll my eyes. She usually makes sure to be the first one in line to grab as many cheese and chicken stuffed taco's as she can. Classic Astrix.

I balance a notebook on top of her stacking pile and see her off to her next class before skipping to Math.

As soon as I walk through the door, I see Jack in his usual seat next to mine, spinning a pen in between his two fingers. His eyes catch mine and he nods in acknowledgment.

I slip in next to him and pat the sheet of papers in front of me.

"Hey..."

I give him a half smile. "Hi. Um...Textbook?"

He nods and pulls out a thick book, setting it in between our two desks and flipping through the pages.

After some aimless floundering, he settles down to work, leaving us in a state of extremely awkward silence.

Mrs. Casper walks in between the row of desks to oversee our work. She stops in front of Jack, peering over his shoulder to look at what he's working on. She puts her hands on her hips and adjusts her glasses.

"Mr. Travels, I'm afraid you've got that wrong. The answer to the equation of the line is not a love letter to Ms. West."

I look up in surprise and the entire class is sent into a state of open laughter. Jack purses his lips and shrugs.

"It's not a love letter," he says in between ground teeth.

Mrs. Casper pulls the sheet of paper off of his desk and reads it out loud.

"Oaklyn, remember what we talked about yesterday. I'll come over later today and we'll think of a new plan to keep it at bay."

Mrs. Casper looks down at us in admonishment.

"You guys do realize that teenaged pregnancies..."

"NO!"

I get to my feet and crumple the paper in between my fist.

Jack rubs his eyes tiredly and mouths me an apology. One that I don't take to heart.

...

I get up as soon as the bell rings and rush out of the room to save me an embarrassing conversation with Jack. Way to make things hella awkward! Thank you for that Mrs. Casper...

I saunter into Biology and take a seat at the far end, but to my immense surprise, Paige slips in next to me, giving me a huge, fake smile.

I roll my eyes at her. "What?"

"Chit-chat."

I raise an eyebrow. She leans on her fist.

"I want a girl talk with you."

Ms. Fit stands at the front of the room, beginning the lesson and droning on about Darwin and the theory of evolution. For a while, I pretend to be focused on her, but Paige nudges my arm and lowers her voice.

"What's really going on between you and Jack?"

I position my mouth to say 'nothing.' But that would be a total lie. I can't say nothing. Not when we obviously have some sort of chemistry. But at the same time, I'm not telling her ANYTHING.

Instead, I give her a once-over, roll my eyes, and then turn my attention back to the front of the classroom.

She groans and then lightly pushes my desk. "Did he knock you up?"

Damn...News travels fast...

I give her an irritated look. "No. And for your information...I AM A VIRGIN!"

She smirks at me. "Thought so."

I shake my head. "Then what's with all the rumor's?"

"Oh, those? Those were just to get under your skin."

I growl and position myself away from her. She moves closer and lowers her lips next to my ear.

"You know...At first, I wondered what Jack was always hanging out with you for. Guys like him don't usually associate with utter losers. I thought to myself, 'Why wasn't he going for a girl like me?' "

I scoff. "Because he's not into the idiot type?"

She smirks. "Oh please. I'm anything but, all learned up on the art of fashion and apocalypses."

"Zombies? Fashion magazines? Survival kits?"

She nods. I let out a breath.

"You don't have to worry about a zombie apocalypse, Paige. They only eat brains you know."

She sighs. "You might want to stop insulting me, and start doing exactly as I say."

"And why in the world would I do that?"

She smirks. "Because...I know all about you. Who your parents were, what happened to them....Delilah...I know what you're really doing with Jack when you two meet up. And thank God there was a good enough explanation for that."

My blood runs cold and I suddenly find it difficult to speak. Paige perks up.

"I also know you're still a minor. Six months to go...Say this information goes public around school and social security catches wind of it? It's off to the orphanage for you!"

I tighten my jaw. "What the hell do you want?"

I can't let her do this, rip up the life I built for myself. I'm prepared to give her any bribe...Stay away from her...Let her rule the school...I don't care!

She smiles. "I want Jack."