4 a.m. // Jeggy

Chapter 5

I fidgeted through my first three classes, bored by hearing the syllabuses over and over again. My thoughts kept drifting back to Laurens, telling me he'd meet with me at lunch.

And then fourth period came along, and my fidgeting stopped. I walked into AP History with my books in my arms and chose a seat near the middle of the room, since most of the seats were already taken. I zoned out for about a minute, tapping my pencil on my hand until I heard the bell ring. Sighing to myself, I prepared to hear the same syllabus for the fourth time. This class will be boring.

That is, until John Laurens came sprinting through the door and sat in the last empty seat. The one right next to me. I blushed and looked over at him with a small smile. 

"Why were you so late?" I mumbled, not wanting to get the teachers attention as he read off the first paragraph of the packet he had handed us. He didn't even notice John rushing in late.

"Had to come from the other side of the building. I didn't realize that 3 minutes is not that much time to get up here." He explained, panting slightly. I laughed a little at him and he fake frowned.

"Hey! I'm new, you can't blame me!" He said.

"Didn't you come to orientation? You could've walked your schedule." I asked. He shrugged in response.

"I dunno. I think I had something going on that day, I can't remember." He said with a smirk. I simply laughed again and turned back to the packet the teacher was reading. Where were we in this thing?

The end of the class came all too soon. The only good part was talking to John throughout, but now we're split up once more until sixth period.

"Bye Pegs." He said as we walked out, about to go in different directions down the hallway. It gave me deja vu from this morning. I forced my blush away, catching the nickname.

"Bye Laurens." I waved. I clutched my books tight to my chest, keeping myself from melting into a puddle. That is, until I tripped down the stairs into James Reynolds. Well, there goes my good mood.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, straightening up and helping him pick his books up off the floor, not yet realizing it was him. My blood went cold when I met his eye and saw his devil like smirk.

"Well, well, well. Peggy Schuyler. I thought I'd never see your pretty little face again. Let me guess, you want me back?" He said, smiling as he put his hand around my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

James and I dated last year for about eight months. He definitely wasn't the best boyfriend... I hated to think back to the things he made me do and what he did to me. No one knew about it either. No one but me knows what a cruel man he is.

"L-let me go, James. I have t-to get to c-class..." I mumbled in fear, my voice shaking as barely controlled anxiety spread through my whole body. He ripped his hand off my chin, making my head whip uncomfortably. I rubbed my neck which was now in pain and looked at the floor.

"Just because you got away from me as a boyfriend doesn't mean you got away from me completely. And trust me when I say, whether you like it or not, you'll be mine again. Sooner or later, I'll have you back and wrapped right around my finger to do whatever I please with you." He growled quietly, getting increasingly closer to me. I tried to back away but there was nowhere to go. He had my arm in his hand, digging his fingernails into it.

I looked away and squeezed my eyes shut, praying that my tears would go away and that he'd leave. Luckily, he finally let go and left me standing on the stairwell alone, a small amount of blood from where his fingernails broke the skin slipping down my arm. I shakily began to walk to my next class, which wasn't super far away, and tried to calm my nerves.

James was part of the reason for my insomnia. He was the reason I was afraid of so much, the reason I feared becoming close to people, especially guys. He's the reason I hardly ever talked to Laf or Alex when my sisters started dating them, because I was afraid they would do to me what he did.

I shuddered as I sat down in my next class, thinking about John. How sweet and kind he is to me. What's to say that he's not exactly like James? James was sweet and kind in the beginning. What if becoming close to John ends up hurting me in the end? What if I have to go through hell and back a second time?

Enough 'what if's', Peggy. Get over it, I forced myself to think. I repeated this mantra in my head over and over again, trying to believe it.

Yet as many times as I said that to myself, I still felt myself begin to shake as I headed to lunch forty five minutes later, fearing the worst.

How could a day that started so good, suddenly turn so bad?